27px, we want 27. Please register or login . No Beef In The Steens Oregon wilderness lovers find cooperation moves cows better than a cattle prod. In southeastern Oregon's Harney County, cattle outnumber people 17 to 1, but don't expect to see any bovines in the upper reaches of the county's Steens Mountain.
Cows spread invasive weeds, diminish water quality, and disrupt the fish and wildlife.
And some people just don't want to see cows in a place called wilderness. This wilderness designation came about through a remarkable compromise between ranchers and environmentalists. During an August 1999 visit, then-Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt hinted at national monument designation for the Steens. Fearing that monument status would bring lots of tourists but little additional funding, Oregon legislators went in search of a deal that would protect the land and ranchers' interests. In the end, some 100,000 acres of grazable land were distributed among several ranches, in exchange for the high-mountain wilderness acreage.