[Cdt-l] Cattle

[david booth]

Here in Australia we also have a lot of cattle.

In the "high" country (usually 4000 to 6000 ft) the cattlemen used to  
take the cattle to the high country for summer and back to the plains  
for winter. As a result the high country was overgrazed and water  
sources badly polluted.
The cattlemen had years and years of tradition and did not want their  
grazing rights removed.

In the last few years the cattle have been excluded and guess what,  
in just  a few years the water quality has returned.  No more sharing  
with Mrs Cow. It is a paradise compared with the crappy meadows  full  
of cow shit.

The only downside is that the cattle had kept the mountain pastures  
well grazed and easy hiking. Now we are getting more natural growth  
and probably more bush fires. In Australia cows are now excluded from  
land designated as wilderness or national parks.

There has to be a compromise between the traditional grazing and  
other public land usage. And by removing the cattle here in Australia  
it is now obvious what damage they really caused.

So if you design a trail that needs cattle to exist perhaps you need  
a different trail? One without wells or windmills.

But if by some miracle you can  exclude the cows, either completely  
or by fencing the springs, after a couple of years all those "stock  
tanks" in New Mexico would be full (or empty)  of non cow-polluted  
water and IMHO the CDT would be a better place for hikers.

Is the range cattle industry really viable in 2010? I doubt it.

Aussie Dave
Canberra Australia