Waste of taxpayer money?

There are times when it's just better to be quiet and not say anything, but the president of the New Mexico Cattle growers just had to say a few things about finally dealing with the feral cattle that have been destroying our nation's first wilderness for almost 50 years. It is beyond absurd to say that it was a "huge waste of taxpayer money" when public land ranching costs us five times more for the management costs than what we get back in return. We charge $1.35 per head or cow calf pair per month to fatten up those animals. It would cost more to feed a hamster than what we charge, but worse than that, one half of that $1.35/month fee we charge goes back into their own range "improvement" fund (fencing, waters etc.) so really we are only getting 67 1/2 cents/month. Our government's "profits" are one fifth of what our costs are. Even a ten year old could easily figure out that wouldn't last long if one were running a business

. It's also strange to talk about the waste of taxpayer money when we shoot cows, but when we shoot wolves or other predators the same way with the same costs all to protect livestock that cannot realistically be protected, it's justified. Since it takes many tens of thousands of acres to have a cattle operation in the arid west one cannot realistically watch over such a vast area sufficiently and it's not cost effective to hire someone to do that job. Once again that leaves it to us taxpayers to pay for what they can't or won't do. Grazing our Forest Service, BLM, even wilderness areas and wildlife refuges only produces a scant 3% of our nation's beef supply. Is it worth the monetary and environmental costs?

Michael Sauber
Silver City