Tag: irrigation

  • Key Impacts of Livestock Production (not just grazing) Upon the Land.

    The ecological impacts of livestock production is significant and there is seldom a full accounting of these costs. Photo George Wuerthner  Livestock is responsible for more ecological damage to the western landscape than any other human activity. However, few accounting of these impacts is ever compiled. One source is my book Welfare Ranching–the Subsidized Destruction…

  • The Real Cost of a Hamburger

    The cost of a hamburger does not reflect the cost of this cowbombed land in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. Photo George Wuerthner  Do you know what a Big Mac costs? If you say $4.50 or whatever the current price posted at the McDonald’s restaurant may be, you are vastly under-estimating the real price. That’s…

  • Deschutes River Habitat Conservation Plan Fails to Address Climate Change

    Upper Deschutes River is essentially an irrigation cancel for irrigators. Photo George Wuerthner The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will soon decide whether to approve a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) for the Deschutes River Basin. The HCP was initiated by local irrigators and the city of Prineville who want to maintain their privilege of using…

  • Ag is the Biggest Threat to Biodiversity and Ecosystems

    Most land trusts and many conservation groups frequently ignore the impacts of Agriculture and focus on urbanization and sprawl as the main threat to biodiversity and ecosystems. A good example is the Teton Land Trust, Idaho. A recent story about their board president, John Nedrow, a farmer, talks about how he put a conservation easement…

  • Low Flows Due to Irrigation Destroying Deschutes River

    The recent article “Low Flows On Deschutes” highlights why irrigation is a significant threat to our river’s ecological integrity. https://www.bendbulletin.com/localstate/environment/sudden-drops-in-deschutes-river-worries-biologists/article_c0f8df66-e3df-11ea-8d00-53d8f511683c.html The majority of water removed from the Deschutes is used to grow irrigated pasture and hay for livestock not crops consumed directly by humans.  Photo by George Wuerthner   According to the report, flows on…

  • Landscape Amnesia And The Deschutes River

    Endangered Oregon spotted frog habitat dried up by changes in river flow to accommodate the irrigation district. Photo George Wuerthner   I took a run along the Deschutes River in Bend’s Riverbend Park the other day. The one thing I noticed is that the river is nearly opaque. You can see down maybe 2 feet,…

  • Deschutes River water removal is a privilege not right

    The Deschutes River was once one of the gems of the West. Due to numerous springs, its flow was nearly constant throughout the year. Clean and cold, it supported huge numbers of native trout, and other associated wildlife like the river otter, mink, bald eagles, and Oregon spotted frog. Sadly, the river has been degraded…

  • Greater Yellowstone Coalition: Wildlife Friendly or Rancher Friendly?

    Stream dried up for irrigation of livestock forage. Photo by George Wuerthner Recently the Greater Yellowstone Coalition (GYC) announced they were working to reduce the wildlife impacts of fences. Not by removing the fences, but by changing the wire on them to facilitate easier wildlife passage. Fences, as GYC, noted hinder wildlife migrations, and in…

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