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Show Holistic Management: Answers To Our Western Dilemmas By Brad VanDyke Part Two of a Series Prominent environmentalists seek the end of the ranching lifestyle in the American West, viewing it as inherently destructive destruc-tive to natural ecosystems. Proponents of a new management manage-ment model claim on the contrary con-trary that grazing animals are essential to the health of Western landscapes. The problem is not livestock, says Allan Savory, developer of the Holistic Management TM model. Savory claims overrest is at least as big a problem for Western rangeland as overgrazing. overgraz-ing. Timing and herd density are more important than stocking stock-ing rates, which can often be increased to the benefit of the land. A plan to remove all livestock from 257 million acres of U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands has been endorsed by some 145 environmental groups. Rep. Christopher Shays, (R-Conn.), is expected shortly to introduce a bill to Congress supporting this plan, called the "Voluntary Grazing Permit Buyout Act of 2003." If the plan succeeds, it would help bring to a bitter end the decades-old "range wars" between environmentalists and Western land users. Prominent environmental groups hold that grazing by domestic animals is responsible for the destruction of Western ecosystems. Both Democrat and Republican politicians have been shifting towards the creed of the "New West," in which so-called so-called "extractive" rural economies are replaced by scenic sce-nic tourism and recreation services serv-ices for urban "global information" informa-tion" populations. Environmental Environ-mental groups argue that besides being ecologically destructive, Western ranching is no longer economically viable. T'ain't necessarily so, according to proponents of the Holistic Management model. Steve Rich, a management consultant, con-sultant, biologist and lifelong rancher from Kanab, claims that with the model ranchers can "optimize profit while improving improv-ing the resource base." Rich says he's often criticized for being too "Green", but he takes issue with notions from both sides of the political fray. Rich has consulted for years with the highly successful Deseret Ranch in northern Utah, which is owned by an enterprise of the LDS Church. The ranch holds only 1 percent of Utah's potential sage grouse habitat, yet it harbors 20 percent of the state's sage grouse population. Rich contrasts the lush vegetation vege-tation at the Deseret Ranch with that of some of the West's national parks. Of the Grand Canyon, he comments, "It's been rested for 50 years, and there's less grass there now than I when the park was designated." The holistically managed U-Bar U-Bar Ranch in New Mexico harbors har-bors 200 breeding pairs of endangered willow flycatchers. The birds aren't seen on the nearby wildlife preserves, according to Rich. Such examples exam-ples contradict a popular notion that the government is always a better land steward than are private pri-vate owners. Rich recently paid a visit to North Dakota, where ranchers using Holistic Management are making'20 percent net profits on their investment. He believes similar results are possible in his native south-central Utah, and that application of the model would regenerate both the regional economy and the land. Key insights of the Holistic Management perspective are: ' The people, products, and resource base of any organization organiza-tion are a unified whole, and every aspect affects every other aspect. Actions taken without consideration of this fact may have unforeseen consequences. Landscapes with erratic precipitation pre-cipitation (like the West) are damaged by overrest. They need periodic disturbance in order for vegetation to regenerate. regener-ate. High numbers of herding animals, concentrated and mov-. ing as they do in the presence of predators, are vital to the health of the brittle lands we once (See MANAGEMENT on p. 3) Management From Front Page thought they destroyed. Humans can fill the predator role to recreate the natural herd behavior. Overgrazing is not the product prod-uct of the number of animals, but rather of the timing of their exposure to plants. The most important thing is envisioning a comprehensive, three-part goal including quality of life, forms of production, and the future resource base desired. "It all derives from the quality of life part," explains Rich. The model itself is a decisionmaking decision-making framework that, together togeth-er with the comprehensive goal, keeps the operation on target. The framework includes a series of testing questions that every decision must pass through to assure that it leads toward the goal. While the timed, intense grazing graz-ing used in Holistic Management Manage-ment sounds revolutionary, it's actually more conservative than the rest-rotation system recommended recom-mended by the government, claims Rich. Grazing areas are divided to concentrate the herd. Movable electric fencing and live herders are among possible tools used to create natural herd behaviors. The first severely grazed grass plants in an area are flagged. Several ungrazed plants are covered with a wire cage. When the flagged plants have grown enough to be rebit-ten, rebit-ten, the animals are moved. They aren't returned until the bitten plants reach the same physiological stage as the caged ones. Junegrass or cheatgrass is perceived as an invasive competitor com-petitor to forage plants as well as a fire hazard. Using the model, the "Cause and Effect" testing question is asked to see if a proposed pro-posed action treats symptoms or root causes of the problem. Annual grasses are a symptom of degraded soils. "It's a non-problem," non-problem," says Rich. "I can make money, fixing it." The remedy for the soils is animal impact, and grazing timed to promote the growth of perennial grasses. "Mormon crickets are a (See MANAGEMENT on p. 4) Holistic Management From Page 3A symptom of bare ground." The bare ground is treated by the impact of a bunched herd. Trampling of dead standing vegetation veg-etation and wastes into the soil increases organic matter and moisture, stimulating a fungus that destroys the insects' eggs. "Outbreaks are fewer and farther far-ther between." Government spraying programs pro-grams are often quite wasteful, according to Allan Savory. They don't treat the cause (bare ground) and often fail the "Weak Link" test. The weakest link in the insects' life cycle in this case is the egg or nymph stage. Billions are spent on dams in the West to catch the spring runoff. These federal projects become a pretext for further land-use restrictions. The "Marginal Reaction" test asks if we are "getting the biggest bang for our buck." Holistic managers throughout the West are finding that their lands are becoming vast reservoirs. reser-voirs. Increased vegetation and improved soils allow better water infiltration. Springs and streams dry for generations are returning; On holistically managed ground in North Dakota, the active soil horizon is 40 inches deep, compared to 4 inches on continuously grazed land. Water infiltration has increased 800 percent , over that of ungrazed land. At the Deseret Ranch, the Saleratus Creek Bridge used to flood out, every spring after snowmeTt' Rich reports that the creek now raises only about an inch, and doesn't change color from sediment load. Flow is much more even, and the aquifer has risen during drought. In areas of the West like rural Utah where water rights are a source of continual friction, the implications are enormous. Contacts: Steve Rich, (801) 582-0428, stevenhrichcom-cast.net stevenhrichcom-cast.net Center for Holistic Management, www.holistic-management.org www.holistic-management.org Rural Utahns For Local Solutions, 435-462-4575, fed-soff89yahoo.com |