On Sept. 16, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) revoked a decision allowing cattle to graze or be driven across public lands near California’s Mojave Desert in order to protect desert tortoises and other plants and animals.
The decision was revoked after the Western Watersheds Project, Center for Biological Diversity and Wilderness Watch challenged the decision to allow cattle to cross a public lands grazing allotment.
“It’s shocking that we were forced to file an appeal to enforce a permanent retirement of grazing privileges,” said Ileene Anderson, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity. “The BLM was right to withdraw this unlawful decision. The plants and animals that depend on the fragile Mojave Desert for their survival need protection now more than ever.”
The reversed decision will prevent any cattle grazing or trailing on the permanently retired allotment.
