Document: WIL-3-329-182

Cattle, conservation, and cooperation-building the radical center.

MCDONALD, W.*

Malpai Borderlands Project, Douglas, AZ 85608 USA ¹

Abstract:
The Malpai Borderlands Group at the juncture of Mexico, New Mexico and Arizona is committed to restoring and maintaining the natural processes that create and protect a healthy, unfragmented landscape to support a diverse, flourishing community of human, plant, and animal life in the borderlands region. For the most part, the community is interested in the sustainability of ranching, maintaining open spaces, and natural ecosystems that support this community. Land values, tax laws, and population pressures sometimes cloud the future of ranching that perpetuates stewardship of natural ecosystems. This project is driven by the ranching community taking a proactive position to maintain control of their destiny. To this end they have invited interagency participation in the planning and management of the land on an ecosystem basis. The participation in this effort is voluntary for individuals as well as agencies. The enthusiasm, support, and participation at this point exceed our expectations. In a political climate where the traditional position on this issue of land use is usually to be at one end of the spectrum or the other, we find ourselves in the "radical center".

Keywords: ranching

This abstract is being presented at: 9:15 AM in session:
Symposium # 25: Cows and Conservation: A Role for Ranching in Protecting Biodiversity.