Cattle
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For years, I have suggested that studies conclude that livestock production (not just grazing) is one of the most significant contributors to global climate warming. However, the actual influence of livestock production on climate is obscured due to different accounting methodologies. In the most recent estimates, atmospheric CO2 level was 51 percent above that of…
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INTRODUCTION Throughout this report, I will refer to livestock grazing and production. The inclusion of production is critical because many livestock operations’ impacts involve more than cattle grazing grasslands. For instance, predator control is one consequence of livestock production, as is the production of forage crops such as alfalfa, which does not directly affect grasslands.…
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If you pay attention to livestock grazing issues on public lands, you invariably will see research promoting cattle grazing as the magic elixir that can repair damaged riparian areas, eliminate cheatgrass and other weeds, reduce wildfires, increase soil carbon storage, and improve habitat for endangered species like sage grouse. If you think this is too…
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On August 30, 2024, the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks (MDFWP) closed the Big Hole River to fishing due to high water temperatures. When water temperatures rise, cold-water fish like trout are stressed and more susceptible to disease and even being caught due to low water concentrating fish in the remaining holes. One…
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The sagebrush steppe dominates the drier parts of the West, including parts of Southeast Oregon, much of Nevada, southern Idaho, western Wyoming, western Colorado, western Utah, and parts of New Mexico. Sagebrush steppe covers 165 million acres of the West. Due to many factors, including farming, ranching, subdivisions, and, most importantly, range fires, sagebrush vegetation…
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Impacts are Equal to Population multiplied by Tools multiplied by Energy available to drive those Tools Editors Note: The Wildlife News has a history of tackling difficult and sometimes uncomfortable or disturbing topics. This may be one for you… For those of us who care about our public lands and wildlife, we need to pull…
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The BOSH project in southern Idaho ultimately plans to destroy tens of thousands of acres of juniper woodlands on BLM lands. BOSH stands for Bruneau-Owyhee Sagebrush Habitat Project. The advocates of the BOSH project use pejorative language to characterize the Juniper clearing from the landscape. Terms like “restoring” the “natural” condition of the land assume…
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The seminal work on public lands livestock grazing and its web of impacts, Welfare Ranching – The Subsidized Destruction of the American West is now available for download.
