[PCA] NEWS: Judge halts USDA's cattle-grazing plans on Conservation Reserve Program lands

[Olivia Kwong]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008043219_crplands10m.html

Judge halts USDA's cattle-grazing plans on Conservation Reserve Program 
lands

A federal judge in Seattle has put the brakes on an emergency program by 
the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that would allow 
grazing and hay production on millions of acres of farmland nationwide 
that had been set aside under the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP.)

By Lynda V. Mapes

Seattle Times staff reporter

A federal judge in Seattle has put the brakes on an emergency federal 
program that would allow grazing and hay production on millions of acres 
of farmland nationwide that had been set aside for conservation.

The injunction ordered Tuesday by U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour 
could affect 24 million acres of conservation lands across the country, 
including fragile habitat in this state. And in Washington, it pits two 
struggling species against each other: independent cattle producers and 
sage grouse.

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