In the ‘Politics’ section of Fox News today was the grim headline, “Feds accused of leaving trail of wreckage after Nevada ranch standoff.”
Indeed they did. Not only did they shoot two of the rancher’s prize bulls that they had confiscated (they were dangerous, according to the Feds), but they crushed some burrows of the desert tortoise population that they claim to be protecting. This really pisses me off; the reason being that my grandfather built most of the Trout fish hatcheries in the region and my father was a State of Utah Game Warden, and later was a federal game agent, busting the bad guys in Texas, while protecting the local population of wildlife. My family has a long history of protecting the wilderness and the species that reside there. He also built most of the hiking trails in the Teton wilderness of Wyoming. Earlier, my grandfather managed the Elk ranch in Jackson, Wyoming, and built the famous herd of Elk that reside there.
As a child, I helped my father plant food trees and shrubs in the wilderness for Mule deer to feed on, and banded ducks and geese on the Salt Lake flyway in Utah, a major migration route for all water birds that shuttle back and forth between Mexico and Canada. My younger brother started the Seacology Foundation years ago that is now world famous for saving thousands of acres of tropical rain forests and hundreds of miles of oceanic reefs around the world.
So, from this, you might imagine that I would be a strong supporter of the Federal Government’s Bureau of Land Management. Well, for the most part, I am. However, in the case of the Nevada rancher I wrote about in the last blog post, I believe that the Earth and its helpless non-human species can only be protected by action on the local level (ie, the rancher and his family). But, this was not to be in the old, no longer wild West. Nope, we now have a bunch of college-educated, but ignorant bureaucrats collecting fees for land that they seized in the 1800s to punish the Mormon and other settlers of the region that were not under their control. And, they are now trying to exert their authority on land that was managed by the rancher’s forbearers since 1847.
No one is a better steward of the ecosystem than the folks who live there. If they don’t take care of the land and potable waters that are there, they die. Or, starve to death. No bureaucrat alive, in his/her fancy government office, has even a trace of the wisdom and experience of the people that live there. I believe this is true wherever you go around the world. I have seen it with my own eyes in some of the most primitive places on Earth; the rainforest jungles of Central and South America, the cannibal islands of New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, the Andes, the Amazon River Basin, and farther north in Alaska.
Instead of bullying these people, the BLM and similar agencies around the world need to give them free rein to live as their ancestors lived and help them when necessary with advice and money to maintain homeostasis with respect to the wild population of animals, birds, insects, and so forth. Instead of bully-boy tactics, they can use logic, reasoning, and science to convince and motivate these folks to emulate the native Indians they replaced, who knew these lessons I speak of for thousands of years before the Europeans and Latinos killed them off, or sold them into slavery. These people are the ones that will save the world from the dire impacts of climate change and industrial pollution.
In my humble opinion…….
This post, by the way, is in memory (or support of) Erwin, the “Birder” from Opera fame, who was apparently shot in some unidentified country while protecting some bird habitat that he loved. If you are still alive, and reading this, Erwin, many, many, people are interested in helping and supporting you in this trying time in your life. If you are able, please check-in and let us know what is happening with you.
A furry fishing buddy
