I’ve been patiently reading your teary
editorials and now an entire issue on the death of environmentalism
(HCN, 2/21/05: Where were the environmentalists when Libby needed
them most?). Political rubbish! Talk to the private people on the
ground, the people like me who are “doing it” every day, year in
and year out.
I’ve put 11 years into range
restoration on 8,200 acres in HCN’s
backyard here in Hotchkiss, Colo. We have a “feral” buffalo herd
grazing the mesa under Holistic Resource Management methodology.
Fifteen to 20 percent of our staff time goes into strengthening the
natural ecosystem. We’re developing safe zones with thick
habitat and water for upland game birds. We’ve controlled
sagebrush and planted dryland species on 3,000 acres over the past
six years, bringing up new grasses in every one of the past drought
years without irrigation. Our businesses include buffalo meat,
buffalo leather furniture, upland game bird hunting, sporting
clays, fly fishing and rafting through the Gunnison Gorge. This is
how we pay for improvement costs on and stewardship of this piece
of land.
I am not alone. There is an army of educated,
hard-working, idealistic and practical environmentalists out here
working on their own pieces of land.
Julie
Littlefield,
Scenic Mesa Ranch
Hotchkiss, Colorado
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Private environmentalism: alive and well.
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