ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed the remaining claims in a case that pitted Hispanic ranchers against the U.S. government over its handling of grazing permits.
Attorneys for the ranchers had argued during the years-long legal battle that the U.S. Forest Service violated the law when deciding to limit grazing on historic land grants despite recognition by the government that the descendants of Spanish colonists have a unique relationship with the land.
The ranchers claimed the agency failed to consider social and economic effects that would result from limiting grazing in a region where poverty and dependence on the land for subsistence is high.
The judge ruled that federal law doesn't require the Forest Service to consider any social or economic effects that aren't directly related to environmental changes resulting from the agency's actions.
