Re: Alternative strategies to overgrazing

Tom Hodges (thodges@beta.tricity.wsu.edu)
Fri, 27 Oct 1995 20:40:49 -0700 (PDT)

I heard the same article. They mentioned sonething about having
school children replanting native vegetation as part of restoration.
Using the area for such educational purposes and having the students
and their adult guides spend time (and money) in the nearby towns
might compensate for some lost revenue due to less ranching. It
wasn't clear that less ranching would actually occur of course.

Tom Hodges thodges@beta.tricity.wsu.edu

On Fri, 27 Oct 1995, JULIE ELFVING wrote:

> I heard on NPR this morning a piece about environmental groups
> in New Mexico, I think it was, bidding on state (not Federal)
> grazing leases in order to prevent what they consider overgrazing
> and abuse of the land. They were especially targeting stream
> corridors, which are among the most vulnerable areas in arid areas.
> The land would be left "unused". (That is, unused by cows.) The
> piece went on to air varying views of this strategy. Some oponents
> were concerned about loss of livelyhood for graziers; others
> expressed concern that there would be a loss of income from those
> lands, and therefore a loss of money flowing through the already
> poor local economies. I'd like to hear what you think about this
> strategy as a means to protect fragile western range lands? as a
> negative impact on rural communities? as...?
>