FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         ENR
FRIDAY, JANUARY 17, 1996                           (202) 514-2008
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

                                 
   UNITED STATES FILES PROTECTIVE APPEAL IN CATTLE GRAZING CASE

 Move Designed to Retain Government's Ability to Pursue an Appeal

     WASHINGTON, D.C. --  In order to keep its legal options
open, the Department of Justice today filed a notice of appeal of
a 1996 federal court decision that prohibits the Forest Service
from allowing cattle grazing on certain land within the Malheur
National Forest in Grant County, Oregon.  The Department has not
decided whether it will pursue the appeal.

     The U.S. District Court in Portland held that the Forest
Service cannot issue permits to ranchers to graze cattle on
federal lands unless they first obtain certification from state
authorities that the cattle grazing will comply with state water
quality standards.

     The Department filed the notice of appeal today because the
deadline for filing an appeal was about to expire. 
     Today's notice of appeal stems from a 1994 lawsuit brought
by various environmental organizations against the Forest
Service.  Oregon Natural Desert Association, et al. v. Jack Ward
Thomas, Civ. No. 94-522 (D.Ore.). 
  
     The district court decision concerns several federal
agencies, including the Forest Service and the Interior
Department's Bureau of Land Management, both of which issue
permits for cattle grazing on federal lands, and the
Environmental Protection Agency, which administers the federal
Clean Water Act.

     Oregon rancher Robert Burril, the Eastern Oregon Public
Lands Coalition, and Grant County, Oregon, have already filed
notices of appeal.
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97-025