I took some time off from the newsroom in August. There are many family demands on my time these days, so I didn’t travel anywhere truly exotic. I did, however, take a trip to the Consul area in the Southwest.
I grew up on a farm there and have family who still live there.
In addition to visiting the cemetery and the yard where I grew up with two brothers who are closest to me in age among my five siblings, I took a long drive through the countryside one afternoon.
I headed south of Consul, thinking I would try to find Notekue Ranch that is operated by one of my cousins. I failed to take the right “Y” in the road, however, and instead found myself wandering around south of Senate and over towards Govenlock.
At one point I drove for several miles with a former PFRA community pasture on one side and private pasture on the other.
There has been considerable concern recently about the federal government’s decision to turn management of the community pastures over to the provincial government and eventually into the hands of individual ranchers or grazing co-operatives.
Environmental activists and others suggest the integrity of the grasslands and the flora and fauna they support will be in jeopardy if stewardship of the land is not under the direct control of government.
I’m not saying there isn’t need for careful oversight, but I will say I could not see any difference between the pasture that has, until recently, been under direct government supervision and the land that has been grazed by generations of ranchers without that supervision. The Southwest has had an unusual amount of rain this summer and the grasslands rolling to the horizon on both sides of the road were gorgeous.
Ranchers have survived in the Southwest all those generations because they do know how to properly use their pastures. It is in their best interests to do so. Spoiling what is their most valuable resource would mean the loss of their livelihood.
So, yes, there needs to be oversight of the former community pastures as they transition into something new, but to suggest ranchers are cavalier in their attitudes toward stewardship of the land does them a disservice.
