Group Hires Experts
To Study Land Plan

WATFORD CITY, N.D. —(AP)— Western North Dakotans wary of a grasslands management proposal have hired a group of range scientists, fish and wildlife biologists and economists to examine how the plan will affect the area.

Business owners, farmers and ranchers have resurrected the Heritage Alliance of North Dakota organization to challenge the U.S. Forest Service proposal, which would reduce grazing for some ranchers.

Gene Veeder, executive director of the McKenzie County Jobs Development Authority, said the organization came together in the early 1990s. He said it was formed ``to keep North Dakota in the hands of the people who live and work here, and to prevent the land from being removed from public access and multiple use by government agencies.''

The Forest Service claims that some of the grasslands have been overgrazed and need to be protected.

``We take issue with that because the grasslands are in good shape because of the way the ranchers and farmers have been taking care of them for decades,'' he said. ``We are all for preserving the land, but cattle have been part of the heritage here since the first white man settled here.''

Environmental activist groups contend that ranchers have looked after the land with only their interests in mind and have neglected aspects unrelated to raising cattle at the expense of some wildlife.

The plan also closes all 1.2 million acres to off-road motorized travel, decreases road access to 130,870 recreational acres, restricts surface occupancy by structures such as oil rigs and holding tanks, and increases acres devoted to prairie dogs from 4400 to 11,000.

Watford City bankers Doug Voll and Dale Patten are both concerned about the possible statewide effects of the plan.

``Just as Minot Air Force Base contributes to the Minot economy, the grasslands contribute to the entire area's economy,'' said Voll, senior vice president of the First International Bank and Trust. ``The grasslands plan is not just about grazing; it will affect North Dakotans statewide who use the grasslands.''