Ecological Effects of Ranching: A Six-Point Critique

JEROME E. FREILICH; JOHN M. EMLEN; JEFFREY J. DUDA; D. CARL FREEMAN; PHILIP J. CAFARO

doi:10.1641/0006-3568(2003)053[0759:EEORAS]2.0.CO;2

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JEROME E. FREILICH,^* JOHN M. EMLEN,^** JEFFREY J. DUDA,^** D. CARL FREEMAN,^*** PHILIP J. CAFARO^****

^*Jerome E. Freilich (Jerry_Freilich@nps.gov) was with the Wyoming Outdoor Council, Lander, WY 82520, when this article was written; he is currently research coordinator at Olympic National Park, Port Angeles, WA 98362.
^**John M. Emlen and Jeffrey J. Duda are research ecologists at the Western Fisheries Research Center, US Geological Survey, Biological Resource Division, Seattle, WA 98115.
^***D. Carl Freeman is a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202.
^****Philip J. Cafaro is an assistant professor at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523.

Abstract

Ranching is the dominant land use in much of the American West. Although a copious literature has examined the effects of various grazing practices on native ecosystems, we present here the idea that ranching has important impacts on the land independent of those caused by grazing itself. If biological conservation is to be successful on the western grasslands and shrublands, ranchers must be central to any plan. Focusing on the Great Plains of the United States, and on Wyoming in particular, we raise six points of concern that must be addressed before we can hope to restore or maintain native ecosystems on the range.

Citation Download Citation

JEROME E. FREILICH, JOHN M. EMLEN, JEFFREY J. DUDA, D. CARL FREEMAN, and PHILIP J. CAFARO "Ecological Effects of Ranching: A Six-Point Critique," BioScience 53(8), 759-765, (1 August 2003). https://doi.org/10.1641/0006-3568(2003)053[0759:EEORAS]2.0.CO;2

Published: 1 August 2003