The Wildlife News

livestock grazing

  • Juniper and grasslands–How Cattle Grazing Impacts Ecosystems

    George Wuerthner

    Ungrazed juniper and grass in Sutton Mountain Proposed Wilderness, Oregon. Photo George Wuerthner  One of the most common assertions from the livestock industry and range managers is that juniper is “invading” landscapes, sucking up water that would sustain grasses, and harming wildlife. Of course, these assertions are seldom challenged. Given that grass seems absent from…

  • The Social Carbon Cost of Public Land Livestock Grazing

    George Wuerthner

    Public land livestock grazing has a significant social cost in terms of carbon emissions contributing to climate warming. Grand Staircase-Escalante NM Utah.  Photo George Wuerthner  An important paper was published in Environmental Management about the social carbon costs of public land livestock grazing. The paper Climate, Ecological, and Social Costs of Livestock Grazing on Western…

  • Senator Heinrich Will Not Reintroduce Grazing Permit Buyout Legislation

    George Wuerthner

    Livestock grazing negatively impacts more public lands in the West than any other industry. Photo George Wuerhner  Legislation that would have given the federal government authority to close grazing privileges on public lands was recently withdrawn. Grazing permit buyouts allow the federal government to close public lands to future livestock grazing permanently. New Mexico’s U.S.…

  • Another Self Serving Livestock Study Championing Targeted Grazing To Reduce Wildfire

    George Wuerthner

    Livestock grazing in the Great Basin has increased cheatgrass, a highly flammable annual grass. Livestock advocates allege targeted grazing can reduce large wildfires. Photo George Wuerthner A recent publication in the Journal of Rangeland Ecology and Management, “Evaluating the efficacy of targeted cattle grazing for fuel break creation and maintenance,” perpetuates the myth that livestock…

  • New Bison Video From Yellowstone Voices

    George Wuerthner

    Bison migrating out of Yellowstone Park where they are subject to capture or slaughter. Photo George Wuerthner  Bonnie Lynn, an activist who lives on the edge of Yellowstone Park, has produced a film that provides many voices (including me) discussing the tragic slaughter of Yellowstone’s unique bison herd. One of the people featured in the…

  • Voluntary Grazing Retirement Could Reduce Wildfire In The West

    George Wuerthner

    Livestock is one of the major factors in cheatgrass invasion across the West. Photo George Wuerthner  Wildfire is a big issue in Western states. As climate warming has increased temperatures, created severe drought, and increased winds, wildfire has become more challenging to control, and the annual acreage burned is growing over the recent past (…

  • Time to Assess Sec of Interior Deb Haaland

    George Wuerthner

      When Deb Haaland was nominated for the position of Secretary of Interior, I received dozens of emails from nearly every large conservation organization to support her nomination. She was appointed without having any particular experience or background in public lands issues and limited executive experience in running major federal land management agencies such as…

  • BLM To Continue To Permit Livestock Degradation to San Pedro National Conservation Area

    George Wuerthner

    Changes in the riparian vegetation along the San Pedro River before and after livestock removal from the main river corridor.  The Bureau of Land Management released its Environmental Assessment for livestock grazing in the San Pedro National Conservation Area (SPNCA) in Arizona. The BLM has decided that the rancher’s interests trump the public interest in…

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‎”At some point we must draw a line across the ground of our home and our being, drive a spear into the land and say to the bulldozers, earthmovers, government and corporations, “thus far and no further.” If we do not, we shall later feel, instead of pride, the regret of Thoreau, that good but overly-bookish man, who wrote, near the end of his life, “If I repent of anything it is likely to be my good behaviour.”

Edward Abbey

“The continued existence of wildlife and wilderness is important to the quality of life of humans.”

Jim Fowler

“Our forests offer much more than just beautiful landscapes and wildlife. Each one has a different story to tell.”

Raveena Tandon

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