Cattle-Damaged Wildlife Habitat at Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge

Steven G. Herman (1936-2020) earned his PhD in zoology from the University of California at Davis and has taught courses in ecology, natural history, and animal behavior at The Evergreen State College since 1971. Over the years, he has closely followed the management of livestock grazing at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge (both in Oregon), and Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge in Nevada. In this 2004 interview, Herman recalls personal experiences that illustrate how cattle grazing at Oregon's Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge degraded habitat essential to wildlife. He then notes the dramatic environmental recovery that occurred within a portion of the refuge from which cattle were excluded in the late 1980s.
This video is an excerpt from a much longer interview with Steve Herman, the full transcript of which appears in the book WESTERN TURF WARS: THE POLITICS OF PUBLIC LANDS RANCHING. See westernturfwars... for details.

[@DorisLinEsq]

Thank you for publicizing this important issue, Mike!

[@MJHudak1952]

All cattle ranching was ended at Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge in 1990. In 2013, populations of pronghorn are among the highest levels ever recorded at the refuge. Dozens of songbird species populations have also significantly increased at the refuge since the removal of cattle.

[@MJHudak1952]

A USDA Forest Service study (published in 2005) examined changes in riparian songbird abundance a decade after cattle removal at Hart Mountain and Sheldon National Wildlife Refuges. The report states “Of the 51 species for which detections were sufficient to calculate changes in abundance, 71 percent (36/51) exhibited a positive trend and 76 percent (16/21) of species exhibiting a significant change (either positive or negative) increased. The average increase among the 51 species was equivalent to 3.0 detections per square kilometer.” Full report (USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-191. 2005) at www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/psw_gtr191/psw_gtr191_0550-0558_earnst.pdf

[@NotaLiberalHumanist]

The reality of the destructiveness of livestock grazing speaks for itself, particularly after viewing videos such as this.

[@MJHudak1952]

A study assessing the effects on riparian systems 23 years after eliminating cattle at the refuge was published in the journal Environmental Management (55: 930-942, DOI 10.1007/s00267-014-0436-2) in 2015. The report states “Results indicated that channel widths and eroding banks decreased in 64 and 73 percent of sites, respectively. We found a 90 percent decrease in the amount of bare soil (P < 0.001) and a 63 percent decrease in exposed channel (P < 0.001) as well as a significant increase in the cover of grasses/sedges/forbs (15 percent increase, P = 0.037), rushes (389 percent increase, P = 0.014), and willow (388 percent increase, P < 0.001).” Read the full report at www.cooscountywatchdog.com/uploads/8/7/3/0/8730508/osu_batchelor_jonathan_forestry_restoration_riparian_areas-february_2015.pdf