More Reasonable Approach To Grazing Debate

I recall when I worked at a Cattlemen’s Association in the early 90s the anti-grazing activists had a saying, “Cattle Free by 93” in reference to halting grazing on public lands. At that time, there were radical fractions working very hard to stop public grazing. Now fast forward nearly 25 years later and University of California Davis Extension Rangeland Watershed Specialist Dr. Ken Tate says that the pendulum has swung towards a more reasonable approach.
Tate: “There are a lot of new stakeholder groups and conservation groups engaged in this discussion of grazing in the Western United States. There are a lot of players now who are in the game now that weren’t there that are moderate. They are big kids. They just want to solve problems. They are looking for opportunities for win-wins. So I think that is positive. There extremes are there — they won’t ever go away. But I think there are a lot more people who are willing to find a solution that achieves multiple goals and I think that is encouraging.”
For those of us who have been involved in the public grazing issue for multiple decades — it is definitely encouraging to find those people who want to improve wildlife habitat, and water quality education as well as reducing fire fuel that also recognize that livestock grazing can be an important tool in achieving those goals.