By Patrick Cavanaugh, ACN Broadcaster
Because wildfires on BLM and Forest Service land in the west can change the entire ecosystem, it’s critical to minimize the change by the grazing of cattle.
“What we know about the West is that the BLM and the Forest Service have an incredible, huge portfolio of property that they have to manage,” said Ethan Lane, the Executive Director of the Public Lands Council and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Federal Lands.
“We’re talking about hundreds of millions of acres of federal land that’s open for grazing across the West and after years of grazing this land and managing these ecosystems, what we know is that there’s a fire cycle that can develop if we don’t keep fuel load on these grasslands in check. Once that fire cycle takes over, it can actually change the entire ecosystem fire after fires,” said Lane.
But the mere fact that cattle is grazing on that land can be a major benefit on minimizing the fire. “So that an incredibly important habitat that is sort of a benefit on grazing on these landscapes, that creates places for sage grouse and elk and deer and all different kinds of species to thrive alongside grazing can actually disappear because we’re not grazing enough,” said Lane.
“If cattle cannot graze and keep those fuel loads down, particularly in a year like this, where we’ve seen an incredible amount of moisture and snow pack around most of the West. I was out in Nevada week before last, and in northern Nevada, the rivers are running so high and fast due to a very deep snowpack, it’s just unbelievable,” Lane said.
“This means more feed and that means that we’re bouncing back from that drought in many areas, but it does mean we have an additional responsibility to manage that grass and what we know is, if cattle are in there responsibly grazing not only do we manage the fuel load, but we get a healthier rebound in that forage next year and the year after that, too,” said Lane.
“So the perennial grasses that we’re looking for, that prevent erosion and allow that habitat to really flourish, only really works if we have grazing in there as a primary tool, so we’re trying to get the word out on that and help people to understand not just where we can help but where we’re being prevented from helping now,” he noted.
For more information click here: grazingpreventswildfires.com
