ORVs were kicked out of monument; the real damage is grazing-
This is apparently, though a good place to find the bleached bones of cattle, a common visual theme of cartoons of people lost in the desert.
Inane official, public actions scar Sonoran monument. By Linda Valdez. The Arizona Republic
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Update. Link to WWP Arizona Office. Great photo of cattle in Sonoran Desert National Monument 🙁
Ralph Maughan
Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University with specialties in natural resource politics, public opinion, interest groups, political parties, voting and elections. Aside from academic publications, he is author or co-author of three hiking/backpacking guides, and he is past President of the Western Watersheds Project and the creator of The Wildlife News.
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I’ve been to the Sonoran Monument, and the writer aptly describes the damage cattle are doing to the desert.
“Much of what I saw reminded me of a Wile E. Coyote cartoon in which the desert is a sandy and barren place dotted with scrubby cactuses and cow skulls”.
The BLM Manager Hanson is classic – whining about not enough funding. Well, if there is not enough funding, then the first thing you should do is to cut the grazing – since on the average just administering a permit alone costs taxpayers 5 -6 times as much as the rancher pays in near-free grazing fees.
I agree – you hear a lot about “not enough fundind” to protect grazed landscapes. It’s rediculous. If there’s not enough money to monitor or conserve then there’s not enough money to permit use.. Period.