Bison
once ranged across much of North America, from the eastern seaboard states to
southeast Washington, eastern Oregon and northeastern California. They also
roamed the high parks of the Colorado Rockies and were known from higher
elevations of the Northern Rockies in Glacier National Park, and the mountains
surrounding Yellowstone. However, the greatest numbers were found on the
shortgrass plains east of the Rocky Mountains that stretched from Alberta to
Texas – sometimes referred to as the “bison belt”. Some authorities estimated
that 75 million bison roamed North America in the pre-Columbian era, while a
more conservative estimate suggested the maximum number should be pegged at 30 million.
Due to hide hunting, sport hunting and perhaps also as a consequence of the
introduction of the horse which increased Native American hunting efficiency,
bison numbers plummeted nearly to the point of extinction by the late 1800’s.
The enormous herds of buffalo in the “bison belt” served two
purposes.
1)
Up until the California gold rush and the establishment
of the Oregon trail in the 1840’s, native Americans flourished in the Great
Plains states. Although it’s difficult to determine accurate numbers, it is
believed that the native American population was in the millions. Although some
of the natives established villages and farms, buffalo meat was an important
part of their died.
2)
Even using a conservative number of 30 million,
Great Plains buffaloes produced a lot of “manure”, which further enriched the
soil.
Before European settlers moved in, the Great Plains were
covered by tall grasses, which provided nutrients for the soil and prevention
against soil erosion.
After the Homestead Act was signed in 1862, farming in the Great
Plains exploded, since the act opened up millions of acres of rich farm land.
Increased demand for good during WWI expanded the number or
acres under cultivation, but little regard was paid to soil conservation, which
led to the dust storms of the 1930’s.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homestead_Acts
Buffalo in the Great Plains have been almost entirely replaced
by cattle – to the detriment of our environment.
About a third of human-caused
methane emissions come from livestock,
mostly from beef and dairy cattle, produced in the digestive process that allows
ruminants (hoofed animals including cows, sheep and goats with four-part
stomachs) to absorb plants.
Cows and other
farm animals produce about 14% of
human-induced climate emissions, and it is methane from their burps and manure
that is seen as both the biggest concern and best opportunity for tackling
global heating.
Although methane breaks down relatively quickly in the atmosphere, it is a more
potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Reducing these emissions has been
touted as one of the most immediate opportunities to
slow global heating ahead of the Cop26 UN climate talks in Glasgow.
Options for reducing methane include alternative feeds for
cattle, reducing food loss and waste, and cutting meat and dairy production.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/27/whats-the-beef-with-cows-and-the-climate-crisis
Strangely enough, new grazing methods of cattle (patterned after the grazing of buffalo) can help solve environmental issues.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/31/climate/cows-grassland-carbon.html
Majestic grasslands once
blanketed a quarter of North America, before homesteaders began plowing up the
earth to plant those amber waves of grain. Now just a third of the native
prairies survive, said Joe Fargione, science director, North America, at The
Nature Conservancy.
Yet grasslands play a vital
role in storing carbon — which in the form of carbon dioxide is the main
greenhouse gas linked to climate change — and thus they serve as a crucial
bulwark against rising temperatures and seas. Researchers estimate that
grasslands could contain as much as 30 percent of the carbon stored in the
Earth’s soil. Plowing them in order to plant crops releases large amounts of
that carbon into the atmosphere.
By adopting regenerative
grazing practices — in particular, by frequently rotating concentrated herds
and by resting paddocks for long intervals — they and a growing number of North
American ranchers are using the cattle themselves to improve grassland health.
Settlers
and colonists, biased toward the forests that fueled the European economy,
often regarded the grasslands of the New World as wastelands begging to be
planted or passed over. Experts believe this misconception persists.
“We are still a long way from actually convincing
policymakers that soil carbon is important,” said Ibrahim Thiaw, executive
secretary of the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification.
Yet grassland roots are remarkably resilient and are
better equipped than forests to withstand harsh droughts. And unlike forests,
grasslands tend to retain the majority of their carbon in the soil following
wildfires. Grasslands are also largely superior at springing back to life after
the massive conflagrations that
climate change — and bad fire-suppression policy —
have wrought worldwide.
In the United States, the proposed North American Grasslands Conservation Act would, its supporters argue, establish a cohesive national strategy to protect and restore these biomes.
Most people think about energy and forests when
referring to the climate crisis, said Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon and
a top backer of the legislation. “But if we’re going to overcome this code-red
emergency, we also need to look across all sectors and industries. And
grasslands have just as critical a role to play.”
One possible solution: Send in the cows.
The
key, experts said, is to strike a delicate balance between grazing and resting
the land.
“We’re trying to make the livestock mimic what the
bison did not so long ago,” said Mr. Coulter. “There are regenerative systems
that absolutely need large ruminants to cycle nutrients into the land.”
In
regenerative grazing, ranchers typically concentrate their herds into small
paddocks. This pressures the cows to consume a wide variety of grasses, so no
single plant species become predominant.
The ranchers move the cows frequently — near daily in
the case of a Montana rancher, Bill Milton, 72, who uses portable electric
fencing to shift his herd, as do the Obrechts and Mr. Coulter. The animals
leave behind strewn and trampled grass particles, plus lots of cow pies for
good measure. This all fortifies soil health and provides ground cover that
helps keep the earth cooler and improves precipitation absorption.
Crucially, the ranchers give each paddock ample time,
sometimes more than a year, to recover and produce new growth — a process that sequesters carbon.
“The big question is what kind of impact these
practices will have on climate change,” said Mr. Milton.
Buffalo no longer roam the Great Plains in large numbers, but by mimicking their grazing methods, cattle ranchers in those areas can reduce global warming. According to NASA, global temperatures have been rising on a fairly steady basis since 1880. 2020 is tied with 2016 as the warmest year on record since records were first kept in 1880.
https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/global-temperature/
Despite what your uncle Harry may have heard on FOX “news”,
global warming is not a hoax – and Elsie the cow can help fix the problem.
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