SAMPLE OP-ED

Western Ranches: Where the Deer and the Antelope Play

Moving through Congress right now is a bill that can protect wildlife and open spaces for generations to come -- it focuses on Western ranching on public lands. Cows and deer together? An oxymoron?

Actually the future of wildlife and wildlife habitat is dependent on a vibrant ranching economy in the Western states. H.R. 2493: The Forage Improvement Act [OR INSERT SENATE BILL NUMBER AND NAME] takes several steps to ensure a healthy range resource. And, better grass means bigger wildlife populations and a healthier rural economy.

The bill codifies a grazing fee that is 36% higher than the current fee, which ranchers pay into the U.S. Treasury for grazing their livestock on public land managed by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. Why is this important? Because it provides financial stability. When a rancher goes to see his banker at the beginning of the year, to ask for the loan that he will re-pay 12 months later when he sells his cattle, he needs to be able to present an estimate of how much he needs to pay for grazing on public lands. In the absence of a fee that is written into law, the amount becomes subject to the vagaries of the political winds -- who sits in the White House and who is appointed to be Secretary of the Interior or Secretary of Agriculture. H.R. 2493 [OR SENATE NUMBER] settles the fee issue once and for all.

With the fee settled, the rancher has a more stable business. Therefore, he is more likely to keep ranching rather than sell his land under the intense pressure for development in the West. With the rancher in business, wide open spaces do not become subdivisions and shopping centers. They remain wildlife habitat -- rather than asphalt.

The grazing bill also makes sure the range resource stays healthy by requiring a variety of monitoring approaches. But the approaches are flexible in allowing those with the best scientific information to figure out how to manage the resource, as long as the desired condition of the range is met. This too will continue to promote wildlife habitat and populations.

For too many years, ranchers and sportsmen have often seen each other as standing on opposite sides of a fence. Yet, nothing could be more wrong. By way of example, the combined work of the state fish and game departments with Western ranchers has resulted in huge increases in the number of wildlife on public lands. By providing feed for wildlife in the winter, ranchers have helped generate these increases in wildlife populations on federal lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management from 1960 to today: elk +1005%; antelope +175%; and deer +30% from 1960 to 1988.

Why are wildlife populations flourishing in the same areas as cows? Because in addition to grass that is eaten by both cattle and wildlife, ranchers make significant investments in public lands including watering holes and salt licks. These same improvements directly benefit wildlife.

The greatest threat to the future of hunting and wildlife is the same threat for ranching -- land fragmentation. As 20-acre "ranchettes" replace the traditional ranch, the open spaces that supported traditional activities such as ranching and hunting are no longer present. And, managing wildlife in a holistic manner throughout their range becomes very difficult as land is broken up and developed.

Sportsmen and wildlife conservationists should see the grazing bill as something that is critical to support. Because of a significant shared agenda with ranchers, particularly the need for open spaces and the need to give ranchers the incentive to continue making improvements that benefit wildlife, passage of the grazing bill this year is critical to sportsmen across this country.