The Uncosted West · Episode 8 of 15 · 50 min
What Cattle and Sheep Do to Public Rivers and Wild Bighorn
Streamside zones are a sliver of the arid West but support most of its wildlife, and they are where livestock congregate. Anchored by a memory of a trail trampled by leased sheep, the episode walks through damaged banks, warmed trout streams, and the pneumonia domestic sheep pass to wild bighorns, while making clear that well-managed grazing can be compatible with the range.
Who's who
- E. Frances CassirerWildlife researcher who documented bighorn disease
Where it happens
- Tahoe National Forest, California+1 more episodeWhere a newly built trail was trampled by leased sheep
- Tieton herd range, WashingtonBighorn herd effectively wiped out by pneumonia
Timeline
- 1934Taylor Grazing Act brings rangelands under permit management
- 1999Belsky and colleagues synthesize 113 studies on livestock effects on streams
- 2009-2013Pneumonia epizootic kills hundreds of bighorns in Washington
- October 2013Last of the Tieton herd culled; herd effectively extirpated
- 2020Washington again removes infected bighorns as outbreaks recur
Still debated
Reported bighorn die-off rates span a wide range, and scientists disagree on whether modern managed grazing can be neutral or beneficial for streamside systems. The net effect of grazing on cheatgrass and fire is site-specific.
← PreviousWhy Taxpayers Fund the Killing of Millions of Wild Animals for Private RanchersNext →Why the U.S. Forest Service Loses Money Selling Public Timber
Connected episodes in other series
How Utah Mudslides Invented Rangeland EcologyGround Truth: Forest Service Research · Episode 4
The Sagebrush Rebellion: How a 1976 Land Law Sparked 50 Years of Armed StandoffsHomemade Sovereignty · Episode 4
The Greatest Good? How the Forest Service Promised to Manage Public LandThe Long Run · Episode 1