WWP is unfortunately a rare group doing the work that mainstream organizations shy away from. Their style is open, honest, brave and just. If you hike, backpack, bird, hunt or fish western lands or care about the watersheds you should be thanking this unique and fine organization for their tireless work at bringing the renegade livestock industry to abide by laws and regulations on the books. The industry has always had their way by way of threats and intimidation. WWP doesn't buy the threats. They meticulously document the damage, go to court and win.
Western Watersheds Project is the single most effective organization in the country to challenge outdated land management practices and to stand up for the preservation of native biodiversity and for fiscal and scientific responsibility in the agencies that manage our public lands. In over 40 years of guiding, working and recreating on western public lands I have seen massive decline in landscape health virtually everywhere. WWP and its partner organizations are to be commended for holding land managers' feet to the fire and getting on the ground results!
Western Watersheds has stepped in where state game and fish agencies have been politicized to remain quiet on cattle and domestic sheep grazing issues on public lands. It is well documented that bighorn sheep will die from disease when they come into contact with domestic sheep on our public lands and Western Watersheds has stepped in to remove domestic sheep from my public lands for the benefit of my bighorn sheep, while state game and fish agencies have shied away from this controversy.
Ranchers are not the saviors or our public lands and their self imposed statements of feeding America with their cattle and sheep from my public lands speaks to their self imposed delusions of grander, usually from watching too many John Wayne movies.
For too long public lands in the west have been exploited and damaged at public expense. It's time to put an end to welfare ranching. My beliefs are based on facts and evidence, not cowboy myth. Public land grazing has become a looser for public interest and a winner for a few wealthy ranchers. We must stop this, It is not sustainable. We should be managing public lands for the long term public interest, not for short term financial gain for a few private individuals. Ranchers who cry loud and long about jobs hire foreign nationals to do the real work. Western Watersheds does more than any other organization to provide real information and protection of our public lands. Stop welfare ranching.
