They will make permittees "a little bit more responsible for some of the actions" and that will help to get things done, he said.

But Jon Marvel, executive director of the Western Watersheds Project, based in Hailey, Idaho, condemned the new rules. The group has a presence in Utah and has litigated concerning BLM issues in this state.

"These regulations, if put into effect, will take us backward by decades in eliminating public involvement in the management of public lands," Marvel said.

"Because such an elimination violates the law, our group and others will be litigating these proposed rules when they are finally adopted."

The public is being short-circuited from the management of grazing land, he charged.

"Continued public involvement will reduce the power of ranchers, and the intention of these regulations is to re-establish ranchers over public land," Marvel said. "And that is not in the public interest."

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E-mail: bau@desnews.com