Grazing carries no risk

Stewart is provincial minister of agriculture and Cox is minister of the environment.

Re: Drought no time to open up protected lands to grazing (SP, July 30): Chrystal Mantyka-Pringle and Tara G. Martin fail to consider the role cattle have played conserving sensitive ecosystems for centuries, and overlook the fact that many conservation organizations rely on grazing to help manage protected lands and contribute to habitats.

Much of this land has not been grazed since 2009, meaning despite current dry conditions there is still ample grazing, especially considering the conservative stocking rate and short duration of the grazing period (all cattle removed Sept. 15). It’s misguided to suggest that managed grazing for a short amount of time could result in any type of ecological disaster or harm.

Perhaps the authors forgot that bison grazed these same grasslands for thousands of years? And it was largely due to the mutually beneficial relationship that animals like cattle and bison have with the Prairie which allowed these grasslands to survive all sorts of climate conditions. Grasslands require occasional grazing to maintain its diverse wildlife habitat, including species at risk.

What’s more troubling is the authors’ failure to understand and appreciate current agricultural practices. Saskatchewan ranchers are proud stewards of the land. Concern for the land in times of dry conditions is exactly why ranchers want access to these lands. Grazing these lands is not a product of overgrazing ranch land but of circumstantial drought this year. Sustaining these resources for use by future generations of ranchers, livestock, and wildlife is and will continue to be, their primary objective.

Mantyka-Pringle and Martin should know this information.