Since publication of my article “Cows on the Dole,” EarthTimes, Jan/Feb 1998, livestock grazing on western public lands has received increasing attention as an environmental and economic disaster of national significance. Before delving into an update, here’s a synopsis of the issue. Livestock, mostly cattle, graze on approximately 244 million acres of federal public lands in the eleven western states—a region roughly eight times the size of New York state. The aridity of these regions during the past 10,000 years prevented survival of any native species even remotely similar to cattle. Hence the vegetation that evolved there never developed defenses against intense herbivory. Consequently, the introduction of cattle into those ecosystems beginning in the 1860s—in some places by the 1600s by Spanish settlers—initiated widespread degradation. Streambanks eroded, water tables dropped, soil productivity declined, weeds invaded and forests became more dense and fire prone. As a result, populations of many wildlife species dependant on these ecosystems have declined—some to the extent that they are now federally listed as threatened or endangered. American taxpayers participate in this environmental tragedy by contributing 90% of what federal agencies spend on their grazing programs; ranchers pay the rest through their meager grazing fees.