P.S. Sorry for the add-on comment but I forgot to mention this: Even
though cattle ranching in sagebrush country clearly causes problems --
there are indications that cattle ranching in more humid climates isn't
necessarily a bad thing for birds.
For example, the largest remaining populations of "Oregon" Vesper
Sparrows are strongly associated with cattle ranching in rural areas of
western Oregon (especially in Douglas County). With the right level of
grazing, the cattle seem to play an important role in keeping the
vegetation down to a height that makes it favorable for this imperiled
taxon, as well as Grasshopper Sparrows, Western Meadowlarks, and others.
Without cattle or some other sort of grazing pressure by large
ungulates, the invasive European pasture grasses tend to take over the
landscape.
Cattle ranching in these environments furthermore seems to be better for
native bird diversity than some of the alternative crops that are
currently expanding their footprint in western Oregon (namely vineyards
for wine production, and hazelnuts).
So I'd encourage everyone to go easy on the topic of beef ranching in
general. There are clearly places where it can be harmful, but in some
places it might be better than the other most likely alternatives. If
you look through the sage-grouse literature, there are even indications
that very light grazing pressure (once per several years) could improve
the carrying capacity for sage-grouse.
--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis
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