Nevada ranchers taking on NDOW
By Will Stone, NPR
When the Nevada Department of Wildlife gave its comments on sage grouse, Ron Torell says the agency threw the livestock industry under the bus.
“We had to get their attention somehow. This did it.”
Torell is president of the Nevada Cattlemen’s Association and says NDOW’s stance on sage grouse could spell the demise for family ranches across the state. That includes the department’s support of a Bureau of Land Management plan for dealing with the possible listing of the bird as endangered. He says they handpick data and ignore the reality on the ground.
You have to be kidding me. The “Cattle Industry” is blaming Elk and Wild Horses for habitat destruction on BLM Land? Really? Why not blame the Native Americans, Wolves and Coyotes that have been “removed” from the land to make way for cows too? Everybody knows what cows do to a landscape.
They are blaming wild horses because they are a non-native and invasive pest that is destroying the range. Other than that though they are great……
Everyone wants free range beef but doesn’t want free range.
I thought it was ironic some years ago when the BLM stopped letting Native Americans adopt wild horses because they were selling them to French butcher plants.
Moral. Yes, wild horses came via the Spanish Conquistadors and cattle were introduced by I believe, Chris Columbus; both “invasive.” Elk? Deer? Antelope?
I vote for the sage grouse. Cows can go away on public lands as far as Im concerned. Cattle have ruined our public lands and its time to change that paradigm. Let the wildlife take back the range.
Most of you have your head in the sand with this issue.
If you want to see what happens to lands when cows are removed, take a hike in Meiss Meadow off Carson Pass and be aware of all the small lodge poles have grown up in the past 12 years, soon it will be a tunnel through the meadow with no more vista. The meadows will soon be lost to willows and corn flower plants.
But if you have no history of cattle in the back country, then you have nothing to relate to and that is VERY SAD.
I guess most of you want the meat dept. at your local store to close. I have a problem with that.
Well, at least no one is over-reacting or exaggerating…
Looks like the ranchers gave the NDOW the bird.
Kapich?
FROM TEH ORIGINAL ARTICLE: “By stating that only 23 percent of the critical habitat is rated as fair condition, that’s putting the blame on cattle when you have got wild horse and elk populations that are exploding; those are grazers of the land, as well.”
am I missing something in the logic of the above conclusion? BTW, biological assessments of range condition should not be subject to political debate, it’s an observation of reality – what to do about would be a political decision; then feel free to weigh in. The only reason certain groups constantly fight data collected by environmental scientists is because they no longer have the political support they once did to conduct business as usual no matter what the impact.
OVER THE HILL. Removal of the Cows from the Meiss Meadow/Big Meadow have dramatically reduced Fecal Coliform in the Upper Truckee river, which I believe is a good thing. Pine Trees in the forest… what a concept.
Actually I have extensive experience with grazing issues. I do know that cattle and elk graze differently. I also know that if there are too many elk its because there arent enough predators to thin the herd as nature intended it. The management of wildlife has been focused on eliminating predators so people can hunt these grazers for meat and sport. There are no elk in the carson valley area that im aware of, but there are deer and possibly antelope that will benefit from conservation and land set aside for the sage grouse. Maybe if the range improves the elk will come here. Maybe the wolves that are moving into calif, and the northern sierra will make it this far south and start to bring balance back to the wildlife herds, just maybe setting aside this small area for the sage grouse will make a difference. Not having cows in this small area wont hurt the cattle industry, it might actually be nice for hunters.