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Show PAGE 20 THE ZEPHYRAUGUST 89 The Multiple Abuse Off Oust Public Lauds by Bill Howard "Yah, and so are cowboys out riding the range, herding their cattle. But, I don't see many up here, fighting the bugs and breathing the smell of rancid cow manure so that their cattle dont over graze these delicate meadows!" I was getting warmed up. Living with gnats and the smell of manure can do that to you. . Tom laughed and said, "Well, cowboys have gotten smarter over the years. They leave the back country to the bugs, the backpackers and the fishermen. "And rangers, I reminded him. We walked over to assess the damage to my water box and watershed. The entire meadow was pock marked with deep hoof prints, now filled with rancid water,' perfect breeding grounds for mosquitoes. I reached Into my water box with a cup. "Care for a drink? I was watching television recently and to my surprise the slick Image of James Watt appeared on the screen. He was tensely explaining to a Washington committee how accepting three hundred thousand dollars was the "going rate for arranging a H.U.D. contract to go to a particular company to build low cost housing; low cost that Is except to us tax payers who have to foot the I bill. thought, You haven't changed a bit since you headed up the of the Interior under Ronnie Reagan during hie first administraDepartment tion. Then you would have sold the American people's national Inheritance, or even the lowest bidder tor (our public lands) to the highest bidder that matter. All you have ever been Interested In are quick profits without concern for long term consequences. Yes sir, you and Ronnie have left us quite a legacy. But, what concerns me most Is that your programs and attitudes In many Instances are still with us. Ed Abbey once said that he had met a lot of good people when he worked for the Forest and Park Services. He said, In effect, that the people who do the work are far. better than the agencies that they work for. And that the agencies all too frequently were committed to polices that their Individual members strongly disagreed with. This couldn't be more true. A few years ago during the first cycle of "Cow wars, I had the good fortune to meet two men who were employees of the Forest Service. Both were young and well educated In conservation, forestry, botany and zoology. At that time, Ed and I had been talking about the drastic effects of grazing In Jimmy, I -- ... asked. "Oh, no thanks, I drank before I left town, Tom said. "But you go right ahead. Don't mind me." The more I was with Tom, the more I liked him. We walked over the ridge Into the meadows administered by the forest service to see how grazing had Impacted the flora of the area. "How many cow pies do you figure a cow drops In a single day? I asked. "Hard to say. I don't believe anyones ever thought to count 'em, Tom said. ' We both laughed. "I'm sure that there's money In IL Somebody's bound to give grant money for such a study. After all, how else could we tell how we are Impacting upon the Insect world and contamination of our ground water supply? Just how In cow one does a season? many pies drop "One Is too many, Tom replied as he slapped a biting fly on his neck. We walked down Into the public domain meadows. It was obvious to us both that , . they had been over grazed. It had been a very dry year and the grassee had never got a chance to take hold before the cattle began to graze and to crush them under hoof. There were Indications everywhere of various stages of w -- e our national forests. And since I live up In the La Sal forest, I could see first hand how grazing was Impacting upon the fragile ecosystem which surrounded me. Well, to make a long story short, Ed wrote an article while he was staying out at Pack Creek that really went for the Jugular vein of the Issue. Needless to say he Incensed half of the population of Moab and sent the Forest Service Into panic. Ed really knew how to throw gas on a fire. That year was an election year and I was hoping to run a series of articles on how grazing was Impacting on the public domain and hopefully putting the cow and fencing Issue on the ballot But after Ed's scathing article, there weren't any bridges left standing. Small towns are delicate things. And when half the town Isn't talking to the other, they aren't much fun to live In. But, what did come out of It was that I had the good fortune to meed Tom and Tony who worked for the Forest Service administering the La Sals. Tom had stopped by my place during his rounds and I brought up the grazing problem and how It was Impossible to keep the cattle from Invkilng private property In the forest Cattle which appear docile and manageable down on the flats and In rancher'a fields, became wild and uncontrollable when they were released In the mountains. It didn't matter whether you had fences. They would break through them to get to more lush grasses and protected springs. Tom and I went for a walk and I showed him what the cattle were doing to my meadows and how they were contaminating my water supply. Large areas of top soli were eroding away and gullies were forming where the cattle had made Rains tall hard on the forest trails. And since the land Is sloping It doesn't take much for a trail to turn Into a useless gully. downward, Tom made note of the damage, of the Infestation of biting flies and gnats that breed and feed on cow pies and cattle when they cant get good human blood. We talked about how we were changing the ecosystem drastically and how this Increased Infestation of Insects Impacted upon the deer and other animals of the ecosystem as well as any picnicker, backpacker or bike rider who happened by. "How can you call this multiple use? I asked him, "when no one In his right mind can be In the same area without being eaten aHvel Tom shrugged. It would be a hard thing "Its been going on for a long time, he said. to change. Running cattle runs deep In the American dream. It's part of the myth of the wild wesL k,- - erosion. "See this thistle, Tom pointed out "Its a good Indication of over grazing." "I have a question," I said. "If cattle only eat certain grasses and leave others behind, don't they select out the grasses and plants they cant eat? I mean, the plants that they don't eat will have a better chance to seed and produce future generations at the expense of the edible varieties, so eventually, the cattle destroy their own feeding habitat." "You have a point there, said Tom. "But try and tell that to the powers of the Forest Service. This Is Watt era, remember? "But you told me yourself that the fees collected from grazing dont even cover the cost to administer the program. Tom locked t me for a moment "Dldnt you hear what I just said? he asked. "In the Watt era, any revenue Is good revenue. We walked on quietly together. That pretty much said It alL In the Watt era we as tax payers were subsidizing a program with our tax dollars that was actually destroying the quality of our national As cattlemen became richer and could afford more forests. cattle, the would escalate. process As we returned to my cabin I proffered one more thought I wonder If this is what happened to the vast forests that surrounded the Mediterranean and the middle East? The forests were all chopped down for their wood, Ive been told. Then the climate changed because the trees were gone that retained the moisture. And then the erosion began In earnest, and the land was only good for grazing sheep. The people became poorer and the sheep ate anything that yrdWa I dldnt see Tom again after that day. He and his wife were transferred the vast bureaucracy of the Forest Service. But I am thankful that men like him still exist and have chosen to remain within the Institution. Think what It would be like If only the Watts remained. Tony Is gone too. I met him about the same time. He was In charge of administering the grazing program. In the La Sal mountains. Tony was a handsome, Intelligent Chlcano, a mountain climber at heart. At first, we were at odds because his Job was to administer a program that I felt was seriously undermining the quality of the public domain In the forests. The way It was being administered went against the grain of the principal off The Interests of the many were being sacrificed for the Multiple Use. on In |