cattle in a wilderness unit??

[schmalts]

Thats what we had in a wilderness unit in NM where i was hunting. You cant take a mountain bike in there but they can graze cattle to compete with the elk feed. Do you think its right???

 

[JoseCuervo]

Of course it is Right!!!! Cattle are the most important part of any Forest, as they are important to critical range management. Also, the cattle on public lands contribute to the Rural Economies, and keep this great country what it is.

Sheesh, I can't even believe we would be discussing whether it is fine for cattle to be overgrazing public lands.

 

[1_pointer]

Grazing can occur in a Wilderness Area or a National Park if it was in the charter. I for one think that wilderness areas should not be grazed.

 

[BigHornyRam]

Schmalts,

Winter range is the limiting factor for the elk, not summer range. If wilderness has an existing grazing lease, I am all for it. If you do not like cattle grazing in this or other wilderness areas, I would suggest you ear mark some of YOUR dollars to be used to buyout these allotments. A number of organizations have done this already in critical wildlife habitat. They include FNAWS and RMEF. Donate some money to them and let them know what you would like them to do with it.

Paul

 

[whitedeer]

schmalts.....The Wilderness Act of 1964 specifically allows for cattle grazing to continue in designated Wilderness Areas where it does not harm natural resources or adversely affect recreational values. So...if you oppose grazing in Wilderness Areas, send a letter to the Supervisor of the National Forest in which the Wilderness Area is contained explaining specifically the reasons why the cattle should be removed, and these are the reasons why the allotment should be permanently retired. Pictures enclosed along with the letter will carry more weight. If enough letters are received from individuals it will at least merit consideration. As an owner who grazes 200 cow-calf pairs every summer on personal property, I do not support the grazing of cattle in Wilderness Areas, and do not think it is right.

 

[FEW]

I found a place up in northen AZ where a ranchers lease bordered a wilderness area and the cattle (I assume) broke through the rusty old fence and were grazing and shitting all over the wilderness area. I found what was left behind but did not see the cows in there. I think they may have gone to lower ground after they trashed all the flat ground in the wilderness area. It is too bad they left because I was curious whether or not I could get a complete passthrough on one of them fat SOBs. I figured a dead cow in the wilderness area would send a good message to the rancher to fix his shitty fences...

 

[whitedeer]

We never find any cattle in the Wilderness Areas during hunting season, but......we always can find a "slow elk" that makes for great camp meat!

 

[schmalts]

I see both sides of the story. as long as the cattle numbers are kept to a minimum for the feed available i dont see a problem with it but it just seems odd that a "wilderness" area should have cattle in it period.

 

[Ithaca 37]

It's a bad problem if cattle eat food the elk could use as winter gets closer. Then the elk have to go lower onto private ground for winter feeding and the ranchers bitch about that. Not all elk, especially bulls, would migrate to the lowest elevations in the winter if there was something sticking up thru the snow at the higher elevations they could eat.

 

[Tom]

I know a couple of mountain cowboys who were hired to go get cattle out of the NM Gila wilderness. One lived in there for quite a while getting them out. One had to shoot his horse, walk out, take another horse into to get his saddle. Real cowboy stuff, eh.

 

[Ten Bears]

Anybody else notice haow fast this went fro seeing cows in the wilderness to overgrazing public lands?

I don't know, maybe someday we'll have the wild cattle act and have to truck water out to them too.

Personally though, if we can maitain manicured pack trails and iron bridges in wilderness areas, why not allow grazing to?

 

[JoseCuervo]

Ten,

Go back and read the posts.... The only post that even mentioned "Overgrazing" was in complete support of the cattle being on the public land.

What more do you want? You were the person who read "overgrazing" into all the other posts...

 

[Ten Bears]

GRINNER, this is the only post in which I read anything about "overgrazing". Maybe you could have a word or three with the author. Please feel free to tell me in which of the other post I was supposed to have read about "overgrazing" (but didn't).
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> Sheesh, I can't even believe we would be discussing whether it is fine for cattle to be overgrazing public lands. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

[Oak]

Yep, I think you got the right post, Ten, but that post is for grazing. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Of course it is Right!!!! Cattle are the most important part of any Forest, as they are important to critical range management. Also, the cattle on public lands contribute to the Rural Economies, and keep this great country what it is.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Oak

 

[JoseCuervo]

Oak,

Thanks, I was going to be a bit more condescending.... Glad you were able to point out the obvious to Ten...

 

[Ten Bears]

I guess he should've said, sheesh, I can't even believe we would be discussing whether it is fine for cattle to be grazing public lands, and kept the OVER to himself.

 

[JoseCuervo]

Ten,

Thanks for the writing suggestions. I will keep them in mind, next time I try to dumb down my writing.

 

[Ten Bears]

NO PROBLEM