OCR Text |
Show Garn from f SS !; Washington . . . jsfJ Garn co-sponsoring grazing fee moratorium resolution By Senator Jake Garn Senator Jake Garn (R-Ut) Friday joined other Western States Senators in sponsoring a resolution calling for a moratorium on an increase in grazing fees for public lands. The resolution expresses the sense of the Senate that the fee increase not go into effect until the appropriate committees commit-tees of Congress have had "a reasonable opportunity" to hold hearings on the proposed new formula. 'The Departments of Agriculture Agri-culture and Interior want to begin issuing bills for the 1978 grazing season," said Senator Garn. "If Congress has had the opportunity to hold hearings hear-ings and has approved the formula by then, so be it. However, this proposed new formula will result in an additional cost of approximately approxi-mately six million dollars to grazing lease holders. There are currently 2,086 Federal land grazing permit holders in the State of Utah. If the proposed increase goes into effect, it will cost our stockmen stock-men an additional $416,480 per year. The livestock industry in-dustry is already facing severe se-vere economic problems and this new formula could have devastating consequences. "In 1976, an interagency committee known as the Technical Tech-nical Committee Organized to Review Public Land Grazing Fees made known its findings and grazing fee recommendations. recommenda-tions. Even though this committee com-mittee was established for the. purpose of studying the fee structure for grazing on public pub-lic land, the new grazing formula does not reflect thi committee's findings. "For these reasons, I feel i is essential that Congres have ample time to holi hearings and to determine th fairness of the proposed nev rate structure before it i allowed to go into effect." |