Messing with Nature and Calling it Range Management
Purple threeawn
“While native plants are adapted to thrive in our region, they don’t always provide the best forage for livestock or wildlife. But what if you could change that? What if you could convert bad forage to good? That’s the question Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist Lance Vermeire asked when studying purple threeawn, a decidedly less than…”
Source: www.roundupweb.com
GR: The ignorance displayed by this range manager is shocking. It should remind us all that focusing too closely on a single goal can cause us to overlook critical alternatives. This article describes an instance where managing nature to benefit domestic livestock creates a willingness to take chances. Range managers have gambled on new techniques and new species for many years. They ignore negative possibilities and focus on their goal—more food for cows or sheep. They do not consider ecosystem responses to their new techniques. They do not consider the effects on on soil microorganisms, and they do not worry about future invasion potential. The result if similar “range management” has been the loss of more than 100-million acres of productive native grasslands and shrublands in the western U. S.
Go here to read more about the results of foolhardy management of rangelands.
