Dear HCN,
“Zero-Cow
initiative splits Sierra Club” (HCN, 2/26/01: ‘Zero-Cow’ initiative
splits Sierra Club) fails to recognize that the Club is neither
“zero-cut” nor “zero-cud.” In its attempt to simplify it misses the
real story. While the Club has a position that advocates an end to
all commercial logging on public lands, private use and
noncommercial logging for ecological restoration purposes is
allowable. So, for those northern New Mexico traditional
communities “where pinon pine is a winter staple for heat and
cooking fuel,” this type of personal noncommercial use is not
affected by our policy.
The story also misses the
mark on the Club’s public-lands grazing policy. While a faction in
the Club is trying to change the Club’s policy so that all domestic
livestock grazing on public lands would be opposed, this is not the
existing policy supported by Board and the National Council of our
Chapters – both of which rejected the no-grazing option in favor of
a more flexible policy which specifically recognizes environmental
justice concerns. Our policy, which bases decisions on what should
be grazed based on ecological conditions rather than land
ownership, was adopted unanimously.
Writing a
story that attempts to pit urban against rural environmentalists
ignores the fact that rural and urban residents are equally
appalled at the clear-cutting and overgrazing that have destroyed
our common heritage. The public lands belong to all Americans, and
citizens in cities are equal owners with their rural counterparts.
The vast majority of our public lands have been overcut and
overgrazed, and logging and grazing reform are long
overdue
The problem is that for too long
decisions about logging and grazing have been determined by large
corporate loggers and ranchers who do not represent the urban and
rural public interest in our public lands. Andy Sanchez, who grazes
14 head of cattle in New Mexico, is not the problem, and the Club’s
grazing policy seeks to accommodate his modest use while targeting
the large corporate despoilers who threaten the public lands for
all of us.
Bruce
Hamilton
San Francisco, California
The writer is conservation director of the Sierra Club.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Club supports flexible grazing policy.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
