The more I learn about the way public lands are being managed in the West the more I realize how the public is in the dark about it. I just finished revising the language on our Submission Guidelines page and it has me thinking we are on the right track to publish work that helps improve the appreciation for and understanding of the cultural and environmental issues of the beautiful American West.
I have written elsewhere on this site about “regulatory capture” and the resulting “Tragedy of the Commons.” Capture is the idea that the hen house is run by foxes. In that story if the foxes have their way there won’t be many hens or eggs left for anybody else. The National Forest and BLM land is largely managed by and for the benefit of a very few who are exploiting the public land for private gain via extractive, damaging uses.
The land, once damaged, is then “improved” by the regulatory agencies at taxpayer expense in attempts to provide for more extraction. In the end, the land is managed at the expense of many for the dubious benefit of a few. For instance, even when severely degraded grazing allotments are brought to the attention of regulators—often by threat of litigation by environmental organizations—the BLM or the Forest Service spends hundreds of thousands of dollars at a time on “improvements” such as fencing or water projects, or “treatments” such as mechanical removal of the poorly performing plantlife, rather than telling the ranchers involved they can’t graze as much. The public foots the bill while the livestock that caused the damage to the lands keep munching and crunching. Never mind that the ranchers involved might very well be more than happy to take a just a portion of the money spent on “improvements” and “treatments” to take their cows away and let the land “improve” all by itself – which it does in a hurry if left alone. But that sensible buyout option is not on the table, and if it were we would all start hearing a great howling about the end of a “way of life.”
If the public knew about the “way of life” gambit they would not put up with it for long. The way-of-life thing is a myth-of-the-cowboy that doesn’t stand up to any kind of objective scrutiny. The way-of-life cowboy myth is no better for anybody than those cigarettes were for the Marlboro Man. The same kind of effective lobbying that the tobacco industry used to deny that cigarettes cause cancer are used today by the special interest extractive groups. The way-of-life objection actually keeps ranchers and their rural communities from much needed capital infusions while the range managers, who come from those communities, stick to outdated policies that do not serve the land, the public or their communities. It all is pretty crazy but myths are hard to overcome. Writers, if you know what I am talking about, send us some of your work. -Mark Bailey
Hi. I’ve worked for the BLM, FS and other agencies for 22 years. Most of that time I fought fires, picked up litter in the backcountry, led nature walks, cleared trails etc. I agree that at Washington office levels, there is a bias toward extractive industries. In essence the local units are under the budget gun. Congress is the entity that sets allowable cut. The orders not to terminate leases even when there is non compliance from permittees comes from a high level, largely due to powerful lobbies. I am concerned when I read opinions like yours because it fuels the anger locals have to some of us who truly are trying to make a difference from within. We have had bottles thrown at us, angry notes on our cars, and even been threatened with guns. I do see a lot of problems, don’t get me wrong. But please don’t paint the whole agency with the same brush. At the local manager level, all we can do is follow policy that is set far above us, while trying in our own small way to change it. Sometimes we succeed, other times we don’t. Feel free to email me if you want to have a discussion.
Mary, thanks for writing. And thanks for doing any part you can to protect our land from the powerful lobbies you mention. Sorry to hear you are bullied by the locals. I’m also sorry to hear about those high level orders not to enforce allotment operating instructions and terminate grazing permits. That amounts to an order to the agents not to execute their jobs. You are between a rock and a hard place, aren’t you? My goal is to help the public, that is to say the electorate, understand that lobbies like the Cattlemen Association are not the public’s, nor the public land’s, friend. I’ll bet you agree that the litter you helped clean up can’t hold a candle to overgrazing and cow-burn when it comes to harming the ecosystem. Hang in there. I hope there can be change, bullies or not. -Mark Bailey
Mark, I have been a Kansan all my half century plus and infatuated from this distance shore, with the Colorado Plateau. She is a dark eyed, ruddy skinned beauty, hard of surface and so very fragile beneath. My primary art is visual, I am a landscape painter.
The forecast is grim for national preservation. As an indicator 99.9% of Kansas grassland and tillable land is controlled by industrial cattle interests backed by agri-industrial corporate investors. You are absolutely correct, this fragile earth is terribly exploited and in many places the health of human populations is threatened by business interests that are indifferent to who and what they destroy. The loss of species diversity and extinction of entire ecosystems is considered acceptable again. The public would be alarmed at how their lands have been so poorly managed just to benefit a few. Without the active participation of caring people even more will be lost forever. Thank you for speaking out and encouraging others to become active.
Matthew, well said. Thanks for checking in.
Mark,
I would consider sending this to the Tribune and asking that they consider it for publication as an Op-ed piece. The public at large needs to hear this message, and maybe that would be one way you could do it. In any case, it’s fine meditation on the ranching mythos and its consequences. That’s one of the things I love about THP: You guys walk the walk as well as you talk it. Anyone who cares to look can see that.