From V.M. Jennings. 1997. Grazing the Hill. Rangelands 19(5): 31.
"One of the lessons in life I vividly recall was as a participant on an agricultural travel course in the late fifties sponsored by Iowa State University. One of our stops was on a 40,000 acre sheep rance near Wagon Mound, N.M. The rancher told us that there are some things you need to remember as you go through life. He related a story.
It seems the rancher wanted to raise more sheep on his ranch. So he invited in a specialist to give him advice. The specialist told him the reason he couldn't raise more sheep was because of coyotes and recommended setting up bait stations to kill the coyotes. After five years, with the coyote population greatly diminished, he still found he couldn't raise more sheep.
Another specialist came and evaluated the situation. He said, "The reason you can't raise more sheep is due to jack rabbits, since five rabbits can eat as much as one sheep." The rancher then asked, "What should I do?" The specialist replied, "It might be best to restock the area with coyotes!"
The rancher's advice was, "Whenever you solve a problem you may create a new problem. And whether or not you solve a problem depends on how big the new problem is you creat"
This one's from Dr. Neil West during a lecture on Regional Terrestial Ecosystems on 1/7/03 when talking about wildlands:
"Uses of the land will change with societal demands, but what won't change is the understanding of the ecological principles used to manage the landscape."
Before someone pegs Dr. West as an egghead prof, he was raised on a ranch and has spent most of his 38yr. career as a prof. working on dryland ecosystems with particular emphasis on grazing management and monitoring.
Just thought I'd share these with ya, as both quotes hold more than a grain of truth in them for me.
"One of the lessons in life I vividly recall was as a participant on an agricultural travel course in the late fifties sponsored by Iowa State University. One of our stops was on a 40,000 acre sheep rance near Wagon Mound, N.M. The rancher told us that there are some things you need to remember as you go through life. He related a story.
It seems the rancher wanted to raise more sheep on his ranch. So he invited in a specialist to give him advice. The specialist told him the reason he couldn't raise more sheep was because of coyotes and recommended setting up bait stations to kill the coyotes. After five years, with the coyote population greatly diminished, he still found he couldn't raise more sheep.
Another specialist came and evaluated the situation. He said, "The reason you can't raise more sheep is due to jack rabbits, since five rabbits can eat as much as one sheep." The rancher then asked, "What should I do?" The specialist replied, "It might be best to restock the area with coyotes!"
The rancher's advice was, "Whenever you solve a problem you may create a new problem. And whether or not you solve a problem depends on how big the new problem is you creat"
This one's from Dr. Neil West during a lecture on Regional Terrestial Ecosystems on 1/7/03 when talking about wildlands:
"Uses of the land will change with societal demands, but what won't change is the understanding of the ecological principles used to manage the landscape."
Before someone pegs Dr. West as an egghead prof, he was raised on a ranch and has spent most of his 38yr. career as a prof. working on dryland ecosystems with particular emphasis on grazing management and monitoring.
Just thought I'd share these with ya, as both quotes hold more than a grain of truth in them for me.
