Environmental conflicts these days make headlines, but in many parts of the West, sportsmen, conservation groups, government agencies and landowners are quietly working together to achieve conservation gains.

Not long ago, with the help of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Legacy Program and the state’s LeRay McAllister Fund, we placed a conservation easement on our ranch to benefit forest management, wildlife, and help preserve our family’s ranching heritage. These are the types of partnerships we need more of, but unfortunately, due to Congress and the Utah Legislature, they are about to become almost extinct.

As part of the federal budget debate, the House of Representatives is proposing drastic, disproportionate cuts to federal programs which ensure land and water protection and help ranching families stay on the land. Under the House proposal, the Land and Water Conservation Fund will be cut by 87 percent, the Forest Legacy Program, which was key to our ranch partnership, by 92 percent. The North American Wetlands Conservation Fund and State Wildlife Grants Program will be eliminated.

By contrast, the proposed overall reduction in the federal discretionary budget is 9.2 percent.

At the state level, the Utah Legislature recently zeroed out the LeRay McAllister Critical Lands Conservation Fund. During these times of much-needed deficit reduction, conservation must participate. But disproportionately targeting already modest conservation programs is irresponsible and fails to address Utah’s long term needs.

The intent may be to punish environmentalists, but instead, slashing these programs hurts agriculture, sportsmen and ranchers and farmers throughout the Intermountain West.

People think milk comes from the supermarket and lumber from Home Depot. There is little appreciation for what it takes to survive in farming and ranching, and how much healthy watersheds, forests and soils contribute to our quality of life.

With rising energy costs, urban sprawl and increasing regulation, keeping family farms and ranches intact is an uphill battle. But public/private partnerships fostered through initiatives like the Forest Legacy Program are points of light.