How crazy?
Document Actions
- Share this:
- Like
- Tweet
- Print this
- Comment
Dear HCN,
How crazy have we become? Brent Israelsen writes in the May 24th HCN about ranchers wanting a new $8 million dam on the Escalante River to supply water to raise cattle feed in arid southern Utah.
With a surplus of meat in the United States, it is time for livestock producers to look for other options. When it takes 1.6 million gallons of water to grow one acre of alfalfa, it would be good to look at better land uses. Cheap land and cheap water have led to misuse of millions of acres of Western lands. Escalante, Utah, should be welcoming newcomers of different backgrounds to diversify their economy.
Robert Fanning
Spearfish, South Dakota
How crazy have we become? Brent Israelsen writes in the May 24th HCN about ranchers wanting a new $8 million dam on the Escalante River to supply water to raise cattle feed in arid southern Utah.
With a surplus of meat in the United States, it is time for livestock producers to look for other options. When it takes 1.6 million gallons of water to grow one acre of alfalfa, it would be good to look at better land uses. Cheap land and cheap water have led to misuse of millions of acres of Western lands. Escalante, Utah, should be welcoming newcomers of different backgrounds to diversify their economy.
Robert Fanning
Spearfish, South Dakota
Check Out Our Podcasts 
High Country News in your inbox!