Federal judge says BLM must release names and addresses of grazing permit holders nationwide

Judge: BLM must release names of permit holders

BOISE, Idaho — A federal judge in Idaho says the Bureau of Land Management must release the names and addresses of people with grazing permits on the nation’s public land.

The ruling filed Monday came after two environmental groups sued for the names under the Freedom of Information Act.

Western Watersheds Project and Wildearth Guardians contended that the BLM wrongly said the names, addresses and other grazing permit information was protected from release. It cited an exemption that allows agencies to keep from releasing medical records and other information that could constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

The judge said the public interest in monitoring BLM’s rangeland grazing program outweighed the minimal privacy interests of the permit holders.