We look out our window and see two different landscapes. The ranchers see grass growing on hillsides and around stream areas that have not changed much in their lifetimes. These ranchers see a land that is healthy. Certainly, it is healthier than it was a hundred years ago, in the heyday of unregulated grazing. They see a land that is productive.
Relative newcomers view the valley from a very different perspective.
We know that overgrazed riparian areas can actually lower the water table. We regret that here, in the Gila National Forest, mountain lions and black bear and coyotes are killed annually to keep this area safe for cattle. Because this is still open range, we chase the cows from our gardens every year. We backpack in the Gila Wilderness and find our camping sites littered with cow pies. We worry about things like the growing desertification of the West and the destruction of wildlife habitat.