A cowboy working for cattle grazers
recently ordered hikers to leave Grand Teton National Park because they might upset the
cows. Livestock do not, and should not, have priority on designated wilderness areas,
wildlife refuges, and national parks. Cattle and sheep can also introduce disease to other
animals and overgraze native vegetation needed by wildlife. Livestock grazing on public
lands should only be permitted if it does not take precedence over clean water, habitat
for wildlife, and the right of citizens to enjoy solitude and pristine beauty on their
public lands. Meredith Taylor, Wyoming representative, Greater Yellowstone Coalition
The open spaces and natural beauty
of the West, which draw people from around the world, depend on the relationship between
private and public lands. Without public-land grazing, many ranches would lose their
economic viability. The rancher would have to sell land to survive, and critical habitat
and open space would be replaced by condos. Society provides incentives to private
landowners for preserving wetlands and protecting riparian areas. Livestock grazing
controls weeds, enhances deer habitat, and reduces wildfires. Why aren't we creating
incentives that will allow ranchers to provide such ecological services and open space on
private and public lands? Howard Johnson, rancher and chair, Utah Grazing Lands
Conservation Institute
Properly managed grazing can improve
species diversity, maintain wildlife habitat, and forestall commercial development of
public lands. More than 50 percent of commercial beef operations graze their cattle on
federal lands. If they were not able to graze on public lands, they would have to either
increase livestock operations on private land or subdivide and sell it for development.
Such actions would likely lead to the decline of rural communities and leave these public
lands in poorer ecological condition. Martin A. Massengale, director, University of Nebraska Center for
Grassland Studies
We talk about ecosystems as if they
were nice places to visit and imagine nature to be healthiest when it's sheltered from
humans. Most of us don't know where our food or water comes from, so we have lost sight of
the range for the grass. We see food as something we buy and no longer think of ourselves
as part of our environment, so cows and sheep become a blight on the landscape. We forget
that when we aim at expunging ranching, rather than reforming grazing practices, we alter
ecology, disfigure economies, and promote our exodus from the land. If we are to survive,
we must re-establish our accountability in the natural order of things, and we must
emphasize lifestyles that are harmonious with nature. Mark Gordon, rancher and former Sierra Club Board member
Livestock grazing should continue on
public lands, but there are places where grazing of domestic stock should be halted, where
numbers of stock should be reduced, and where seasonal use should be shortened. The
politicians and special interests alike must be put on notice that the customs and
cultures of the old West are changing. Tom Bell, historian and founder, High Country News
Soils, plants, and animals
co-evolved and are dependent on each other for their health. The relatively few
free-ranging grazing animals on public lands today cannot compensate for the millions of
bison and elk that have been lost. Experimental plots on western rangelands from which
livestock have been excluded show a serious loss of biodiversity. Over 90 percent of the
ground is now bare, save for algae and lichen crusts. If we want public lands to be rich
in biological diversity, their riparian areas lush and productive, their rivers flowing
clear, we're going to need livestock to help simulate what once occurred naturally.
Personally, I love the land and its wildlife more than I hate livestock. Allan Savory, founding director, The Allan Savory Center for Holistic
Management
