Grazing and livestock
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Did a cow get your elk?
Posted by on 08 Mar 2007 | Tagged as: Elk, Wildlife Habitat, Grazing and livestock
Sometimes there are comments that are just so good, they should be brought to the front as a post.
“BE” decided to calculate how much cattle consumed compared to elk. Remember that these animals compete for forage on the range.
BE wrote:
Interesting facts for hunters who care about elk numbers:
Number of Idaho State AUMs (animal unit months) leased for public lands grazing: 225,000 AUMs annually
BLM + Federal AUMS in Idaho for public lands grazing: 1,800,000 AUMs annually
Total Public Lands AUMs leased for livestock grazing in Idaho (S+F): 2,025,000
Now, the USDA NRCS National Range & Pasture Handbook cites these relative numbers for AUM consumption:
Cow, dry = 0.92
Cow + calf = 1.00
Elk, mature = 0.60
Deer (m) mature = 0.20
Deer, (wt) mature= 0.15So - an elk needs 6/10 of 1 AUM to survive for a month
crunching the numbers we find that in Idaho alone, the public lands forage being subsidized to cows could annually support:
281,250 elk or
843,750 mule deer or
1,125,000 WT deer orvarious combinations depending on where you’re at —
this contrasted against the roughly 13,600,000 AUMs grazed on private land in Idaho (which we could put through the same model, but because these private lands aren’t supposed to be for all of us we’ll omit from elk/deer potential habitat calculations) demonstrates that public lands ranching in Idaho only contributes around 12% of the forage used in Idaho livestock operations (public or private)…
so - public lands ranching robs elk of forage which could sustain above numbers of wildlife - how many do wolves take?… (and keep in mind, wolves kill the weak, diseased, old leaving hunters with bigger stronger game with bigger stronger genes for the next generation of herds)…
elk hunters need to re-evaluate the forces squeezing out our wildlife - and if we authentically care about our kids having the same quality opportunities to spend with their fathers, grandfathers, mothers, etc. on the hunt, we need to be willing to face the facts rather than the red herrings out there.
Forest Guardians issue: Wildlands for Wildlife, not Cows
Posted by on 07 Mar 2007 | Tagged as: Wildlife Habitat, Grazing and livestock
I thought folks would be interested in this because of the focus on the Southwest. I know a lot of people are celbrating the recent victory keeping oil and gas out of the famed Valles Caldera in northern New Mexico, but what they don’t know it that the public is excluded and this exclusionary semi-public land is supported by taxpayers who see little benefit from it.
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service—the agency charged with protecting endangered species—has increasingly turned from recovering Mexican gray wolves to systematically exterminating them from their only remaining population. The agency, which has been able to locate just 49 wolves on the ground, has killed six individuals since the beginning of last year. As this death toll continues to mount, the Mexican wolf recovery program has become a recipe for extinction. Because wolves are often removed due to conflicts with cattle, protecting the wolf is a priority for Forest Guardians’ Grazing Reform Program. Read on to find out how we are taking important steps to ensure this species’ success. 
In the struggle for Mexican wolf survival, every victory counts. In response to a recent appeal by Forest Guardians and others, the Hermosa Allotment will remain a wolf-friendly spot on the Gila National Forest. The Hermosa has been cow-free for over 13 years, making it prime wolf habitat and even a wolf release site. The Forest Service’s proposal to reintroduce cattle to the allotment would have drastically reduced the meaningful space available to wolves in their own recovery zone. Our appeal sent the Forest Service back to the drawing board by forcing them to examine the impacts from livestock grazing to all sensitive species on the Hermosa, including the Mexican wolf. 
The Valles Caldera Trust turned down Forest Guardians’ $25,000 offer to open the Preserve to people and wildlife instead of cows in 2007. By choosing low income grazing over high yield ecotourism, the Trust seems bent on losing money ’til the cows come home. Though the Preserve is supposed to be managed for aesthetics, wildlife, and recreation, the Trust won’t prioritize these values over grazing- even to turn a profit. Undeterred by the Trust’s rejection, Forest Guardians is dedicated to protecting the Valles Caldera. We will continue to put our money where our mouth is, and look forward to the day when people take precedence over cattle on the Preserve. 
After doing battle with the Forest Service over Mexican spotted owls for almost a decade, Forest Guardians is back in court with the feds to protect this species on the brink. The agency is mismanaging livestock grazing on the Sacramento Allotment in southern New Mexico, and harming owls in the process. The allotment encompasses more than 110,000 acres, and provides vital, protected habitat for the owls. Forest Guardians seeks to force the agency to re-consult with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service on how grazing is impacting both the owls and their critical habitat, and we’ve asked the federal district court to remove all livestock from the allotment until that consultation has been completed. 