To better understand Bundy: "Welfare Ranching: The Subsidized Destruction of the American West"

[villager]

Environmental groups in the West -- at least those not trying to buddy up to Washington -- have been trying to sound alarms about the destruction caused by Welfare Ranching to public lands -- lands that most of that very public mistakenly assume are in "wild" (i.e., "pristine&quot condition.

This book has been around awhile, but it's a great primer on the subject:




http://www.amazon.com/Welfare-Ranching-Subsidized-Destruction-American/dp/1559639423

Welfare Ranching reveals the deplorable practices that are ripping apart the ecological fabric of the arid West, where subsidized livestock grazing occurs on more than 300 million acres of publicly owned land. The book offers a graphic look at the consequences of using taxpayer dollars to turn the West into a giant feedlot for cattle and sheep - the slaughter of predators, a growing number of endangered species, polluted rivers and streams, an increase in soil erosion, and weed invasion, to name just a few.

Through dramatic photographs and scientifically supported essays, the book shows that wherever cattle are grazing at the public trough, severe and sometimes irreversible ecological damage results. Fauna of all kinds are extirpated, endangered, or driven to extinction; riparian zones are trammeled and degraded; introductions of exotic grasses and foiled mitigation attempts abound. For years the true impacts of livestock grazing have gone unnoticed as the landscape has been altered slowly over time, making the changes difficult to discern. With more than 150 powerful photographs, Welfare Ranching vividly illustrates the difference between lands appropriated for livestock production and the spectacular deserts, grasslands and forests that have been protected from its shattering effects. Essays by leading scientists, historians, and economic and policy experts - including Edward Abbey, Joy Belsky, Carl Bock, John Carter, Thomas Fleischner, Terrence Frest, and T.H. Watkins - document the many costs of ranching on public lands.

Welfare Ranching is testimony to an environmental tragedy but it is also an expression of hope that America's heritage of wild and vibrant western landscapes will be restored and renewed. It offers a clear path toward healing mpre than a century of reckless ranching in the arid West - towards a new West with a healthy and living landscape, the revival of extirpated species, and beautiful testimony to true human values.

[Kali]

1. good review

11 of 27 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars Major Setback for Resource Coalition-Building, February 1, 2004
By
further_north (MILES CITY, MT United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Welfare Ranching: The Subsidized Destruction Of The American West (Paperback)
I found this book while browsing at Cody's in Berkeley last week. It's big. It's colorful. It's angry. And sadly, it's packed full of deception. The problem is that if you live in Staten Island, NY you won't know that you're being decieved unless you've spent a lot of time visiting Nevada's Great Basin and watching the seasons change.
Two examples (among many):
- Lots of close-in photos of range cattle in late-summer condition standing near a water tank with cowpies scattered all over the bone-dry vicinity and not a blade of grass in sight. The fact is that if you zoom-out about 50 yds. you'll see a major difference between the heavily-tracked barren ground surrounding the water trough and the grazing allotment outside of the perimeter. Ditto for a different time of year. The perception is that the entire range is bone-dry, overstocked, and full of cowpies. Not true. The stocking rate on that sort of range is 1 cow for every 250 acres. Lots of room for a cow, her calf, and a few of their cowpies.
- An aerial photo designed to discount the idea of ranching as a natural defense against urban sprawl is taken high above the Gallatin Valley in Montana - the source of urban sprawl would be Bozeman. The photo shows several thousand acres of ranches, mainly irrigated alfalfa farms. The point of the photo is, "well, obviously there's no sprawl here." The problem?Bozeman isn't even captured in the photo! So, the photo is a lie that would make even George Orwell blush.
I'm an environmental activist. I think there's no more important issue facing our time than preventing a head-on collision with ecological catastrophe. So, it disappoints me greatly when a book like this is bankrolled and released by someone like Doug Tompkins, co-founder of Esprit, especially after his success with "Fatal Harvest".
His credibility on this particular issue has been lost. More importantly, much of the hard work of building consensus among stakeholders in public lands coalitions has been vanquished because one green element decided to lie shamelessly to further its agenda of removing livestock from public lands. The hurt feelings and distrust will take years to mend, I'm afraid.
This book should remain on the shelf.

[villager]

2. Not really. Welfare ranching is still welfare ranching, despite that reviewer's hardon

...for Doug Tompkins.

Since the reviewer is clueless about the work of George Wuerthner, the vendetta-masking-as-"review" pretty much speaks for itself.

But -- thanks for keeping this bumped!

[Kali]

3. curious exactly what makes it "welfare" in your view

(full disclosure - I am a rancher, even have a "public land" BLM permit for 8 whole AUs. Tomorrow we can talk about my welfare benefits LOL)

[villager]

4. Actually, people can read the book online, in segments, right here:

http://www.publiclandsranching.org/book.htm

That will go into more detail about the pitfalls of the Federal government subsidizing cow forage on public lands.

Not least of all because bison -- not cows evolved in Asia -- are best adapted for Western grasslands.

And that's just for starters.

Much, much more at the link.

Appreciate the full disclosure.

[Kali]

5. ah, well unless you are one of the authors I was hoping to have an actual conversation.

there is not much difference between domestic cattle and bison biologically (they can produce fertile offspring even) other than cattle are a little easier to manage. However whatever damage (or good) cows can do, bison can do the same so to me that is not really much of an argument.

(more recent genetic work indicates domestic cattle originated in what is now southeastern Turkey, but yes the progenitors ranged from Europe to Asia)

But back to the subject at hand, welfare ranching. Most commonly the term refers to the supposedly cheap rates paid by public lands ranchers. They are lower than rates paid for private lands for a number of reasons. The main ones usually have to do with remoteness and lack of water and infrastructure. With a private lease there are often guarantees on weight gains and security. Fencing, pens, water and even supplemental feed may be provided. Sometimes the land owner will provide ALL the care, including veterinary and branding or other "handling" jobs. You don't get that with federal leases. SOMETIMES you may get some help with water or fencing, but usually it is within the scope of an overall management plan that takes into consideration many other factors, such as wildlife and recreation uses.

Add to those differences the issues of multiple use and the fact that the rancher is usually the only human steward available on a regular basis and that he/she is expected to police, rescue, clean and maintain vast acreages that other humans feel little need to do other than visit occasionally or worse (tear up, set fires, dump trash or worse kinds of waste, vandalize plants, land, mineral and infrastructure etc etc)

So for perspective, those "low" fees need to be compared to all the FREE services that public lands rancher actually provides. Personally I would be happy to pay "private" rates if I could claim the hours I put in doing non-ranch work that benefits the environment and the public.

[villager]

6. "lack of water" means that cows shouldn't be grazing there in the first place.

And never mind that bison, wolves, bears, etc., are all shot/killed on these "public" lands to make it safe for the welfare ranchers to begin with.

As for the biology of bison vs. the Asiatic cow (evolved in a wetter climate, and and thus unsuitable for unleashing where there is "lack of water&quot , I will trust Weurthner's biology (and his experience as a former BLM and NPS ranger) on the subject...