Article by By DON JENKINS Capital Press
The Washington Cattlemen's Association has inserted itself into a lawsuit filed by wolf advocates, warning that if the U.S. Forest Service and the Diamond M ranch lose, other ranchers will lose too.
The lawsuit pending in U.S. District Court for Eastern Washington has broad implications, according to an amicus brief filed March 5 by the association, the state's largest group of cattlemen.
If the suit drives the Diamond M off the Colville National Forest, it will set a precedent, making grazing secondary to wildlife in national forests, particularly wherever wolves roam, according to the cattlemen's association.