Welfare Ranching: The Subsidized Destruction of the American West [Hardcover]

George Wuerthner (Author), Mollie Matteson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1559639423 | ISBN-13: 978-1559639422 | Publication Date: August 1, 2002 | Edition: 1

Welfare Ranching reveals the deplorable practices that are ripping apart the ecological fabric of the arid West, where subsidized livestock grazing occurs on more than 300 million acres of publicly owned land. The book offers a graphic look at the consequences of using taxpayer dollars to turn the West into a giant feedlot for cattle and sheep - the slaughter of predators, a growing number of endangered species, polluted rivers and streams, an increase in soil erosion, and weed invasion, to name just a few. Through dramatic photographs and scientifically supported essays, the book shows that wherever cattle are grazing at the public trough, severe and sometimes irreversible ecological damage results. Fauna of all kinds are extirpated, endangered, or driven to extinction; riparian zones are trammeled and degraded; introductions of exotic grasses and foiled mitigation attempts abound. For years the true impacts of livestock grazing have gone unnoticed as the landscape has been altered slowly over time, making the changes difficult to discern. With more than 150 powerful photographs, Welfare Ranching vividly illustrates the difference between lands appropriated for livestock production and the spectacular deserts, grasslands and forests that have been protected from its shattering effects. Essays by leading scientists, historians, and economic and policy experts - including Edward Abbey, Joy Belsky, Carl Bock, John Carter, Thomas Fleischner, Terrence Frest, and T.H. Watkins - document the many costs of ranching on public lands. Welfare Ranching is testimony to an environmental tragedy but it is also an expression of hope that America's heritage of wild and vibrant western landscapes will be restored and renewed. It offers a clear path toward healing mpre than a century of reckless ranching in the arid West - towards a new West with a healthy and living landscape, the revival of extirpated species, and beautiful testimony to true human values.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Whereas the effects of urban sprawl and clear-cut logging are readily apparent, the far-reaching and devastating consequences of large-scale livestock production are less obvious to the untrained eye. In this excellent overview of the ecological and economic consequences of ranching in the arid Western United States, natural historian and photographer Wuerthner and environmental activist Matteson present a collection of impassioned essays by scientists, conservationists, and economists. As writers like Edward Abbey, T.H. Watkins, and Carl Bock point out, livestock grazing has caused irreversible damage: it has degraded water quality, eroded the soil, introduced invasive plants, and endangered countless native plants and wildlife. Although the West accounts for less than three percent of U.S. meat production, livestock grazing occurs there on an enormous scale (a single cow uses one acre in Mississippi but 250 acres in Nevada). To provide enough space, three million acres of public land are being used by private ranchers with the help of government subsidies a consequence of the ranching industry's political power. This oversized book has 175 full-color photographs plus a resource directory and a bibliography. Although rather costly, it is highly recommended for both academic and public libraries and is particularly suitable for environmental and Western collections. Ilse Heidmann, Olympia, WA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Most Americans know little about the state of our precious public lands. The designations national park, national forest, and national wildlife refuge would seem to indicate that such places are free of industry, but in the arid West many are the province of large corporations. Following in the footsteps of Fatal Harvest [BKL My 15 02], a powerful inquiry into industrial agriculture, the contributors to this equally revelatory volume document in picture and word the dire ecological consequences of government-subsidized cattle grazing on 300 million acres of public land. Scientists from various fields, historians, economic and governmental policy experts, and earth-loving writers, including Edward Abbey, examine the cattle industry from an array of viewpoints, and explain how cattle ranching causes soil erosion, water pollution, the spread of invasive species, and an ever-increasing roster of endangered species, while photographs of cow-damaged versus livestock-free landscapes drive the message home. This eye-opening and discussion-starting volume should spark more conspicuous public debate (after all, "this land is your land") and a demand for the rescue of public lands. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Foundations for Deep Ecology 2; 1 edition (August 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559639423
• ISBN-13: 978-1559639422
• Product Dimensions: 13.7 x 12.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,570,911 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Science Speaks the Truth in Welfare Ranching, February 1, 2007

By 

J. G. Carter (Utah, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Welfare Ranching: The Subsidized Destruction Of The American West (Paperback)

Welfare Ranching provides the data and insight into the public lands livestock industry that has long been needed. Here in the West the damage is seen on hundreds of millions of acres of our public lands. What is amazing is the lack of attention among our public officials at the tremendous cost of this outmoded practice. The lost soil, polluted streams and destroyed wildlife habitat have value in the billions of dollars on an annual basis that so far outweighs any possible economic benefit of livestock production, it is necessary for the public to become educated on this issue so they will pressure our lawmakers and public officials to make and enforce ecologically sound regulations and practices to restore this land. A final note, the soil loss and plant community losses are a loss in carbon storage - this is going to become a critical issue as we at last deal with greenhouse gases. Finally, let's not forget the history of the sheep and cattle industry in their efforts to have our public lands turned over to the States and then sold to ranchers for 10 cents an acre in the 1940's. This continues today with the farm and ranch lobby and their henchmen in congress who constantly are working to undermine environmental protections and have the land sold off to industry.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Book Review: Give me a home where the cattle don't roam, December 3, 2002

By 

"hepplewhite" (Berkeley, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Welfare Ranching: The Subsidized Destruction Of The American West (Paperback)

Welfare Ranching: The Subsidized Destruction of the American West. George Wuerthner and Mollie Matteson, Editors. 346 pp. Sausalito, California: Foundation for Deep Ecology, 2002. [$$$] paperback; [$$$] hardback.

At 12 x 13 inches, with beautiful and startling photographs, Welfare Ranching: the Subsidized Destruction of the American West deserves a prominent place on the environmentalist's coffee table. Don't expect a balanced view of the current issues, however; this book, a compilation of essays and articles, celebrates only the anti-livestock perspective in the conflict concerning cattle grazing on federal land in the West.

The book is divided into seven parts. I, II and III introduce readers to anti-grazing views and objectives. Part IV consists of ecological research reports. Parts V and VI offer essays about related subjects such as economics, nutrition, suburban sprawl and the use of grazing permits as collateral. A handful of solutions are reviewed in two essays in part VII, followed by "Our Vision," the editors' wrap-up.

The federal lands grazing conflict pits environmentalists against family ranchers and the cattle industry. Environmentalists, among whom the authors of this book count themselves, want an end to livestock grazing on federal land because it harms water, land and wildlife. And they object to leasing land to ranchers at prices below market value, which explains the book's title.

The ranchers' point of view is barely mentioned. Ranching has supported generations of families for close to one-hundred-fifty years. Food for livestock is sparse in the arid West so cattle need to roam over a wide area to find enough to eat. At the same time, ranchers must raise and sell a certain number of cattle each year to avoid debt. Because there is insufficient forage on the ranchers' own land to feed the quantity of cattle needed to break even financially, ranchers lease additional grazing land from the federal government. The loss of grazing leases will, quite simply, put them out of business.

Overall, Welfare Ranching is well-written and researched, and accompanied by generous footnotes and bibliographies. Some pieces were published earlier in peer-reviewed journals, a further indication of their high quality. Ninety-five pages of striking photographs illustrate the dramatic difference between grazed and natural or restored land, ranging from wildflowers scattered across rolling green hills in Yellowstone's Lamar Valley to livestock-damaged cracked earth and dry creek beds in Coronado National Forest in Arizona.

The book's minimal use of degrading anti-ranching clichés makes it easier to read than some of the activist literature and websites. However, the transcript of a lecture given by Edward Abbey, one that encourages the harming and killing of cattle, seems self-indulgent and ridiculously inhumane. His and a handful of other essays employ language that may strike some readers as smug and elitist.

Enviro-speak like "rewild," "keystone species" and "dewatering of fish" may strengthen the bond with the converted but grates after awhile. Can't we just say the fish died because the river dried up? "Livestock abuse" sounds like cattle torture but means land, water and wildlife abuse caused by livestock grazing. The occasional tendency to imply wrongdoing, by applying late 20th century standards to 19th century actions, seems careless in a work compiled to validate the anti-grazing position.

To a certain degree, Welfare Ranching promotes a common concept in "livestock-free" literature: that federal land leased to ranchers is somehow owned by and available to anyone at any time. References to "our public land" often imply that federal land belongs to each individual American when, in fact, it belongs to the American government as a corporate entity.

The grazing controversy is not as simple as removing cattle from federal land, as Welfare Ranching may lead some readers to believe. Factors other than ecology fuel this debate and need acknowledgement, for example, prejudices about city vs. ranch people, on both sides; refusals to communicate and/or negotiate; and the efficacy of the Bureau of Land Management offices in affected states. It's unfortunate that these obstacles, and the underlying history and values that motivate the parties involved, aren't within the book's scope. The small space devoted to possible solutions is surprising in view of the book's purpose to show that environmental damage needs to be repaired.

It remains to be seen if anti-grazing activism is solution-driven or primarily intended to disparage those with whom the activists disagree. Although Welfare Ranching seems written to motivate readers to find solutions to federal lands cattle grazing, additional material about solutions, and less ridicule, would have furthered a more constructive debate.

C. Shepard is a freelance writer in Berkeley, California. She's working on a story about the federal lands grazing conflict in southeastern Oregon.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Grazing Public Lands - Decline in Habitat for Native Species, May 4, 2005

By 

Rose Wood "Luci_D" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Welfare Ranching: The Subsidized Destruction Of The American West (Paperback)

Welfare Ranching is a beautiful book, full of full-color photos and articles by dozens of scientists and concerned biological conservationists regarding the destruction of the American West by cattle ranchers. Wuerthner and Matteson point out that there are 525 million acres of land in the Western United States which are used for livestock grazing. That only eleven percent of U.S. cattle producers are in the west, but their grazing area equals twenty-five percent of the total land area of the lower 48 United States and most of that is public land. These lands are often over-grazed, degraded, and denuded of plants. The water sources are manipulated by the ranchers to provide water for their livestock, thereby removing the water from access by native plants and wildlife. The introduction of livestock into the arid lands of the American west is like introducing an exotic species into a community. The livestock completely undermine and degrade the ecosystem and their presence is linked to the decline in native bird and vegetation populations. It has been noted that by raising domestic animals which demand large quantities of water and forage in a place that is dry, and by favoring slow-moving, heavy, and more or less defenseless livestock in terrain that is rugged, vast, and inhabited by native predators, ranchers have put themselves in a position of constant warfare with the land. Nearly all public lands [in the Western U.S.] that have any forage potential for livestock are leased for grazing. This includes 90% of Bureau of Land Management land, 69% of U.S. Forest Service land and a surprising number of wildlife refuges and national parks. Three hundred million of these acres have the potential for large-scale ecosystem restoration by terminating domestic livestock production on public lands
Bird species need water and vegetation to survive, and many are threatened or driven into extinction by the ubiquitous livestock grazing which destroys their habitat. Birds generally do not respond to the presence of grazing livestock but to the impacts on vegetation as a result of grazing. Breeding Bird Survey data suggest that grassland birds as a group are showing greater population declines than any other avian assemblage in North America. This is attributable to habitat modifications including livestock grazing, fire suppression, prairie dog control, cultivations, and exotic grasses.
Livestock grazing harms native species and promotes alien plant growth. The hundreds of photos in the book, Welfare Ranching, document the denuded, degraded land and polluted, manipulated water sources which result from cattle grazing. Some ranchers suggest that since bison used to naturally live on the grasslands, cattle are a good modern day substitute, but cattle and bison are not similar animals. Bison moved around a lot, effectively grazing on plants only once before moving on, and bison also lived in drier areas and ate drier plants than cattle do; domestic cattle spend most of their time within 400 meters of water. Cattle ranchers also suggest that the grasslands need to be grazed by cattle in order to be healthy, but in a native grassland there is a wide variety of animals that naturally graze in a sustainable way, such as nematodes, grasshoppers, prairie dogs, pronghorn antelope, elk, and bison.
Livestock grazing is the most common land use in western North America. It is difficult to study in a controlled manner as there are not many large areas free of grazing because approximately 70% of the eleven western states is grazed. A study comparing Chaco Culture National Historic Park in northern New Mexico, one of the largest grazing exclosures in the American West, with six grazing sites, found that plant species richness was higher in the protected areas than in the grazed areas (Floyd et al. 2003). Recent paleo-ecological studies on the Colorado Plateau determined that the most severe vegetation changes of the last 5,400 years resulted from livestock grazing during the last two centuries (Cole et al. 1997).
It is apparent that many species of grassland birds, and neo-tropical migratory birds have declined drastically in the past few decades. Much of the research on this subject has found that the decline in bird species is correlated to the decline in habitat and vegetation which is directly linked to grazing livestock on the majority of land area in the western United States. Over half of the grazing is done on publicly owned lands which, due to the time-honored traditions in the West of allowing cattle ranchers full access to any lands they want, and because these ranchers and their grazing interests have been very important in the political and social life of the West for over a century, and because, until recently, grazing on public lands has been an accepted practice with no special attention paid to it, the question of closing off public lands to grazing has become a power struggle and a contentious issue between conservationists, ranchers, the government, and land managers. There is enough documented evidence that grazing has many deleterious effects on the land such as: damaging the soil, polluting the water supply, destroying native vegetation, encouraging alien species, and that ranchers and land managers have altered the ecosystem by: controlling fires, diverting the scarce water supply to cattle use only, and actively killing many native animal species that they consider inconvenient or dangerous to their interests.
It is obvious that livestock grazing on western lands is not a sustainable operation. It is environmentally damaging and causes great loss of biodiversity. It is sustained only through the political influence of cattle ranchers and the ignorance and indifference of the public. The great wave of new research which is being done by conservation biologists and environmentalists will help change this devastating scene in the future when students begin to inform themselves by reading these research papers, and when the popular media brings the desolation and waste to the notice of the people, that their land is being appropriated by private interests who are destroying the environment and profiting at the expense of thousands of plant and animal species each year.
Welfare Ranching, The Subsidized Destruction of the American West, brings these facts to the people in the form of a beautiful well-documented book full of great photographs. Most of the information in this book is taken from scientific articles and journals. How many of us spend our time reading dry scientific journals? If you would like to have a combination of fact and photos, in an interesting to read and understand format with articles published by well-known conservation biologists and others whose main concern is to save our lands and our native plants and animals, then Welfare Ranching is the book to have.