Opinion – Erik Molvar and Charlotte Roe
The global COP26 agreement has opened several new doors for tackling climate change, but the omissions are important. The collective commitment to reduce CO 2 emissions and limit warming to 1.5°C by 2030 has not been fulfilled. With China's support, India vetoed its pledge to phase out coal production. At the same time, the role of livestock in climate damage was released. Although the Biden administration is totally unwilling to discuss—let alone resolve—the role of livestock in the climate crisis, they seem more willing to use climate change as a reason to remove wild horses from public lands in the west.
Although the Biden government promised to reduce methane emissions by 30% by 2030, during the Glasgow summit, Agriculture Minister Tom Wilsack expressed his firm opposition to reducing livestock. Senator Grassley (R-IA) acknowledged that cattle are an important source of methane emissions and expressed concern that livestock producers may be required to be part of the climate solution. In response, Secretary of State Vilsack told the Iowa Capital Post, “With due respect to the senator, this administration will not pursue animal husbandry.” He has repeatedly insisted that the government has no plans to reduce the number of livestock. .
But on public lands in the west, the government’s mission is to reduce the number of wild horses and is not afraid to use climate change as an excuse, even though cattle and sheep are closely related to climate impacts.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is leading a false propaganda campaign, and its proposed 2022 budget allocation increases by $35 million to eliminate "excess" wild horse and donkey populations, with the stated purpose of making federal ranches healthy and resistant to climate-driven changes And prevent the degradation of pastures that cause climate change. The proposal is combined with a strategic research plan to fund US$1 million to study the impact of climate change on wild horse habitat. Although wild horses and donkeys — and other wild herbivores such as elk and deer — may affect the climate, most of the climate impact comes from domestic animals. Nevertheless, there is currently no research on the climate impact of cattle and sheep or their impact on public lands in the west.
This is not only a theoretical omission, but also an active negligence of the agency in solving practical problems. The recent "emergency" round up of wild horses was followed by a large influx of livestock, indicating that the Bureau of Land Management removed wild horses only to make way for commercial herbivores. To give an example: in the Sandwash Basin of Colorado, the bureau used the emergency drought as an excuse, despite Governor Jared Polis, Rep. Joe Negus, and Rep. Joe Negus calling for a cessation of operations. Rounded up 501 horses-more than 60% of this legendary horse herd. Numerous Mustang advocates and environmental organizations. A few weeks after the round up, more than 5,000 sheep were released to graze on the same "dry" land.
In Wyoming, BLM is now removing more than 3,500 wild horses from the 4 million acres of the Red Desert Complex, including the curly wild horses in the Salt Wells Basin, a rare genetic variation. According to BLM, these lands already meet the legal standards of a "booming natural ecological balance" even though there are currently 5,600 wild horses before the review. Total round-up cost: US$175 million. Main beneficiary: Rock Springs Grazing Association, which produces large numbers of cattle on public land at a low price of US$1.35 per pair of calves per month, which is only a fraction of the average US$23.40 per month for private land grazing.
What's wrong with this picture? Almost everything. The bureau uses wild equines as a scapegoat for the ecological damage and climate impact caused by cattle and sheep, which allows the agency to continue to ignore the real causes of land degradation and its truly serious climate consequences. Failure to solve the real problem will amplify and deepen the climate crisis.
Of course, the bureau’s 2022 budget proposal boasted “significantly increased funding to support the government’s commitment to combat climate change,” but it did not contain any content to reduce the herd of cattle and sheep grazing on the same public land as wild equines, nor did it reduce it. Solve the impact of livestock on the climate. In fact, the terms "livestock" and "cattle" are not even mentioned in the budget application. However, cattle and sheep cause severe damage to pastures, partly because they are extremely abundant: according to recent statistics, the ratio of cattle and sheep to wild horses is 14.5 to 1. Cattle swarms are in fragile riverside habitats that are extremely important to local fish and wildlife, while wild horses spread their effects more widely and forage more like bison. From a climate perspective, overgrazing of cattle and sheep is the main reason for the destruction of perennial deep-rooted grasses native to the West, replaced by shallow-rooted and flammable annual weeds: small grass, medusahead and now ventanata. When the annual weeds burn, the sagebrush will disappear. All of these add up to convert mature, healthy shrubs that absorb large amounts of soil carbon into soil that emits carbon into the atmosphere.
Most importantly, replacing large herbivores with simple digestive tracts with ruminants that emit large amounts of methane is a bit like converting a wind farm into a coal-fired power plant.
These are real climate problems, and the reasons are easy to understand, but the bureau does not seem to want to solve these problems or even acknowledge their existence.
Congress should resubmit the BLM budget request, especially the Wild Horse and Burro chapters, to the drawing board. Reducing livestock on public lands and protecting native species must be an integral part of the government’s climate action plan and commitment to protect at least 30% of U.S. land and waters by 2030 to achieve biodiversity.
It is time for the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Agriculture to stop covering up the role of animal husbandry in exacerbating climate change and start telling the truth about livestock, wild equines and climate change. Anything less is a scam.
Erik Molvar is a wildlife biologist and executive director of the Western Watershed Project, a non-profit conservation organization dedicated to protecting and restoring wildlife and watersheds in the western United States. Charlotte Roe is the founder of the Colorado Mustang Alliance and a scientific advisor to the Cloud Foundation.
The views expressed above are not necessarily those of the Sierra Nevada allies. Our newsroom is completely independent of our opinion page. The opinions expressed are further open for dialogue in order to fulfill our civic duty of challenging authority, acting independently of company or political influence, and inviting dissent.
Support the Sierra Nevada allies.
We are on a journey of steady growth and innovation. And we are just getting started. In 2022, we will expand our newsroom and launch new creative partnerships to expand the voice of our residents and express the stories, questions, and concerns of community members. Our goal-to provide information relevant to readers' needs.
Sierra Nevada Ally is part of NewsMatch 2021, a fundraising program sponsored by the Non-Profit Journalism Institute (INN). We are a full member of INN, which is one of only two such publishers in Nevada. From now until December 31, 2021, your gift will be matched at a price of one dollar for one dollar.
On behalf of all of us in the Sierra Nevada Alliance, thank you for your generous support.
Sierra Nevada Ally is a 501(c)3 non-profit journalism organization founded in 2020 with a mission to pursue storytelling, civic engagement, and sustainable partnerships. "No one is better suited to report to the community than the community itself." We report on environmental, public policy, and cultural issues throughout the western mountains, especially northern Nevada and eastern California.
Sierra Nevada Ally PO Box 1351, Carson City, Nevada 89702
Non-profit News Solutions Institute News Network Local Independent Online News Publishers Association of Investigative Journalists and Editors Association of Environmental Journalists Education Writers Association KNVC Community Radio KUNR Reno Public Radio Double Exclusive News-Carson, Nevada Art Now