With regards to the Quivira Coalition and the New
Ranch movement, the question is not whether ranchers managing land
and livestock under such principles can actually restore landscapes
(HCN, 9/5/05: Rangeland Revival). Dedicated individuals such as Sid
Goodloe of Capitan, N.M., working with the freedom and flexibility
afforded to private land, have already demonstrated an affirmative
answer to that question (HCN, 4/15/96: Raising a ranch from the
dead).
Likewise, the fact that traditionally trained
scientists cannot replicate and validate the results of nonlinear
processes affecting nonlinear natural systems should surprise no
one. The complex science that will underpin natural resource
management 20 years from now is still in its infancy. The question
of the day, again, is not whether these “new ranchers” can restore
their landscapes but why are we, the greater society, afraid to let
them?
Preston Wright
Marys
River Ranch, Nevada
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Let ranchers restore the land.
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