Activity 2.3.1 Ranchers, Anglers, and Beavers

 

Six-Point Critical Analysis of Current Event

 

 

1. Exploratory                                    

Relative to a comparable site with hot season grazing and no beaver, the study shows that streamside vegetation can be 10–40% more productive where conservation-oriented grazing approaches are applied, and beaver are at work. (Fesenmyer) This means there is more food for grazing animals and leads to more diverse wildlife in the area.

The What’s more, the study shows to get comparable gains in vegetation at sites with hot season grazing and without beaver, you would have to move a site 800 feet up in elevation or increase annual precipitation by almost 10 inches, nearly doubling the average annual precipitation at some sites. (Fesenmyer)

study also demonstrates that conservation-oriented grazing approaches can yield changes in vegetation that are comparable to those achieved by removing livestock completely through exclosure. (Fesenmyer)

 

2. Diagnostic                                       

The people using this land started to notice degradation of the streams and natural grasses. This was due to the increased overgrazing of cattle in the area. When the ranchers had no control of where the cattle were grazing, the area did not have enough time to revitalize itself.

 

3. Cause and Effect                          

Ranchers started to notice once they started blocking areas of the stream from cattle grazing the streams started to recover and flourished. Satellite images captured the growth of the streams, and the growth of new wildlife was noticed by the ranchers.

 

4. Priority

The important issue I see is that with enough effort we can restore the environment. In the article it states the solution was not to eliminate cattle grazing but to work with the ranchers so they can combat overgrazing together.

 

5. Application                                     

Throughout this course we study that with enough effort damages can be reversed to the environment. This is another example of exactly that. The people in the past did not realize the damage they were doing and by the time we realized what was happening the environment had changed dramatically.

 

6. Critical                                              

Analyze how this challenges your thinking/assumptions. (How did this change your thinking? Did it? Why?)

This article and video did not change the way I thought of the environment. This is another great example of how resilient the environment can be. During this course we have studied over and over how a little change can drastically change the environment. In this example if you limit overgrazing and allow an area to recover then you will notice new growth and wildlife in the area.

 

 

 

References

Fesenmyer, K. (2016). Restoring streamside vegetation using grazing and beavers. Trout Unlimited. https://www.tu.org/magazine/science/restoring-streamside-vegetation-using-grazing-and-beavers/Links to an external site. 

Fesenmyer, K. A, Dauwalter, D. C., Evans, C., & Allai, T. (2018). Livestock management, beaver, and climate influences on riparian vegetation in a semi-arid landscape. PLoS ONE 13(12). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0208928Links to an external site.