The Wildlife News

livestock grazing

  • Pygmy Rabbit Proposed For Listing Under Endangered Species Act

    George Wuerthner

      Prime pygmy rabbit sagebrush habitat along the Big Lost River where I lived while working for the Challis National Forest. Photo George Wuerthner  Years ago, I worked on the Challis National Forest and lived along the Big Lost River in Central Idaho. One of my favorite winter activities was skiing through the big sagebrush…

  • Livestock Grazing In Wilderness Areas

    George Wuerthner

    “The grazing of livestock, where established prior to the effective date of this Act, shall be permitted to continue subject to such reasonable regulations as are deemed necessary by the Secretary of Agriculture.” The Wilderness Act of 1964, Section 4(d)(4)(2) Cattle grazing designaed wilderness in the Sonoran Desert National Monument, Arizona. Photo George Wuerthner  No…

  • Voluntary Grazing Permit Retirement Act

    George Wuerthner

    Cattle grazing in the Blue Range Wilderness of New Mexico. Photo George Wuerthner Anyone who has ever worked on public lands livestock issues knows that modifying the negative impacts of ranching operations, much less eliminating them, is nearly impossible. Domestic livestock grazing even occurs in national parks, national monuments, wilderness areas, and other public lands…

  • Juniper and grasslands–How Cattle Grazing Impacts Ecosystems

    George Wuerthner

    Ungrazed juniper and grass in Sutton Mountain Proposed Wilderness, Oregon. Photo George Wuerthner  One of the most common assertions from the livestock industry and range managers is that juniper is “invading” landscapes, sucking up water that would sustain grasses, and harming wildlife. Of course, these assertions are seldom challenged. Given that grass seems absent from…

  • The Social Carbon Cost of Public Land Livestock Grazing

    George Wuerthner

    Public land livestock grazing has a significant social cost in terms of carbon emissions contributing to climate warming. Grand Staircase-Escalante NM Utah.  Photo George Wuerthner  An important paper was published in Environmental Management about the social carbon costs of public land livestock grazing. The paper Climate, Ecological, and Social Costs of Livestock Grazing on Western…

  • Senator Heinrich Will Not Reintroduce Grazing Permit Buyout Legislation

    George Wuerthner

    Livestock grazing negatively impacts more public lands in the West than any other industry. Photo George Wuerhner  Legislation that would have given the federal government authority to close grazing privileges on public lands was recently withdrawn. Grazing permit buyouts allow the federal government to close public lands to future livestock grazing permanently. New Mexico’s U.S.…

  • Another Self Serving Livestock Study Championing Targeted Grazing To Reduce Wildfire

    George Wuerthner

    Livestock grazing in the Great Basin has increased cheatgrass, a highly flammable annual grass. Livestock advocates allege targeted grazing can reduce large wildfires. Photo George Wuerthner A recent publication in the Journal of Rangeland Ecology and Management, “Evaluating the efficacy of targeted cattle grazing for fuel break creation and maintenance,” perpetuates the myth that livestock…

  • New Bison Video From Yellowstone Voices

    George Wuerthner

    Bison migrating out of Yellowstone Park where they are subject to capture or slaughter. Photo George Wuerthner  Bonnie Lynn, an activist who lives on the edge of Yellowstone Park, has produced a film that provides many voices (including me) discussing the tragic slaughter of Yellowstone’s unique bison herd. One of the people featured in the…

Subscribe to get new posts right in your Inbox

‎”At some point we must draw a line across the ground of our home and our being, drive a spear into the land and say to the bulldozers, earthmovers, government and corporations, “thus far and no further.” If we do not, we shall later feel, instead of pride, the regret of Thoreau, that good but overly-bookish man, who wrote, near the end of his life, “If I repent of anything it is likely to be my good behaviour.”

Edward Abbey

“The continued existence of wildlife and wilderness is important to the quality of life of humans.”

Jim Fowler

“Our forests offer much more than just beautiful landscapes and wildlife. Each one has a different story to tell.”

Raveena Tandon

Latest Posts

×