Please do not take the editorial advice from Mark
Salvo concerning the use of the word “overgrazing.” It is
ironic that Salvo portrays himself as being on the side of
“rational discourse” when he appears in fact to be one
of those zealots who believes that any grazing in that nonexistent
monolith he calls “the arid West” is, by definition,
too much. In fact, grazing in the West is similar to the porridge
in Goldilocks — there can be too much, too little, or just
enough, depending on the particulars of the land and the type of
grazing methods employed. The work of the Savory Center, the
Quivira Coalition, the Malpai Border-lands Group and others has
shown that the right type of grazing on the appropriate sorts of
land can make a significant positive contribution to land health.
If there is a problem with the word “overgrazing,” it
is that it refers only to the quantity and not the equally
important quality of grazing on a particular site.
Stacey Sullivan
Berkeley,
California
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline The once-over on overgrazing.
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