A little Grazing Debate

[TheTone]

I'm not a huge grazing fan, thanks to a few on here "showing me the light" so to speak, and couldn't believe this piece of info. Couldn't this money be better spent and the land be put to better use, such as game habitiat?

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9883848/

 

[Ithaca 37]

It not only costs us $123 million bucks, the welfare ranchers destroy good wildlife habitat. Any idea what % of BLM is in poor condition due to grazing?

 

[Nemont]

“We have many programs that cost us more ... to operate than we take in,” Hughes said. “It’s never been our mission to be run totally like a business.”

Ranching on the millions of acres of public lands has been a mainstay of western life for more than a century. Ranchers pay a fee often based on the amount of grass and other vegetation their cows will eat. The agencies spend the money on managing permits and leases, building fences and developing water projects, among other activities.

Jeff Eisenberg, executive director of the Public Lands Council, which advocates for ranchers, said the numbers in the report don’t represent the whole picture. The benefits of maintaining a way of life and keeping land free from development are difficult to quantify, he said.

I am well aware of those on the board that think all the ranchers do is sit back and collect the big bucks but there are some other issues tied to public lands grazing.

Should grazing end on public lands? No
Should the land be required to be in good condition? Yes
Should the AUM price rise to cover the cost of the programs? Most likely it should.

The issue is much more complicated then most of the anti grazing crowd believe. Sometimes the public land ranchers are their own worst enemy. They do stupid things for stupid reasons. There are other times that the opposition is just as stupid with their attitudes and one size fits all solutions.

If you believe that the law creating public lands grazing was ever meant to cover all the cost associated with it then go change the law. That is as easy as finding a sponsor and getting it rammed through the congress. I agree that the laws on the condition of the range need to be enforced and often are not enforced at all and that needs to change.

I won't even get into the issue of taxation, property values, etc. It simply is not as easy as those who hate cows grazing make it sound. Just remember if "they" can end grazing on public lands, "they" also can end hunting public lands.

Nemont

 

[1_pointer]

I'd bet good money that the same stat, money brought in vs money spent, would be even more suprising if you looked at the National Park system.

 

[mtmiller]

Come on pointer, step to the plate on this one. I would be interested in your opinion.

 

[MarvB]

Tyler- That last sentence is spot on and something that has been hotly debated...at least in these parts, when they pumped up the local user fees here a few years back!

Here's an interesting view point, albeit somewhat dated, from the Thoreau Institute on just that:

Park Service Reform

 

[BigHornRam]

Nemont,

How are you going to start a good pissin match with common sense straight talk like that?

 

[1_pointer]

miller, you know my opinion. What's the ratio of money generated vs money spent on wildlife by the BLM??