Bio-Diversity

Biodiversity = sustainability. To date scientists have described 1.7 million of the world's species of animals, plants, insects and algae—and they’ve not all been described…or discovered. The number, while vast, is less important than the point it makes: nature requires diversity.

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Defending Beef—The Case for Sustainable Meat Production

This is the best and easiest-to-understand book about why sustainable ranching is necessary for a healthy environment. It is a must-read for every landowner, rancher, wildlife manager, conservationist, wild horse advocate, hunter, wildlifer, and consumer. Defending Beef—The Case for Sustainable Meat Production. The Manifesto of an Environmental Lawyer and

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CKI Studies Scaled Quail Decline

This study of blue (scaled) quail decline, conducted by  the Caesar Kleberg Institute, finds that brush removal, monocultures of non-native grasses and cattle removal cause blue quail numbers to fall.     The prescriptions would seem obvious: graze cattle in ways that help plants, preserve brush, and get lots of weeds growing

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Glyphosate Is Anything But Safe

Under our industrial agricultural methods, virtually all of our major crops are being grown with GMO seeds designed to withstand glyphosate, more commonly known by its trade name Roundup®. Seeds are planted. After they sprout, the fields are poisoned, up to three different times, to kill all weeds. This poison

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Crop Herbicides Play a Role in Shrinking Monarch Population

A kaleidoscope of monarch butterflies hangs from a tree branch in the Piedra Herrada sanctuary near Valle de Bravo, Mexico. Photo: Rebecca Blackwell /Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A butterfly being considered for federal protection is emblematic of the plight that pollinating insects face in part because farmers, enticed by

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Desert Restoration: Insights From the Human Body

Holistic thinkers rightly point out the health of wildlife and its habitat depends on the health of soil particularly its life-giving microorganisms. Here is a wonderful TED Talk discussing how microorganisms determine human health and behavior. Did you know there are 10X as many micro-organic cells in your body as

Bio-Diversity

Confinement Meat Production, Not Meat Eating, Hurts the Environment

Big Agriculture’s industrial model of confinement meat production is undoubtedly damaging the environment. Cows, pigs and chickens are crowded together in unbelievable numbers and filth. They are forced to live on their own feces and urine. Their artificial diets which include chemicals, pesticides, and hormones are toxic. Then, massive

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Wildlife Numbers Drop by Half Since 1970, Report Says

Biodiversity loss in our Southwestern deserts is part of a larger global trend. Wildlife “management” is making this worse.   NOTE: Originally appeared on WSJ.com September 30, 2014. It was written by Gautam Naik.   Analysis by WWF and Others Was Based on Thousands of Species in Rivers, on Land and

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Game Videos Fall 2014

These videos were taken at what we call Sheep Tank, a water point that overlooks one of our largest canyons. Many species share this water, with no visible conflict with each other, or harm to habitat.   Big Horn: Elk: Mule Deer: Quail: Others: Biodiversity is good, not bad, for our

Bio-Diversity

West Texas, Photography by Weiman Meinzer

An evocative and beautiful short film about the culture, wildlife and geography of West Texas.    Wyman Meinzer’s West Texas from Wyman Meinzer on Vimeo.

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Restoring Desert Grasslands. EARTH A New Wild - Episode 2 - Plains

EARTH: A New Wild takes a fresh look at humankind’s relationship to the planet’s wildest places and most fascinating species. Produced by National Geographic Studios in association with Passion Planet, the series is hosted by Dr. M. Sanjayan, leading conservation scientist, who takes viewers on a stunning visual

Bighorn

Circle Ranch Habitat Restoration Crews at Work - August 2014

Every month we edit 5,000 game photos from 13 cameras across the Circle Ranch. We have many species, and large animal numbers, as these photos show. The idea that these animals “compete” or otherwise “harm” each other, or their habitat, is contradicted by massive photographic evidence accumulated over many

Bio-Diversity

Ecology and Conservation of the Prairie Dog Grassland Ecosystem of the Northern Chihuahua Desert, and Far-West Texas

Long considered pests, prairie dogs are in fact necessary to the health of desert grasslands and wildlife.   The desert grasslands of the Janos region in northern Chihuahua are home of one of the largest surviving prairie dog colonies in the world. Black-tailed prairie dogs are highly social rodents that live

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Restoring Desert Grasslands or Creating Desert Badlands?

For 60 years, this National Park Service land has been “protected” from cattle, unintentionally accelerating its desertification. Here is a typical Big Wildlife program being pursued at Big Bend National Park to “protect” degrading habitat.   (ABOVE PDF can be viewed here -> ) I don’t doubt the sincerity or

Bio-Diversity

New Year's Greetings from Far-West Texas

A 1-week family gathering in far-West Texas between Christmas and New Year’s is a family tradition. New Year weather can be fair, or brutal. Our best 2014 ranch investment was our standby generator system: We were snug in a weeklong storm.     New Year 2015 from Christopher Gill on Vimeo.

Bio-Diversity

Amish Farmers Point the Way for Desert Grasslands Restoration

These lessons, from  organic farming, are completely portable to desert grasslands restoration.   NOTE: originally published by The Atlantic October 6, 2014   By studying the immune systems of plants, they’ve developed a technique that eliminates the need for chemicals.   “In the Second World War,” Samuel Zook began, “my ancestors were

Bio-Diversity

Australia: Restoring Desert Grasslands with Holistic Planned Grazing

Here is a major cattle venture funded by European institutional investors in the Australian outback.   From the company website: Founded in 2009, SLM Partners was established to channel investment capital towards land management systems that are profitable and sustainable. Our first project focuses on beef cattle production on grazing land

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Restoring Desert Grasslands: A Video Comparison of Cattle, Water Harvesting and Keyline as a Safer, Cheaper and Faster Alternative to Spike

Here is a well-intentioned but ill-advised project for “restoration” of desert grasslands.   The Rest of The Story…   BLM is spending $30 million on 500,000 acres: $60 an acre.  The objective is to kill all creosote and mesquite; thereafter, the staffers propose to use fire to “maintain the landscape.” Bad

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The Role of Aoudad in Restoration of High-Desert Mountain Wildlife and Habitat

At Circle Ranch we understand that biodiversity is good, not bad, and act accordingly.  In that context, here is common sense on aoudad.   The Ammotragus Advantage …by Brandt Buchanan   To begin, I would like to declare that the following theories have not been proven by any specific study pertaining to

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Cows and Keyline: Restoring Desert Grasslands

This 17-minute video, “Cows and Keyline” discusses the use of cattle and the Yeomans Keyline plow as the quickest, cheapest, and safest way to restore desert grasslands. It also documents a project to repair a gully formed by an old road. Aerial photography provides graphic comparisons of the result of

Aoudad

Out Here in The Middle

Out Here in The Middle is a short video about summer at the Circle Ranch, in the high-desert mountains of far-West Texas.

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Restoring Desert Grasslands: A New Book by Allan Savory

It is hard to believe that the common sense contained in this little book has generated such anger and controversy. Holistic planned grazing uses domestic animals as replacements for the great wild herds that once roamed our grasslands. Beginning with a simple explanation of the physiological need of grasslands for

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Desert Restoration: Aoudad, Mule Deer and Summer Rain

These short videos were taken in August 2014 at “Sheep Tank,” which is on the south edge of the Circle Ranch, at an elevation of approximately 5,500 feet. Sheep Tank is in a long, broad valley, which is approximately 1,000 feet higher than our lowest desert, and 1,

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High-Desert Restoration Technicians: June 2014

Bighorn and aoudad play an indispensable role in maintaining healthy habitat in the extreme upper elevations of our far-West Texas mountains. Contrary to game manager ‘urban legend’, these animals are socially compatible, and improve habitat conditions for one another. Here are cool videos of bighorn and aoudad sharing water, taken

Aoudad

Desert Grassland Restoration Crew at Work: June 2014

This blog was established to promote the use of sound science in our wildlife and habitat management practices. We devote a lot of time to talking about the role of cattle delivering the animal impact which grasslands require. In fact, most of our animal impact comes from the wild animals

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Restoring Desert Grasslands: Yeomans Keyline Subsoiling Results at the Circle Ranch, August 2014

Here is a cheap, fast, environmentally-friendly alternative to range poisoning with herbicides. When combined with holistic planned grazing of cattle, and a diverse population of wild animals, this practice leads to rapid conversion of subsoil to topsoil, increases soil fertility,  improves and restores water function, and, is sustainable. Beginning in