On the Cottonwood Ranch...
We're all talking. There's a dialogue going on instead of screaming and shouting. We hope to create a living classroom out there. - Agee Smith
Agee Smith is riding into uncharted territory. He's not only bringing
holistic resource management to his Cottonwood Ranch in the O'Neil Basin
in northeastern Nevada. He wants to extend the intensive grazing program
to the Jarbidge Wilderness, where his family has run cattle and guided
pack trips since the 1950s. Not long ago, Smith was looking to get out
of ranching.
"I bought into the idea that we were hurting the environment," Smith says. "I could see that. It wasn't economically viable. I thought it was hopeless. I started to think of doing something else. But I love the land."
The Smiths went to a holistic resource management class brought to Elko by their neighbors at the Marys River Ranch. They became believers.
Agee Smith says it's too early to see results on the land from changes in their grazing practices. But he is so convinced that the collaborative approach is right that he brought members of the Cottonwood HRM team to the Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko to promote the idea.
"People are sick and tired of conflict," said Forest Service district ranger Dave Aicher. "Something had to happen to break things loose. It takes guts to reach out and say, 'Hey, I need help.' The Smiths are opening up their whole livelihood for everyone to see their dirty laundry. It's tough. But we're all in this together. We're all part of the ecosystem."
"It's easy to talk about the constitution and democracy," said Robin Boies, a neighboring rancher. "Trying to fulfill that around your kitchen table is something else. It's scary. But there is some real energy you'll miss out on if you don't go through it. Some of us are labeled born agains. If anything is being born again it's a sense of hope."
"This is a feel good group," said Gary Johnson, a fisheries biologist with the Nevada Division of Wildlife. "But I hope we can see some successes and document it and be on our way to resolving conflicts we've seen out here."
"People used to go fishing in O'Neil Basin," said BLM resource manager Bill Baker. "What happened to that? We want healthy and sustainable lands. We need to make something work. I'm really hoping this can be win-win."
"HRM is good," said environmental activist Merl McColm. "You're working for a solution. If one thing doesn't work, you take another tack. It's a wonderful approach. I've never felt so positive as I did at our last meeting."
"So much of our energy has been spent on the fight," said
Agee Smith. "I believe this team process is the only way we will
get anything done and have the results actually get to the land."
