Free Declaration - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

Case 1:04-cv-00786-SGB

Document 42-8

Filed 08/15/2008

Page 1 of 6

EXHIBIT 7

Case 1:04-cv-00786-SGB. jst Document 42-8 .0. Page 2 United States Sacramento Filed 08/15/2008 Box 2.88 of 6 . Department of Ranger Service L1oudcroft, NM 88317

l\ ~

J

Agriculture

District

(505) 682 -2551

File Code: 2230

Date: February 28, 1997

Sacramento Grazing Association

c/o Jimm Go~s (President)
Weëd, NM 883S14.

Dear:
The 1997 Anual Operating Plan for the Sacramento. Allotment (5) is' enclosed.
Please sign both copies, retain one for your files and recurn the remaining one to the Saçramento District Office in Cloudcroft.

In keeping with provisions and requirements 0f your grazing permit, thefoiiowing must be accomplished prior to turnout, or pasture moves.

)

1. Fees paid 2. Notification to Forest Officer five days prior to turnout on

seasonal r~ges.

3 .

Maintenance responsibilities

Please keep actual use

records and turn them into this office at the next

validation meeting.

~r~ct Ranger
Enclosures: 2 copies AOP

~~

If you observe unauthorized livestock use on the allotment, please notify this office as soon as possible.

~MA~OODWIN

:J.
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1997

2210

AN OPERATING PLA

ALLOTM (S) Sacramento
PERITTEE (S) Sacramento Grazing Association

A. The following numbers and classes of livestock will be permtted
to graze the Sacramento Allotment this year.

'I '
.LIVESTOCK NUERS & SEAON OF USE
Permitted Livestock Numbers:
I I I i I I I

Allotment
Sacramento

Term
553

I Temporary I I

Private
0

I

Total
553

I I'

Seasort

I Number I I

.1
I

0

03/01 - 02/28

,I
I

B. GRAING SYSTEM
Graz.ing Schedule or Pasture Sequence:

SUMR UNIT:

North Benson. Pasture
South Wills Pasture

05/15 - 07/31

08/01 - 10/31

*** Due to the extreme forage use that occurred in the Nortn Benson pasture last fall, it may be~ecessary to use the South Pasture early and the Nort~ pasture in the late summer and fall. The decision on which .pasture to use first will be made at the

end of April.

Penasco Corrals ~ use same as last year.

HEIFER PASTUS

Atkinson Pasture

05/15 - 07/31 (Pay close attention to use levels along the highway at Atkinson Canyon.)

Nelson-Carr Pasture

08/01, - 10/31

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2

WINTER UNIT:
Li vestock to be distributed between Alamo, Pasture Ridge, and

... .

Grapevine Pastures.

c. RAGE IMPROVE MAINTANCE
The following will be completed this grazing season:

Routine maintenance as assigned in permit.

Construction of any new range improvements will depend on status of proposed AMP.

Dirt Tanks in Mule Canyon Pasture should be' cleaned out.
D. SALTING AN SUPPLEMAL FEEDING
Sal t and supplemental feed will be used as a range management tool to draw livestock into areas of little or no use. This
normally does not include areas adjacent to water or

canyon

bottoms. In all instances, salt will be placed at least one half mile from pccupied Circium vinaceum habitat. Salt should be moved periodically to avoid potential overuse. checked and

E. PROTECTION
The permittee, his agents and employees, when acting within the scope of their employment, and his contractors and subcontractors ,of the United States, waived will protect the land and property private land and other land under jurisdictiòn of the Forest Service covered by and used in conjunction with this permit. Protection will include taking all reasonable precautions to prevent, make diligent efforts to suppress ard report promptly all fires on or endagering such land and property. During periods of high fire danger, branding fires will be allowed by
permit

only .

All work involving .the use of heavy equipment will be accomplished only with prior approval of the District Ranger.

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F. SPECIAL MAAGEM CONCERNS
Grazing Management/Goshawk Guidelines~-Ttle goshawk is listed as a sensitive species by the Forest Service and there remains a potentiai ,for iisting as a federal T&E species. The intent of the forage use guidelines is to help ,provide..healthy habitat prey animals of the goshawk that live in small conditions for meadows or small open areas with scattered mature trees occasionally occuring within the larger forested zones. 1997 grazing year, sites where these guidelines apply For the ponderosa pine and higher forested zones. The will be the livestock management objective will be to provide for an average over all sites with forage 'use impact ofnò more than. 20 percent a maximum forage use impact of no more than 4~ percent in any individual siteoccuring within identified goshawk territiories. purposes the forage use guidelines will be For mangement generally applied to meadows of less than ?ne-half acre, and four acres or less in forest openings that contain scattered mature

trees.

If maragement guidelines are revised, or as goshawk territory changes are identified, it may be necessary to change the guidelines and those areas that need special maagement this occurs during the i997 grazing season yc:u attention.' If in writing by the District Ranger. will be notified

At this point in time, it is unown what overall affect these guidelines will have on the forest's grazing permittee do not operations. But, because the~e small openings generally make up a significant part of the livestock forage resource on most of our high elevation allotments, we are hopeful the guidelines will not result in the need for any major changes in

management. 'It is important that we work as partners in

monitoring grazing use in these small openings, for both livestock and elk where present, so we can get a true assessment of how these guidelines will affect future grazing management.

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Filed 08/15/2008

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Circium vinaceum * It is critical that forage use levels on Circium vinaceum populations be closely monitored. If forage use becomes a
concern on any Circium vinaceum population, livestock

.. I

'must be

promptly moved away from these areas.

Permitteè

District Ranger

SG00256