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Restore our Western Wildlife Heritage! Help Remove the Adverse Impacts of Livestock Production on Our Public Lands Grazing in the Sonora Desert, New Mexico. America's arid western public lands are at risk from taxpayer-subsidized livestock production. Livestock grazing occurs on more federal public lands than any other commercial use, affecting more than 260 million acres – an area the size of Texas and California combined! Additional impacts related to livestock grazing – including water diversions, wildlife killings, and mile after mile of fencing - further threaten the wildlife and wild character of these public lands, including habitats important to many of our most imperiled species of plants and animals. In the United States, livestock grazing has contributed to the listing of 22 percent of federal threatened and endangered species—almost equal to logging (12 percent) and mining (11 percent) combined. No other human activity in the West is as responsible for the decline or loss of species as is livestock production. The Sierra Club has placed a high priority on protecting and restoring native wildlife and habitat to our public lands by seeking management changes that will correct livestock impacts. In some locations, this may require an end to commercial livestock production. About our Campaign The goal of the Sierra Club's grazing campaign is to promote the health of our federal public lands by eliminating the adverse effects of livestock production on native species and their habitats on all federal public lands. The Sierra Club recognizes that the preponderance of scientific evidence documents that grazing by non-native species has led to severe and sometimes irreversible degradation of native ecosystems. Federal public lands belong to the American public and must be managed to maintain their long-term ecological integrity.   Backpackers, hikers, packers, and canoers or anyone using federal or state land may use our new downloadable form as a way of letting federal and state agencies know about any problems they see in the backcountry. These problems may include issues like eroded stream-banks, damaged fences, or trail erosion. Click here to download the PDF of the form.   Photos courtesy George Wuerthner; used with permission. Up to Top HOME | Email Signup | About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use | © 2008 Sierra Club