permaculture

[Mark <mpludwig@facstaff.wisc.edu>]

Bit from a thread on an ill advised campaign of lawsuits out west to halt 
grazing on public lands.
M



> David is right, there's been quite a lot of new research that shows that
> grazing provides wildlife habitat and improves species diversity. The UN
> Food and Ag Org report mentions some of this.
> http://www.fao.org/docrep/x5303e/x5303e05.htm#grazing%20systems%20of%20the%2
> 0arid%20areas
>
> Pull quote:
>
> "livestock can improve soil and vegetation cover and plant and animal
> biodiversity, as described in this chapter's case studies of widely
> different conditions in Kenya, the western United States and Guinea. By
> removing biomass, which otherwise might provide the fuel for bush fires, by
> controlling shrub growth and by dispersing seeds through their hoofs and
> manure, grazing animals can improve plant species composition. In addition,
> trampling can stimulate grass tillering, improve seed germination and
> break-up hard soil crusts."
>
> There are still paleo-environmentalists that lack ecological knowledge that
> are still bashing cows and graziers, but there are a growing number of
> environmentalists partnering with ranchers to further improve an already
> sound system of range management. In the end good ranchers have the same
> goals as educated environmentalists, they just had a different twang in
> their speech and didn't recognize one another right away. I often chuckle a
> bit when urban enviros finally get it that ranchers have been doing what
> enviros have been talking, but that the ranchers actually understand how
> it's done. There are some researchers making a living off just listening to
> ranchers and turning that wisdom into formal papers so that the knowledge is
> available in a form acceptable to the sometimes bigoted academics and
> journalists.
>
> Regards,
> Gary Jones
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "David McCartney" <glpm1@hotmail.com>
> To: <grazersedge@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Thursday, November 07, 2002 7:38 PM
> Subject: Re: [grazersedge] Grazing suit
>
>
> >
> > >From: "dsteffen" <dsteffen@gwtc.net>
> > >
> > >David McCartney wrote:
> > > >Here's an interesting twist to this story:
> > > >I found out yesterday that NRCS has research that proves grazed lands
> > > >are better habitat for wildlife than CRP ground is.
> > >
> > >Can you give us the reference to the research?
> > >
> > >Dave Steffen
> > >South Central South Dakota
> > >
> >
> > The information came from a grazing meeting I attended recently. One of
> the
> > speakers was the head of Michigan's NRCS. He presented a lot of brand new
> > research data that has helped them to write new grazing standards for the
> > state. Part of that info showed evidence that managed grazing lands had
> more
> > wildlife activity of certain species than did CRP ground.
> >
> > David McCartney
> > Coleman MI
> >
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Mark P. Ludwig
Poultry Research Lab
University of Wisconsin -Madison
608-262-1730 WK
608-846-7125 HM