Ranchers grazing their livestock on U.S. Forest Service acreage will have a more streamlined approach to sharing data with federal partners under a new memorandum of understanding.
USFS and the Public Lands Council announced the MOU Monday to help ranchers and federal forest officials “cooperate to collect and analyze data on rangeland health, ultimately ensuring better management of national forests and grasslands,” according to a press release. Data collected through the MOU will give USFS more information on rangeland health.
“This MOU signifies our continued commitment to work cooperatively with our permittees and to build trust, while expanding our collective ability to gather important information about the health and productivity of National Forest System lands,” said USFS Chief Randy Moore.
PLC President Mark Roeber said the MOU will “allow permittees and the Forest Service to better share key information and strengthen the partnership between producers and agency officials.”
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Under the agreement, the USFS will identify allotments where the data monitoring is currently taking place and invite the permittees to participate in a cooperative program. In advance of PLC’s annual meeting, the two entities will meet to discuss activities underway on grazing lands. That conversation will then be on the agenda at the annual meeting, with USFS officials participating.
The MOU will be in effect until January 2027.
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