Dear HCN,
During the last 15 years
of my 27 years as a fish and wildlife biologist, I came to realize
that good range conservationists in the Bureau of Land Management
can do more for our public lands than all other disciplines
combined.
For reader-clarity sake: A “good” range
con is one who constantly and effectively protects the natural
values of our public lands. A “poor” range con sacrifices the
resource for personal benefits while “mediocre” ones
waffle.
This hypothesis culminated recently when
I visited with a range con I’d worked with in the Worland, Wyo.,
BLM district during the mid-’80s. What impressed me the most was
the matter-of-fact attitude he showed while relating progress they
had made in bringing livestock numbers and seasons of use into
proper balance with the available forage production as identified
in the range management plan. His determination was apparent when
he also said that all the remaining allotments were on a schedule
and it was only a matter of time.
What distressed
me was his burn-out as a result of years of conflict with irate
ranchers and within the agency. Here was another good range con who
wanted to bail out at the first
opportunity.
That’s why I write: I encourage all
the good range cons – and you know who you are – to stick with your
vocation. There are many jobs in the field of natural resources
that are easier and pay the same or even more. None, however, allow
you to have such a visible, long-term, positive impact on millions
of acres of land during your
career.
Richard “Dick”
Kroger
Wood Lake,
Minnesota
On Dick Kroger’s
business card a medieval English quatrain is quoted: “The law locks
up both man and woman who steals the goose from off the common, but
lets the greater felon loose who steals the common from the goose.”
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Don’t give up.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
