1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

The proposed Malheur Community Empowerment for the Owyhee Act aims to establish a grazing management program and community empowerment group for Malheur County, Oregon. This would provide increased operational flexibility for grazing permittees to improve the long-term ecological health of federal lands, while involving diverse local stakeholders in project proposals and decision-making. The act also designates over 1 million acres as new wilderness areas and conveys certain lands to the Burns Paiute Tribe. Equitable and community-driven land management is a core principle behind this legislation. By engaging a wide range of interests - grazing, environmental, tribal, recreational, local government, and more - on the Malheur Community Empowerment for Owyhee (C.E.O.) Group, it aims to ensure balanced stewardship reflective of the region's needs. The proposed grazing program responds to changing conditions through locally-tailored solutions rather than top-down mandates. Collaborative approaches that give communities a substantive voice in public lands decisions impacting their lives and livelihoods can promote sustainable use and conservation. This act's provisions endeavor to achieve that in Malheur County through shared governance and adaptive management. For these reasons of empowering local stakeholders and fostering equitable, community-based stewardship, supporting the passage of this act aligns with the principle stated.