02-04-2021, 10:02 PM
I spend a lot of time on the West Desert and in SE Utah. I have never seen pressure like 2020 in my 52 years on this planet. I counted 71 side by sides in one group while checking my cattle. The road was turned into flour. This is a road i have traveled my entire life and have went summers where i didn't pass 10 vehicles all summer! I was fortunate to draw a multiseason bear tag in San Juan county and made 11 trips down during the year to hunt bears. Colorado and Arizona and California license plates were everywhere. My good friends who live down there said the same thing. Our state continues to spout the benefits of tourism and throws open its arms to subdivision after subdivision. Meanwhile, we are still the 2nd driest state in the US and are in the midst of terrible drought. The growth that is wonderful for construction jobs, ect. is simply destroying what makes Utah special. Overcrowding, noise, air and light pollution, lack of water, where does it end? All the natural resources will pay the price.
For what its worth-
I realize some may say I'm a hypocrite, as i am a rancher. But i truly care for the land under my stewardship. Without plentiful grass and water, my cattle cannot be productive. I work very hard to not over-stock the land. I try and "bank" grass each year and leave at least half the grass in a pasture that was there when i turned cattle in. I scatter salt on high ridges to draw them away from riparian areas. And ranchers are becoming more and more rare. Each year, American family farms and ranches lose 2600 operations. They become subdivisions and shopping centers or are absorbed into corporate holdings. Someday when a loaf of bread is $20 and comes from Mexico, we will all suffer the consequences. Unlimited and unchecked growth has lots of unintended consequences. That is a much scarier proposition than a temporary covid quarantine to me.
For what its worth-
I realize some may say I'm a hypocrite, as i am a rancher. But i truly care for the land under my stewardship. Without plentiful grass and water, my cattle cannot be productive. I work very hard to not over-stock the land. I try and "bank" grass each year and leave at least half the grass in a pasture that was there when i turned cattle in. I scatter salt on high ridges to draw them away from riparian areas. And ranchers are becoming more and more rare. Each year, American family farms and ranches lose 2600 operations. They become subdivisions and shopping centers or are absorbed into corporate holdings. Someday when a loaf of bread is $20 and comes from Mexico, we will all suffer the consequences. Unlimited and unchecked growth has lots of unintended consequences. That is a much scarier proposition than a temporary covid quarantine to me.