Grazing Management Strategy for Kern Plateau to be Discussed at Public Meeting

Grazing Management Strategy for Kern Plateau to be Discussed at Public Meeting
Release Date: May 24, 2011 Bishop, CA
Contact(s): Nancy Upham

The Inyo National Forest will be hosting a public meeting on Wednesday, June 8 at 6:00 pm at the Boulder Creek RV Park in Lone Pine, to kick off a new public collaboration effort in developing a grazing management strategy for the Kern Plateau. This effort will seek to reconcile divergent interests and resource needs by looking at a landscape-scale approach to resource use, conservation and restoration. The process will involve a collaborative dialogue between agency staff and public stakeholders. The success of the collaboration process will depend on participation from key stakeholders who have a vested interest in the long-term health and use of the Kern Plateau and its unique resources.

The agenda for the June 8 meeting will include a presentation by participants involved in a successful collaboration effort focused on rangeland management in Utah. The presenters will discuss and answer questions about their collaborative process, sharing their perspectives on how the process worked, their lessons learned, and the identification of things that contributed to the successes that they have shared.

Subsequent meetings will provide updates on the upcoming NEPA analyses for the Templeton, Whitney, Mulkey and Monache Allotments and will provide the opportunity to discuss values and interests in managing grazing on the Kern Plateau. The goal for the first few meetings will be to launch a long-term collaborative effort to continually discuss and resolve issues regarding resource management on the Kern Plateau.

The Inyo National Forest is exploring the possibility of making the June 8 presentation available by webinar. If you would like more information about being involved in this way or if you have any questions about the collaboration process, please contact Lesley Yen at (760) 873-2524.