livestock grazing
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No chance of fires here–remove all vegetation and your problem with wildfire is solved. Photo George Wuerthner A recent article in the Capitol Press titled: “New game plan: How targeted grazing on public lands is changing” describes how targeted grazing can fix any problems on public lands. Not unlike how logging is often described…
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The Upper Green River flows through the center of the 170,000-acre grazing allotment on the Bridger Teton National Forest. Photo George Wuerthner A federal court recently dismissed the lawsuit initiated by The Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club, Western Watersheds Project, Alliance for the Wild Rockies, and Yellowstone to Uintas Connection to protect…
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BLM lands in Oregon. This kind of abuse of public patrimony is legalized vandalism. Photo George Wuerthner Western Watershed Project (WWP) recently completed a review of Bureau of Land Management livestock grazing permits that are supposed to be regulated under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. With climate change and the West…
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Livestock grazing in the arid West has a disproportionate impact on ecosystems. but especially on public lands which are to be managed for other values. Photo George Wuerthner Representatives Adam Smith (D-Wash.) and Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) introduced the Voluntary Grazing Permit Retirement Act of 2022. The Act would give federal grazing permit holders the chance…
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Biocrusts are important in arid ecosystems. Photo George Wuerthner Biological soil crusts, known as biocrusts, are lichens, algae, mosses, fungi, and cyanobacteria common on the soil surface.[i]They are critical to arid ecosystems, where they help to reduce soil erosion and maintain stability. They assist in water retention and act like soil mulch. They also create…
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Lowery Ruins, part of the Canyon of the Ancients National Monument. Photo George Wuerthner Livestock grazing threatens the integrity of Colorado’s Canyon of the Ancients National Monument. Located in SW Colorado near Cortez, President Clinton established the 176,000 acre Monument in 2000 to protect one of the highest concentrations of archeological sites in the West…
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Emigrant Peak and Yellowstone River in Paradise Valley. The East Paradise Grazing Decision will increase grazing by livestock on Emigrant Peak and adjacent areas of the Six Mile Creek drainage, an important area for wildlife. Photo George Wuerthner The Custer Gallatin National Forest (CGNF) recently released its decision on the future of six East…