Energy & Industry

Bovine boondoggle

Catherine Lutz Feb. 28, 2000 From the print edition
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  • Cover of report "Cash Cows"

  Cows eat up more than just grass in the West, says a special investigative report by the San Jose Mercury News. According to "Cash Cows: The Giveaway of the West," federal-lands grazing consumes tax dollars without giving much back. Published in November and now available in eight-page color reprints, the report was compiled by 10 staffers over nine months. According to the report, livestock munch 254 million acres of public lands, an area the size of California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho. While grazing is a bonanza for "corporate cowboys' - the wealthy few who control most range lands - it has become a boondoggle to taxpayers, family ranchers and the environment.


The reprints, including photos and graphs, letters to the editor, editorials, and contact Web sites, are available for 12 cents each, minimum 100, plus $7.50 shipping per 100 copies. Write: San Jose Mercury News, Cash Cow Reprints, c/o Sharon Fowler, 750 Ridder Park Dr., San Jose, CA 95190. Please write "Cash Cows," plus the number of reprints desired, in the memo field, and send an e-mail to [email protected] noting the number ordered and amount of money sent. Visit www.sjmercury.com/nation/giveaway for the articles without supplementary material.


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