DICKINSON, N.D. – On Tuesday, Senator John Hoeven held meetings with U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Chief Tom Schultz and grazing groups and energy producers in Dickinson. Hoeven invited Schultz to North Dakota to hear directly from local stakeholders on the importance of:
- Ensuring access to USFS lands for multiple use, including grazing and energy production.
- Hoeven stressed that section line rights-of-way are critical for enabling ranchers to access their cattle in the Little Missouri National Grasslands.
- Hoeven also highlighted that the Dakota Prairie Grasslands sits on top of the third-largest oil-producing field in the U.S.
- The senator outlined the need for regulatory certainty for oil wells and associated infrastructure on the grasslands to support U.S. energy dominance.
- Accordingly, the senator secured a commitment from Schultz to work with North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring, counties, local grazing associations and the North Dakota Petroleum Council as work proceeds on updating the Little Missouri National Grassland Travel Management Plan.
- Better managing issues on USFS lands.
- Hoeven previously worked with USFS Deputy Chief Chris French on efforts to address noxious weeds on the Dakota Prairie Grasslands and urged Schultz to maintain these efforts.
- To date, two rounds of funding totaling $3 million have been allocated to local grazing groups for weed spraying.
- Hoeven has included language in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Senate Interior appropriations legislation pressing the USFS to update the 2018 Prairie Dog Management Plan, with the goal of capping occupied prairie dog habitats at no more than 1.5% of federal land within a grazing allotment.
- Hoeven previously worked with USFS Deputy Chief Chris French on efforts to address noxious weeds on the Dakota Prairie Grasslands and urged Schultz to maintain these efforts.
- Continuing work to reclaim orphaned oil wells for beneficial uses, including freshwater wells for livestock, drought relief and fire suppression.
- Hoeven helped secure funding for the state to cap and reclaim wells.
- Following the senator’s efforts, USFS began approving the conversion of oil wells to freshwater wells, which can be used for cattle in the region.
“The Forest Service manages more than one million acres of grasslands in North Dakota. The presence of these federal lands has a real impact on communities and local industries, including our livestock and energy producers,” said Hoeven. “That’s why we worked to bring USFS Chief Schultz to North Dakota to hear directly from our ranchers, oil and gas producers and local officials. We appreciate him taking the time and working with us to address critical issues on the national grasslands. This includes improving access under the updated Travel Management Plan, better managing weeds and prairie dogs and continuing the partnership with the state for reclaiming oil wells as freshwater wells, which will benefit a range of needs in the region, including for cattle producers.”