HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT
IN PRACTICE
in this Issue
Providing the link between a healthy environment and a sound economy MARCH / APRIL 2002 NUMBER 82
Empowering Policy by Ann Adams
I
t has been with some trepidation that I approached this issue on influencing policy through Holistic Management. My anxiety stemmed I think largely from the difficulties of getting stories about people actually implementing holistically designed policies. While we have lots of success with people using Holistic Management ® Policy Analysis and Design to analyze and create holisticallysound policy, actual implementation is hard to find. When we look at the reason why people have not been able to implement such policy, the logjam is almost always the bureaucracies in charge of those policies and how people can or cannot engage them effectively to implement holistically sound policy. Another challenge of getting holistically designed policy implemented is that it requires us to go outside, or at least stretch, our circle of influence. You can have a great idea, but if people don’t understand it, you won’t be able to sell it to anyone. For that reason, it’s critical to find people who can help you demonstrate to policy makers and stakeholders how this policy benefits them in the short- and longterm. It’s hard to do that effectively if you believe that the average bureaucrat has the IQ and creativity of a snail. That’s why it is essential to remember that while bureaucracies may be a logjam for innovation, bureaucrats may not be. In fact, your creativity in approaching bureaucrats may be the real logjam. Focusing on bureaucracy as the problem seems very similar to focusing on weeds as the problem when they are invading your land, rather than getting clear about what it is you want to create and spending your creativity on achieving it. In the weed case, I determine that I want covered soil with lots of biodiversity, etc., create a plan to achieve it (through the use of selected tools), and then monitor that plan. The weeds become a non-issue.
A Powerful Process I’m not saying it’s easy to focus on what you want and not be distracted and discouraged by frustrating regulations. I constantly have to struggle with my negative feelings about bureaucracy. It’s hard not to focus on them as the problem because I have had many experiences with bureaucracies that have left me feeling disempowered. In fact, sometimes, I get the feeling that the people within those bureaucracies feel pretty disempowered as well. But with Holistic Management ® Policy Analysis, I can use the model to understand what will work and what won’t work and why, and that leaves me feeling more empowered in the process. Likewise, in the policy design I will know who needs to be included and when. That knowledge can infuse a great deal of hope and encourage persistence (powerful tools in even the poorest of hands). Given the magnitude of many bureaucracies, I think it is absolutely essential to view any influence as a success. To assume that one will immediately and completely cover ground that has been 50 percent bare for years is to set oneself up for failure. To expect a bureaucracy to completely accept one’s ideas at the first presentation can be equally self-sabotaging.
Public & Private Just as one’s knowledge of, and experience with, the ecosystem processes will help someone trying to cover bare ground, one’s interpersonal skills such as listening, communicating, and relating to others will profoundly affect one’s ability to get a holistically sound policy implemented. It will also affect one’s ability to be empowered in that experience of engaging with the bureaucracy, in educating others about that experience, and in actually changing policy as opposed to getting one’s agenda met.
It can be a challenging task to influence policy in a way that empowers everyone. But with the Holistic Management ® model, we have a tool that keeps us on track when the waters become muddy. Allan Savory has spent much of his life helping others design and implement holistically-sound policies. Read about his experiences and learning in a series of articles beginning on page 3.
The Endangered Species Act—Lessons from the Field Allan Savory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 The Importance of Livestock in Natural Resource Policies Allan Savory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Awareness Isn’t Change Allan Savory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 The Savory Center’s Northeast Efforts— Building a Regional Presence Mary Child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Healing the Land—Changing Colorado Bureaucracy Cindy Dvergsten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
LAND & LIVESTOCK— A special section of IN PRACTICE Creative Solutions—Living with Predators Jim Howell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Cows Have Culture Too—Understanding Livestock/Landscape Interactions Jim Howell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Savory Center Bulletin Board Marketplace
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The Allan Savory Center for Holistic Management Ad definitum finem
The ALLAN SAVORY CENTER FOR HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. The center works to restore the vitality of communities and the natural resources on which they depend by advancing the practice of Holistic Management and coordinating its development worldwide. BOARD OF DIRECTORS Rio de la Vista, Chair Ann Adams, Secretary Manuel Casas, Treasurer Gary Rodgers Allan Savory
ADVISORY BOARD Robert Anderson, Chair, Corrales, NM Ron Brandes, New York, NY Sam Brown, Austin, TX Leslie Christian, Portland, OR Gretel Ehrlich, Gaviota, CA Clint Josey, Dallas, TX Christine Jurzykowski, Glen Rose, TX Doug McDaniel, Lostine, OR Guillermo Osuna, Coahuila, Mexico Bunker Sands, Dallas, TX York Schueller, Santa Barbara, CA Jim Shelton, Vinita, OK Richard Smith, Houston, TX
STAFF Shannon Horst, Executive Director; Kate Bradshaw, Associate Director; Allan Savory, Founding Director; Jody Butterfield, Co-Founder and Research and Educational Materials Coordinator ; Kelly Pasztor, Director of Educational Services; Andy Braman, Development Director; Ann Adams, Managing Editor, IN PRACTICE and Membership Support Coordinator , Craig Leggett, Special Projects Manager; Mary Child, Regional Program Development Coordinator. Africa Centre for Holistic Management Private Bag 5950, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe tel: (263) (11) 213529; email: rogpachm@africaonline.co.zw Huggins Matanga, Director; Roger Parry, Manager, Regional Training Centre; Elias Ncube, Hwange Project Manager/Training Coordinator
HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE (ISSN: 1098-8157) is published six times a year by The Allan Savory Center for Holistic Management, 1010 Tijeras NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102, 505/842-5252, fax: 505/843-7900; email: savorycenter@holisticmanagement. org.; website: www.holisticmanagement.org Copyright © 2002. 2 HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE #82
Empowering Policy The irony of bureaucracy is that we must consider things outside of our own whole, which can be particularly annoying for those of us in individualistic cultures who grew up thinking that private property meant we could do what we wanted on it. Seeing a bureaucracy as a customer and neighbor makes us more responsible in learning about the needs of that institution and relinquishing the myth that we have the privilege of forging ahead with our plans without considering others. It makes us consider issues of timing, relationships, interests, needs, and consequences.
Symbolic Acts When I was in graduate school, students concerned about violence against women, including me, wanted to establish what became known as a Rape Crisis Center. Women who had been attacked could go there for counseling, but the center would also attempt to educate the students and staff on campus about issues related to violence against women. We tried the typical approach of going up the chain of command and logically arguing for this center. People met with us and said they would think about it, but nothing happened. We contacted newspapers and tried to educate the public about the need for such a center. As the end of the school year approached, we realized we had a golden opportunity with parents coming for graduation. We realized that as students we weren’t really considered all that important by much of the administration. But parents were important because they paid the bills in many cases, and they were the ones with connections to the Alumni Associations and to others who donated large sums to the university. So we decided to use a small piece of land, set aside by the university to allow freedom of speech, as a means of drawing attention to our cause. In the early hours of the morning, we erected a “Rape Crisis Shanty” (it was really just four posts with some old aluminum skirting for a mobile home on which we spraypainted some of the statistics about rape on campus). As parents toured campus with their children, they were confronted with some of the realities that the university didn’t really want them to know. We maintained this symbolic act through an eventful summer in which the Shanty remained prominent in local, and even national, news. As fall approached, we made an additional effort to educate the people on
continued from page one
campus. We decided to stand outside dormitories during new student orientation and hand out “fact sheets” about the campus and violence against women. At that point the university decided that perhaps an office/center addressing these concerns was in order. Whether or not that was the best solution to address that concern is irrelevant to me. What is relevant to me is we were involved in both a symbolic act (erecting a Rape Crisis Shanty that made visible the poverty of spirit that the university had for this issue) and proactive education of our community about the need for action. Through creativity and perseverance we created change in the university bureaucracy. Looking back, I suppose our ongoing efforts were fueled by our belief that we were entitled to such services because the university had provided so many other services while not addressing that particular need. I suspect I would have approached some things differently if I had known what I know now. I would have at least been more likely to understand why people were behaving the way they were and been better able to maximize our efforts by finding ways to help the university see how it might benefit from such a service. I might have been able to better articulate the big picture for others. I like to think we might have come less from a place of “We will be taken seriously” and more from “This new action we are suggesting will create a campus where we all feel safe so that more parents will feel good about sending their children here.” In other words, had I better understood why and how policies are formed and how to influence policy makers, I could have influenced our actions. All the university community (not just our group) could have been empowered by this policy change rather than feeling they were reacting to our symbolic attack on the university’s status quo. Holistically-sound policy empowers. It is policy that moves people toward creating an environment (physical or social) that increases their quality of life. Policies can be empowering or disempowering depending on who is included (physically or in spirit) in the making of that policy, how we go about affecting those policies or working with bureaucracies, and what the intent is. If our intent is empowerment, then our motivation will fuel our perseverance, integrity, learning, and compassion.
The Endangered Species A ct—
Lessons from the Field by Allan Savory Editor’s Note: This and the following two articles by Allan Savory are excerpted from the Savory Center’s policy course curriculum. Our hope in sharing them with you is that you gain some insight into ho w Holistic Management ® Policy Analysis can help people see the forest even in the midst of the trees. Using the Holistic Management ® model when working with any organization or bureaucracy is the first step in influencing policy on all dif ferent levels. We hope that people take this new form of civic duty to heart and determine where they can most effectively influence policy to bring about a better world.
Saving the Spotted Owl Early in the 1980s, I was running a course on policy formation for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in Arizona. Some BIA officials and I were working with a group of San Carlos Apaches during a week of Holistic Management training. We had reached the point where the officials and
"There was no need for a policy. . . The forest condition and health essential to preserve Apaches was one and the same with that which would preserve owls!"
the Apaches had a basic understanding of the Holistic Management ® model and its use in settings from household management to government policy formation. Given the opportunity to then work on a topical policy, the people chose to work on the endangered owl policy that had recently been introduced. In this policy, strict measures were being imposed to preserve old growth and healthy forest on their reservation as habitat for the diminishing population of owls.
First, the group analyzed this protective policy from a social, environmental, and economic point of view in relation to their forests, culture, and economy. In working through the model, it was evident that the proposed policy would fail because it was based on an objective (to stop spotted owl decline) rather than a policy based on a holistic goal (improved habitat, quality of life for those living there, etc.). They concluded that the likely outcome of the policy was that people on the land would begin to shoot the owls and that the policy would do little to protect the owls while alienating the people, whose livelihoods would be damaged. No sooner had the entire group come to this conclusion than one of the Apaches put up his hand and said the analysis was remarkably accurate as they were already shooting every owl they could!
A New Approach I then asked the group to forget about the owl, and I asked all the Anglo (nonIndian) BIA officials to only observe without participating. Next, I had the Apaches form a generic holistic goal for the tribe that we could use to devise a policy that would protect the owl without the adverse effects of the present policy. A short while later the Apaches had the nucleus of a tribal holistic goal, one that laid out what they valued most deeply in their lives and culture. It went on to describe the things that would need to be produced from their resource base (in this case the land and its forests) to realize such lives. They then described their land and forests as they needed to be hundreds of years from now if the tribe was to still be living such lives and preserving such values. A short discussion then took place about the possible components of a policy that would preserve the owls, and everyone laughed. They laughed purely because it was now so obvious to everyone that there was no need for a policy, nor for any measures to be taken to save the owls. The forest condition and health essential to
preserve Apaches was one and the same with that which would preserve owls! All that was needed to preserve owls, trout, and other wildlife, while reducing floods, droughts and poverty, was Holistic Management education and training for the BIA, with that education and training to be increasingly carried over to the Apaches. If any policies were needed it was ones that created incentives for people to manage holistically (promotions, tax incentives, grant money, etc).
The Case of the Desert Tortoise In the early 1990s I ran a policy course for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and other agencies in the western Arizona desert where tortoises and many other species were dying out. Major environmental organizations and concerned government agencies were devising policies to save the tortoises from extinction. Observation and research indicated that tortoises were being killed in high numbers by ravens and coyotes, as well as being run over by vehicles. There was also a problem with a respiratory disease that was affecting some tortoises. The policies then ran along the usual lines, and the objective was to save the tortoises from extinction. The suggested manner to achieve this objective was to poison the ravens and coyotes to reduce predation, to remove cattle, and to prohibit recreational vehicles from driving off-road. If the tortoises suffered less predation and less accidental death by being trodden on or driven over, reasoned the policymakers, they should recover. Before we worked on this policy, I introduced the course participants to the new concepts that enabled us to develop Holistic Management—nature functioning in wholes, the environmental brittleness scale, the role of animals, plants and soils in water, and nutrient cycling, energy flow, and community dynamics. Next, we went out on the land inhabited by the tortoises to see what that looked like. In making our inspection we were fortunate because we had the research data compiled by the government for the area, which included a research plot protected from livestock for over 50 years. No one could find any significant difference between the condition of the land continued on page 4
HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE • MARCH / APRIL 2002 3
The Endangered Species Act—Lessons from the Field continued from page 3
inside the fenced-off plot and outside it. This was not surprising since the main tool used inside the fence was rest in the form of
“total rest,” and the main tool used outside it was rest in the form of “partial rest” (large herbivores present on the land in low numbers and without herding behaviors), and both consistently exhibit essentially the same effect across the brittleness scale. Management outside the research plot had relied on the tool of grazing, but applied as overgrazing and rest, in the form of partial rest. Fire had not been used deliberately and had been rare. Next, we looked at how these tools had acted upon the basic life cycle in the biological community. We found oxidation had largely replaced biological decay with the consequent loss of all animal-dependent perennial grasses and vast exposure of bare soil (over 95 percent between plants). The land was dominated by three species of grass that could withstand high levels of non-use by herbivores and are, thus, not easily killed by accumulating oxidizing material. When looked at from the point of view of a young tortoise, it was a grim picture indeed. There was no cover under which tortoises could hide from predators—the main defense used by tortoises. In addition, there were no young forbs or other quality feed within reach of any but the largest of tortoises (so very few young would survive). There was no moisture available to any tortoise due to the high soil surface evaporation. And because there were so few other animals including large stock,
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no dung either from which to obtain moisture. In fact, as we all could see, it would have been a mystery if tortoises had been thriving. Finally, we analyzed the policy to preserve the tortoises, and it clearly failed all testing toward any sort of holistic goal involving an environment that would sustain tortoises. In fact, it became clear the policy would needlessly destroy ravens and coyotes as well as cause economic loss and social problems for people. Further, the policy would lead to increased biodiversity loss, and an increased incidence of flooding, droughts, and poverty. Clearly this is not what either the government agencies or environmental organizations intended.
Welfare Factors Next we looked at what sort of policy would save the tortoises. As Aldo Leopold so ably laid out in his principles of game management so long ago, creatures seldom die of starvation. When weakened, they are generally killed by disease, accident, or predation before they actually starve. Leopold talked of what he called the decimating factors (i.e., predation, accident, and disease) that actually kill animals, and the welfare factors (i.e., cover, feed, and water) that if deficient result in the decimating factors that reduce the population. If such factors as cover, feed and water are abundant and well positioned, a large population can commonly sustain itself despite disease, predation, hunting, or other things that kill creatures. However, if food, cover, or water is missing, or poorly distributed, then things can go radically wrong. As the creatures lack cover, they fall prey to predators. If weakened by lack of food or water (moisture in the tortoise case), they fall to disease, predation, and accidents. If we understand these principles, and
combine that knowledge with observation of the tortoise range, it is easy to see that the present policy, even without having to think holistically, should not have passed the test for common sense. All the suggested actions in that policy were aimed at addressing the symptoms of predation and accident without looking at the lack of food, cover, or moisture and their effects on accidents, predation, and disease. In forming a policy that could work, we first looked at what tools could actually reverse the overall biodiversity loss and consequent desertification that really were the issue that a policy needed to address. Inspection of that land indicated there were only two tools that could reverse the situation—grazing (without overgrazing) and animal impact with some large herbivore that could be economically obtainable and controllable. As the biodiversity lost included most of the antelope and other wildlife that could provide high animal impact, it was clear that only livestock in some form were available. From this analysis, we then went on to form a generic holistic goal for any people living in the area, as well as environmental organizations and government agencies deeply concerned, involved, or having veto power over management decisions. And again, much as in the case of the owls, once this holistic goal was formed along with a future landscape description that would sustain human communities and their love for nature and wildlife, there was no need for any measures to save tortoises. Instead the BLM policy needed to focus on regenerating the land with livestock so that the ecosystem processes functioned effectively, thus increasing the health of the welfare factors upon which we and the tortoises depend. In both these cases—the owls and the tortoises—the government policy was based purely on the objective “to save” these animals. In both of these instances, policy makers were able to use the Holistic Management® model to diagnose the root cause and develop a generic holistic goal to test new policy objectives toward. In doing so they were able to create a new policy that not only effectively addressed the “problem” the original policy was attempting to address, but that also responded to the economic and social concerns the original policy had only exacerbated.
The Importance of Livestock in Natural Resource Policies by Allan Savory
O
nce when providing policy training for a group of World Bank staff, I decided to address a common complaint. People learning how to analyze and form natural resource management policies keep coming up against the need to think about livestock as a tool to address the challenges inherent in these policies. “Everything keeps coming down to using livestock,” they say, forgetting that at present everything comes down to using technology. There is such resistance to using livestock as a constructive tool that I had to do something other than explain how essential the role of large herbivores was to the health of brittle environments, which constitute so much of the world’s landmass. For this World Bank group I set a scenario that deliberately excluded land and livestock. The picture I painted was of a small city in North Yemen that was dying, and all the social problems associated with that. In this exercise, I said we were to concern ourselves only with the city and not go outside its boundaries other than for trade purposes. The teams were to come up with all the possible things that could be done to revitalize the city and its many businesses that we as World Bank staff could recommend to the Bank. There was no constraint on their thoughts and ideas, as we wanted to bring to bear all the knowledge we could and be as creative as we could. Our sole task was to come up with a Bank policy that would sustain this city. After a considerable time, the teams reported back with what measures they believed the Bank should fund that could sustain the city’s businesses, and thus the city. Most by this stage were reporting back “tongue in cheek,” and with some humor, as they realized they had been set up. In other words, just their commonsense had made them aware of the fact that a city cannot be sustained without reference to the environmental health of its surroundings. Cities need water, food, and the ability to trade. Trade requires trading partners who are not so impoverished that they cannot pay. The water and food can only come from their surroundings. Given that, we next described the sort of
landscape that would sustain this city of ours. We described this not in pretty-picture terms, but rather as how the water and mineral cycles should be functioning, how dynamic we wanted the biological community to become (fewer boom and bust episodes within populations), and how solar energy flow would have to increase to sustain the city. With this description in front of us, we reexamined all the suggestions. We had only to do this briefly because it was so clear none of the suggestions would in any way lead to or assist in producing the landscape that could sustain that city. The only tool available to reverse the desertification threatening that city was livestock. (Even
watersheds in less brittle environments need livestock to improve land health where land has been cleared for agricultural purposes). What policy makers who resist livestock as a tool do not understand is that they are continually only using one “tool” in natural resource management policies—technology. In conventional decision-making and policy formation there are only limited tools with which to manipulate our environment— technology, resting land or waterways, and fire— with some people recognizing the tool of small living organisms. The tools of animal impact and grazing are still relatively new to many people, particularly as tools for environmental reclamation. While many environmental groups have called for resting the land, we know that in brittle areas this solution is not sustainable or healthy and, in the case of forests choked with excessive growth, is even dangerous. That’s why people need not be apologetic when educating others about the importance of livestock in natural resource policy.
Conventional vs Holistic Management ® Policy Design Note: Most policies are formed by governments at various levels to either deal with a problem or prevent a problem.
Conventional Policy Design
Holistic Management ® Policy Design
Deals with the problem or the prevention of that problem directly as the objective of the policy. Will sometimes look at a secondary cause of the problem but never the primary cause.
Recognizes problems of humanity are generally symptoms of conventional decision-making and that this primary cause has to be addressed for any chance of success.
Never works with the concept of a holistic goal. Will at times work toward a mission or vision.
Always works with a holistic goal linking human values to the environment that sustains all human endeavor.
Policies are formed to achieve a goal or objective.
Policies are formed to achieve a state, or future resource base, beyond the problem—as reflected in the holistic goal.
All policy actions based upon one or more of the following: past experience, expert opinion, research results, compromise, expediency, fear, peer pressure, cash flow, cost effectiveness, intuition, etc.
All policy actions based on the list to the left, plus a testing of the actions to ensure they will not only achieve the objective but will do so in a manner that has dealt with the root cause of the problem and will take the people toward, and not away from, the holistic goal.
Policies are often based on public input that is window dressing to make the public feel involved in what bureaucrats have already decided..
Policies are formed either by bureaucrats toward a generic holistic goal or by the public genuinely forming the holistic goal/goals.
Divisive and conflict inducing.
Uniting and conflict resolving (most conflicts are symptoms of conventional decision-making)
Assume policies are correct so no monitoring is put in place (such policies can remain in effect for centuries).
Assume policies could be wrong and determine at outset how the policies should be monitored to ensure they are leading to the desired result.
Other than in instances involving water (seas, lakes, wetlands) and non-brittle environments, policies are unlikely to succeed.
Policies have the potential to succeed in all environments.
HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE • MARCH / APRIL 2002 5
Awareness Isn’t Change by Allan Savory
Saving India’s Forests Some years ago while working with Swedforest, a Swedish consulting firm, I was asked to run a workshop for Indian Forest Service personnel in Bhubaneswa, in India’s province of Orissa. After one week of training, including field trips, the group of about 20 men had a good grasp of Holistic Management, and I decided to finish the workshop by using the model to assess policies. I asked them to draw up a list of policies they were either already implementing or planning to implement and they produced a list of 12 they believed to be the best to save India’s dwindling and threatened forests. During the week we had formed a holistic goal for the Indian Forest Service that we had used to test various actions. We now used this same holistic goal to assess the policies. To show them how rapidly one could analyze such policies, I did the first policy thinking aloud, with them following along. This method took perhaps five minutes and all could see that the policy was damaging and would further endanger the forests. With the second policy, I led them through it raising each question and helping them respond if they weren’t sure. Again the policy proved damaging. With the third policy I barely led them—just reminding them of a test question if they had forgotten one. I did not participate in any response. Once more the policy failed the testing, as it would further endanger the forests. At that point we all agreed that we didn’t need to go further; it was clear to them that all 12 policies would be undesirable in that they would damage India’s forests.
Forestry and Soil Conservation in Lesotho The other experience I recall was in a similar workshop I led for the Ministry of Agriculture in Lesotho. Lesotho is a small, landlocked country within the boundaries of South Africa. It is high and mountainous and contains the headwaters of the Orange River, which serves agriculture in a large area of South Africa. Environmental damage throughout the catchment of the upper Orange is some of the worst I have experienced anywhere, and the consequent silting of the river is alarming to South Africa. Along the course of
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the Orange are dams and irrigation fields very dependent on a stable and healthy river. We had reached the end of our week of training, and I had the group work on two of their own current policies—the forestry policy and the soil conservation policy for the nation. This group of about 20 men and women worked in teams on both policies, testing them toward a national holistic goal involving prosperous communities living on healthy and productive lands. On completing their task and reporting back, each team concluded the forestry policy would be damaging to Lesotho’s remaining forests and that their soil conservation policy would increase soil erosion, silting, and flooding of the rivers. What ingrained this workshop in my memory was that it raised my hopes for change because they all got into an unplanned and heated debate. This argument began by the participants blaming and looking for scapegoats. Most blamed the politicians for such unsound policies and felt better. However, a woman then spoke up saying; “Don’t be silly; look around the room. We are the government! We all know the politicians come and go, but we remain as their technical and professional advisers and produce these policies.” There was an awkward silence followed by grudging acknowledgement that they did produce the policies for their political “bosses.” My hopes ran high that change would follow from this moment of truth when a light bulb came on in so many heads, but nothing changed.
Hope for the Future During such training sessions, we often found that existing government policies were unsound with no hope of success, and that the officials concerned were able to determine the basis of policies that could succeed if applied. Unfortunately, nothing changed in those agencies. While this surprised me at the time, it does not today as I have since studied the research of others including: Everett Rogers in The Diffusion of Inno vations , John Ralston Saul in Voltaire’s Bastards , and Lord Eric Ashby in Reconciling Man and the Environment . From these authors I learned that introducing new knowledge to bureaucracies does not lead to change in under 100 to 200 years. This knowledge has helped me be more patient and understand why bureaucracies have
not changed their policies despite the eye opening experiences their members have had in the Savory Center’s Policy Workshops. When my only focus was for people to implement holistically-sound policies within their agencies, I saw nothing but failure. I saw institutions filled with highly competent and intelligent trained professionals and experts who openly acknowledged the need for change yet who chose not to act on this awareness and new knowledge. Such an outcome defied commonsense and that’s when I began to study the research of others. Of particular interest to me was Lord Ashby’s conclusion that new knowledge took anywhere up to 200 years to gain acceptance. It could not be brought in, he said, by democratically-elected leaders, but only by gradual grassroots acceptance until there was a critical mass. Only then would institutional acceptance follow. For example, most Catholics have long ago accepted that the world is not the center of our universe and allowed their children to be schooled in that knowledge, yet the church officially conceded this point only a few years ago. Where does this leave you who are interested in forming policies holistically? Learning to do so is relatively easy, as is evidenced in my stories about the policy workshops. The hard part is actually applying that knowledge to the organizations and policies that you can influence. What is needed is the passion to learn new skills so you can be more effective in your interactions with those bureaucratic organizations that hold sway over so many policies. While some bureaucrats have lost their jobs or been reprimanded for their support of Holistic Management in their agencies, there are many who have chosen an “infiltration” approach and changed key decisions in their organizations just by asking “new” questions about proposed policies. If you are managing holistically in your organization (testing your decisions toward a generic holistic goal you developed for your agency), then people will begin to notice what you are accomplishing. Such influence may be incremental rather than transformational, but it is a catalyst for change nonetheless. Holistic Management practitioners from around the world have made great strides in proving how this process can help improve land health, quality of life, and economics. As we grow more skilled at our practice we must all take the next step of working with all the organizations that influence policy, particularly environmental policy, to begin creating policies that move us toward a future that holds hope.
The Savory Center’s Northeast Efforts—
Building a Regional Presence by Mary Child Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Editor’s Note: Mary’s article focuses on the make decisions and influence policies that throughout the Northeast, to become certified to Savory Center’s efforts to develop our regional would support a truly sustainable culture. That’s facilitate Holistic Management. Other desired presence in the Northeast region of the U.S when the idea of a regional training program outcomes were to strengthen the working where this year’s Certified Educator Training was born. relationships between these individuals and Program is based. Ho wever, the Savory Center Moving from the concept to the reality of a through their practice and facilitation of Holistic is working at a policy level in other projects regional training program meant we would Management to influence policies that impact and programs. In particular, the National need to build support among individuals their lives and communities. Learning Site in Idaho is a community-based working with issues of sustainability throughout public lands management model for the U.S. the Northeast. I hope that my story of how we Support for Outcomes Forest Service and other rural communities to built support, participation, and commitment for The next question I asked was “What do we use throughout the U.S. We are also providing our regional Certified Educator Training have in place and what can training for students we put in place to support and alumni of the the outcomes we want?” At California Agricultural that time the Savory Leadership Program so Center’s U.S.-based CETP they can, in turn, offered training for influence agricultural individuals from a wide policy in their state. geographical range with And in Africa, the diverse backgrounds and Africa Centre for expertise, and the content Holistic Management is training sessions were held working to influence primarily in New Mexico. the Matetsi area Participants in the Northeast CETP include individuals from: Cooperative Extension at We needed to consider surrounding Cornell and the universities of Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, making changes to that Dibangombe in Pennsylvania, and Io wa State; NRCS of New York and West Virginia; Consortium for structure for a regionally management policy . Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (CSARE); West Virginia State Conservation focused training program. Agency; New York City Watershed Agriculture Council; Institute for Social Ecology in While this may not seem uring my first Vermont; and the New England Small Farm Institute of Massachusetts. like a huge leap for an year with the organization to make, we Savory Center, had to look at issues of I was asked to write an capacity and how such a shift might cause article on the key issues for Holistic Program (CETP) will help others in their Management practitioners in the Northeast (IN communities with projects designed to influence financial repercussions or affect the quality of the program. PRACTICE #71). Through research for this policies. We knew there was a great deal of interest article, I became aware of the great level of Desired Outcomes and support in the Northeast for Holistic interest in Holistic Management in the Management because numerous organizations Northeastern U.S. I also learned that many The first question I asked myself is what had sponsored workshops over the years. In individuals who farmed and worked with outcomes do we want? The Savory Center’s particular, the Central New York RC & D organizations and government agencies had mission is to restore vitality to communities and (Resource Conservation and Development) had some type of exposure to Holistic Management, the natural resources on which they depend by sponsored and subsidized an all-day workshop and that the training they received and how advancing the practice of Holistic Management they had made use of it varied greatly. and coordinating its development worldwide. To with Allan Savory, and he was the keynote at their Annual Farm Diversity Conference in 2000. As I listened to people share their increase the influence of our CETP to help us Likewise, the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture experiences and views, it became apparent they realize our mission, we needed more people Research and Education (NE SARE) Program, a were working on similar issues and their taking the training, particularly those that serve possible funder, shared common ground with effectiveness was greatly impacted by as a resource to their communities. the Savory Center with their interest in a organizational and institutional policies at many Our desired outcome was to have full holistic approach to sustainability. levels. I began to think that if people living in participation and funding for 15 individuals, As I researched the possibility further, it the same bioregion were learning Holistic who represented community resource Management together, they would then have an organizations, sustainable enterprises, overriding framework with which they could continued on page 8 Cooperative Extension Service (CES) and
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Building a Regional Presence continued from page 7 became evident that the CETP was highly regarded by individuals in the Northeast sustainable agriculture community and there was great interest for having a regionally focused CETP there. Part of the reason for this interest was because there had been variation in the training different individuals had received. I often heard questions similar to those asked by one individual, “Is this the real Holistic Management? Is it the people from New Mexico?” While there was much interest in participating in the program, we still needed to gain committed support from people and organizations for both funding and participating in the training so we could take the next steps towards realizing our desired outcomes.
Timing and Relationships Timing is critical in just about any venture. If you don’t have the right timing (for project interest and support, when you talk with key individuals, etc.), it can become very difficult to move forward. Luckily for us, the timing seemed right, and we saw that more and more as we developed relationships and built support for the program. The significant role that relationships play cannot be overstated. We committed early on to
working with the Central New York RC & D to find the resources for holding the CETP in the Northeast. Part of our discussions with our project collaborators were focused on how their support for and participation in the CETP would work best for them and their organization or agency. Taking the time and persevering to build understanding, trust, and strength in relationships with individual people is, I believe, one of the most important aspects of working effectively with communities, organizations, and agencies. We know how controversial Holistic Management can be in many circles. We also know how quickly things can change. Remembering to check in with agencies and organizations that seemed uninterested in Holistic Management in the past to determine where their current thinking was and to discuss where we could find common ground was critical.
Monitoring Progress Once you have gained the support of one organization, there can be a ripple effect to other organizations associated with them, thus increasing the collaborative network. Although I have worked with individuals in NRCS and CES before, I still didn’t quite foresee how the training being funded through a USDA program would give the participants even more support at an agency and organizational level to
Healing the Land—
Changing Colorado Bureaucracy by Cindy Dvergsten
W
hat kind of framework or process would be powerful enough to bring a diverse group of government conservationists, ranchers, environmentalists, and recreation advocates together on the same page, talking the same language and looking at the “big picture”? Holistic Management, of course. While acceptance of this process isn’t happening all at once, a story of success is being woven, one strand at a time, across the mountains and ranges of Colorado for those who use holistic decision-making in the management of public and private lands. Coupled with enthusiasm, a sense of leadership, and a willingness to take responsibility, landowners and government conservationists in
8 HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE #82
Colorado who use the Holistic Management® model have broken through seemingly impossible bureaucratic barriers toward effective land management.
Building a Strong Foundation For the past 16 years the Colorado Branch for Holistic Management has provided a sense of belonging, mutual support, and an opportunity for continued learning. Through summer tours, annual meetings, and a quarterly newsletter, the Branch has provided a safe harbor for those who have had the courage to make a bet on Holistic Management. In turn, individual practitioners have used what they’ve learned to influence land management and policy within the state.
participate in the training, but that’s what happened with the SARE grant. The participation of individuals who represent CES and NRCS and community resource agencies and farms throughout the Northeast, coupled with SARE’s support for our training program, has increased interest throughout the United States for training programs in other regions. This is one indicator of success. Likewise, by including a regional focus in our Certified Educator Training Program we feel we are accomplishing our mission of “advancing the practice of Holistic Management.” However, we will also be monitoring other short- and long-term effects of the regional focus of the CETP on our mission. In the Northeast we will be monitoring increased quality of life, increased financial profitability, improvement in social and community resources, and improvement in landscapes through case studies generated by participants in the CETP. We will also monitor shifts in policy in the Northeast. If the enthusiasm and work of the participants in the Northeast CETP is any indication of this training program’s potential to influence a biogregion, we’re on the right track. Mary Child is the Savory Center’s Regional Training Program Coordinator and lives in Mo yers,West Virginia. She can be reached at 304/249-5999 or maryc@holisticmanagement.org.
One such example is when the State Land Board accepted a management plan based on the holistic management of the 87,000-acre Chico Basin state land trust. Duke Philips put many of the ideas he gathered through years of active participation in the Colorado Branch to develop this plan, which secured his partnership a 25-year lease on the ranch. He was better able to address the bureaucratic needs of such a lease because of his Holistic Management knowledge. In turn, he was able to make use of this opportunity that others might have decided was too complex. Other Colorado Holistic Management practitioners often find, as they test actions towards a holistic goal, that they achieve a higher marginal reaction in working with bureaucracy rather than fighting it or trying to change it head on. When asked about his experience in working with Federal land management agencies, John Ott, a family member of the James Ranch of Durango, replied “When they (government employees) know you
are serious about doing something more than just dumping your cattle on public lands and walking away, they will be more flexible in working with you. If you go in there with a good plan and a willingness to monitor your allotment, they will be more willing to put time and resources into your permit because they know they will be getting something in return.” This is exactly what Richard Parry, a long time Holistic Management practitioner and owner of Foxfire Farm in Ignacio, did when he took on a lease in the newly formed Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lacked funds for monitoring, so he did his own planning and hired a private firm to conduct base line monitoring on his new lease. This speeded up approval of his permit. Unlike many in the community, Richard sees the National Monument designation as an opportunity to create a model for multiple use management that will include grazing.
Needed Skills Most newcomers to Holistic Management start by trying out one or two concepts of the Holistic Management ® model. After they experience a bit of success, their enthusiasm for deeper understanding and practice grows. Diane Weaver, Range Specialist with the U.S. Forest Service in Grand Junction and Vice President of the Colorado Branch, notes that people often begin their practice of Holistic Management because of their interest in the biological concepts of brittleness, timing of grazing in relation to overgrazing and overrest, and the use of cattle as a tool to create desired effects in the ecosystem. The part that takes a little longer to sink in and put effort into Diane says, “is the setting of a holistic goal, running decisions through all the testing guidelines, and specific on-the-ground monitoring. Likewise, addressing the realities of land, livestock and wildlife needs is difficult for many. But they need to learn these things if they are going to work with bureaucracies effectively. “However, if these folks have tried some of the concepts, then they are open to other new ideas and more than willing to listen, learn, and work at it. They do not just shut down when discussing changes. They have also bought into the fact that they are not the only ones concerned with the livestock, and that communication with other users of ‘their areas’ is critical and integral to their continued operations.”
The Real Experts
their cattle are having on the ground and especially their desire and willingness to When learning to manage whole situations, change or adapt a plan each year to fix Holistic Management practitioners soon realize something that did not work as expected. that they are the “real experts” as decision Taking responsibility for their actions includes makers who depend on the resources being staying with their cattle most of the summer to managed. In a complex bureaucratic arena monitor daily activity, something others do not such as public land management, this concept usually do. “This is not to say that we still don’t serves to level the playing field and empowers have issues with livestock management,” Diane the players. stated, “but it is greatly improved with these permittees. The mistakes can be big ones—even if only on a short-term basis. Each year is different and requires a lot of monitoring. The permittees are always coming up with new ideas to try, and some take a little work on my part to figure out if and how the ideas can fit into the sideboards I have as a federal land manager. The energy they have can be overwhelming, but it’s a positive kind of overwhelming.” These positive efforts have not gone unnoticed. After seven Colorado Branch Vice President, Diane Weaver (left) years of Holistic Management, and President, Cindy Dvergsten. the allotments Paul Dillon and neighbors managed were ranked as the healthiest of all on the Uncomphagre During a summer tour several years ago, Plateau in a Forest Service environmental Jim Dollerschell, Range Conservationist with assessment. Because of this kind of success, the BLM in Grand Junction, said, “You never Holistic Management practitioners are winning used to hear federal land managers talk about awards each year such as the Conservation things like quality of life. We used to just focus Farmer of the Year Award by the Colorado on the land beause that’s the only thing we Association of Soil Conservation Districts, were taught to do.” Likewise, Paul Dillon, one Wildlife Land Owner of the Year from the of Jim’s permittees learned that a little Division of Wildlife, and Rancher of the Year by compassion goes a long way. He figured that the Society for Range Management. hikers are twice as afraid of cows on the trail Our Colorado story demonstrates that small as he is mad that they left a gate open. He positive strides forward set the stage for change keeps that in mind in his interactions with in bureaucracy. In the long term, Diane Weaver recreationists. believes that “once we get better at working Ranchers like Paul Dillon, John Ott, Richard ® model and with the Holistic Management Parry, and Duke Phillips have learned the working with the rest of the public that has value of inviting all affected agencies and an interest in management of the national public interest groups to their annual planning forests, I’m confident the physical/biological meetings to hear and discuss everyone’s resources will benefit. The livestock owner opinions and desires. Some use consensus ® will be able to continue grazing public lands building techniques and Holistic Management and make a living at it, and the public will Certified Educators to facilitate this process. understand and support the continuation When everyone has a voice and feels listened of grazing public lands when it is done to, common ground and trusting relationships responsibly.” are established. The need then for rigid “one size fits all” rules fades as people begin to search Cindy Dvergsten is President of the Colorado for the best answers instead of the “right” Branch for Holistic Management and is a answers. Players on all sides begin to look for Holistic Management ® Certified Educator. places to be flexible and sometimes stretch She has been practicing Holistic Management the rules to try on new ideas. for over 10 years. She can be reached at Diane Weaver appreciates the way Holistic 970/882-4222 or cindydv@reanet.net. Management practitioners look at the effect
HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE • MARCH / APRIL 2002 9
LAND&LIVESTOCK A Special Section of
IN PRACTICE MARCH / APRIL 2002
#82
Creativ e Solutions—
Living with Predators by Jim Howell
I
t’s easy to understand why ranchers and farmers persecute predators. Losing just one calf or lamb is a blow—not just financially, but emotionally as well. Lots of sweat, muscle, planning, and hoping go into each new birth. When all that energy is suddenly negated by the fangs of a predator, a fatal bullet through the heart of the culprit (and all of the culprit’s family) is a satisfying solution, at least initially. When the jackrabbit population explodes or the elk refuse to leave your hay meadows, having a few coyotes or a local wolf pack might not be such a bad thing. Predators can be good, too, especially if we can figure out how to live with them. There’s also the fact that lots of politically powerful urban environmentalists love the idea of wolves, lions, and bears roaming the back country, so there’s a good chance ranchers and farmers won’t have a choice but to live with predators. But how do you live with something that wants to eat your livelihood? We’ll get into that below, but first a little history. Humans and large predators have been adversaries for a long time. Up until the point in history that humans figured out how to talk to each other and cooperatively hunt with weapons (archeologists pin that date at about 50,000 years ago), the human/predator rivalry was probably balanced in favor of the predators. We must have been an awfully vulnerable prey species. Imagine the first upright walking hominids on the open savanna of East Africa—no weapons, no speed, and no big herd to hide in—with lions, hyenas, leopards, cheetahs, and wild dogs running around all over the place. It’s amazing our species ever survived. But the predators weren’t all bad. Before we had the ability to kill things that were bigger, stronger, and faster than ourselves, we were omnivorous scavengers, dependent on the big cats and dogs to do the killing for us. If we wanted venison, we had to wait for a
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Jim Howell and his wife, Daniela, with Maasai herders in Tanzania. The Maasai still tend their livestock with nothing more than spears, even where lions abound.
predator to do its thing, then hope for some leftover scraps. Once complex symbolic language and cooperative hunting with weapons became part of our culture, we were probably a little less vulnerable. The Maasai herders in Kenya and Tanzania still tend their livestock with nothing more than spears, even where lions abound, so evidently a little technology and collaboration help a lot during a predator attack. When the first humans migrated into North America, they met a menagerie of beasts difficult to imagine today. Sabertooth cats, scimitar cats, dire wolves, American lions and cheetahs, and the giant short-faced bear, in addition to the wolves and grizzly bears that still survive today, no doubt presented formidable obstacles to a peaceful quality of life. But with our technology and abilities to communicate, adapt, and cooperate, we held our own, not just here in North America, but everywhere. Actually, we more than held our own. We directly and indirectly wiped out a majority of the large mammals on every island and continent but Africa, and as those resources became ever more scarce, we elevated our harassment of our predatory competitors. The balance had shifted in favor of humans.
An Ancient Policy I recently met with a paleontologist, Dr. Elin Whitney-Smith from George Washington University, who thinks that humans of the Pleistocene (the epoch that ended 10,000 years ago) were actually extremely hard on the predators. Since we were presumably hunting the same herbivores as all the big cats and dogs, and since those herbivores were becoming scarcer as human populations expanded, she believes humans deliberately began to eliminate predators to reduce competition. Elin reasons this probably was done by raiding dens and killing young rather than killing healthy adults. The
elimination of so many predators precipitated a series of booms (as prey populations expanded) and busts (due to the vegetation resource then being depleted) in the herbivore community. Those that survived the busts are the ones still living today. Those that didn’t became the extinct megafauna (mammoths, camels, horses, etc.). Her computer model says it could have happened, but we’ll probably never know for sure. What’s pertinent to this story is this idea of ancient humans devising a predator-killing policy. It sounds amazingly like human behavior in the modern day. The more I read about history, the more I become convinced that humans have always pretty much behaved the same. If we do it today, it stands to reason that we’ve probably done it before, at least since we became culturally modern about 50,000 years ago. Predator persecution may therefore be a very old component of human Now, as our culture. It’s just one more exploit awareness of the on a long list of nature-tweaking practices that have led us to need to build rather where we are today. Now, as our than degrade our awareness of the need to build rather than degrade our natural natural capital capital grows, we’re taking a grows, we’re taking new look at predators. For 40 years, Allan Savory has been a new look emphasizing the crucial role at predators. predators play in maintaining the natural balance of things, especially in brittle environments. Now we’re reintroducing wolves into places like Yellowstone to keep the elk and bison moving. Many urban-based nature lovers want to see wolves, mountain lions, and grizzlies lurking in lots more places than just big national parks. That’s probably not too practical, especially where population densities are high enough that we ourselves, and not just our livestock, have a chance of getting picked off. But where human densities are thin, such as most of the western United States with large tracts of public land, we’ll probably continue to see efforts to reintroduce predators.
Mr. Cantu made an inquiry to Allan and Guillermo requesting practical solutions to dealing with predators in a ranch setting.
Mexican Black Bears Guillermo, a longtime Holistic Management practitioner, ranches in a remote and rugged region of Coahuila, and might just have the healthiest population of black bears of any rancher in the southwestern U.S./northern Mexico region. In other words, he’s had abundant experience figuring out how to live with bears. On the other hand, Allan has been living with predators all his life in southern Africa, and has developed a list of key strategies designed to minimize predation loss. In describing his current bear population, Guillermo says “we have more than ever,” yet his staff were able to reduce calf losses during last year’s calving season. He explains his latest strategy this way: “We put all the cows in one herd before the calving season begins. Using polyrope and a portable energizer, we confine them late in the afternoon to a section of the paddock away from heavy brush, which the bears use for cover. In the evening we drive the pick-up out to check on the herd. If we see a bear we chase him away and will sometimes stay with the cattle all night. “The biggest danger, as you know, is when the calves are first born. Our calving season ended fifteen days ago and so far this year we have lost about 14 calves versus more than 60 last year. We had to hire some extra cowboys for three months, but I think it was worth it. We only had to sacrifice one bad problem bear. I have always been against killing bears. I am more in favor of culling the cows that lose their calves to a predator. I have seen how cows can ‘mob’ a bear or mountain lion and chase him away. That is one of the reasons we try to keep the herd in a tight group in the evening. A cow out by herself will have a hard time defending her calf.” continued on page 12
A New Predator Paradigm That’s proving to be a hard pill to swallow for most folks trying to eke out a living raising livestock. With their lack of political clout (at least relative to the masses living in places like Phoenix and Las Vegas), though, eventually they’ll probably have to swallow it. That might not be all bad. Assuming the proposed area for reintroduction supports healthy populations of wild herbivores, and many areas of the West do, it should help lead to far more natural behavior among these natural grazers than currently exists. Perhaps more importantly, however, it will lead to shifts in the way we manage our livestock. We’ll have to develop management practices and strategies that enable us to minimize losses and still get along with bears, lions, and wolves. I recently picked up on an email exchange between three people who are directly concerned with this issue: Ruben Cantu, a regional director with Texas Parks and Wildlife, Guillermo Osuna, a rancher in Coahuila, Mexico, and Allan Savory.
“I have always been against killing bears,” says Guillermo Osuna, whose staff rescued this orphan cub and raised it. “I am more in favor of culling the cows that lose their calves to a predator.”
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Living With Predators continued from page 11
Adapting Holistically Allan has some further suggestions to offer, explaining that “in Holistic Management we routinely teach how to deal with predators—the usual things are to calve over a very short period, to run as large a herd as you can, to plan the grazing so that herds are as far as you can get them from main predation areas during the critical stage of calving/lambing, and to use imprinted dogs to run with the herd.” In Guillermo’s case, most of these principles are being practiced. While managing the High Lonesome Ranch in On this ranch in southeastern Zimbabwe, where predation by hyenas was southwestern New Mexico, I had some first hand serious, losses were cut to zero by training the cows to graze without their experience implementing the second and third strategies. calves. A herdsman has just blown a whistle signaling the mothers that it’s We had to manage around a healthy mountain lion time to go out and graze and they’ve left their calves behind. Note how population. The lions were mainly a potential problem in calm these calves are. our mountain pastures, so we planned our grazing to be out of the mountains during calving, as Allan suggests. We never lost a calf to lions. When they were calving on the flat country, coyotes were a consideration, but because our 400–500 cows were always in one herd in pastures usually under reduce predation apart from the above. One was using ‘lambing 600 acres in size, coyote predation on newborn calves was nearly boards’ at the cell center/central watering point—boards over which nonexistent. I remember losing an adult or half grown lamb or kid could jump but very young kids only one. and lambs could not as the sheep/goats left the center. This allowed The cattle were always in big the ewes or nannies to go out and graze without very young kids or The lions were enough bunches that coyotes were lambs. We also used to flood-light the cell center.” a minimal threat. I often observed I have seen Allan’s last suggestion (flood-lighting the center) mainly a coyotes jogging along the edges of work inadvertently well at several national parks around eastern potential problem those bunches, ignoring the cows and southern Africa. Many safari lodges have nearby water points and calves. The cows were ignoring well-illuminated with flood lights so that visitors can view game in our mountain the coyotes too, seeming to watering at night. Unfortunately, the prey species learn that they’re pastures, so we understand that as long as they safer by staying close to the floodlights, which leads to unnatural were in a big enough group, the lingering close to these water points, with the resulting degradation planned our coyotes didn’t stand a chance. The of the surrounding landscape. In a ranching situation, you of course grazing to be out coyotes evidently didn’t think they would be controlling the timing of the grazing around the water did either. points, so this lingering problem becomes a non-issue. The point of the mountains Allan cites another example. “In is that it works to keep the predators away. during calving. one bad hyena predation situation in Our long association with predators has entered a new realm as Zimbabwe, we had a fellow cut losses we begin this new century. For probably the first time in our history to zero by doing all the above as human beings, we actually are beginning to value predators for (except the dogs) and then also training the cows to graze without their critical role in nature’s whole. Our policies are shifting from their calves. The cows would come in to the cell center by the water mindless slaughter to active reintroduction—a redefining of our at night on their own. The calves and cows would lie up there. In culture as it relates to predators. For those of us who will come (or the morning the herders would blow on homemade whistles and are coming) face to face with the effects of this new culture (and the cows would get up, leave their calves and go to graze. By late not just watching highlights on the Discovery Channel), our predator morning the cows would come back and feed their calves, then go paradigm will have to shift. Instead of seeing these animals as out to graze again in the afternoon without their calves. At night competitors and rivals, as threats to our livelihood, we’ll have to see they would return and spend the night with their calves. Each them as cooperators on our path to reversing desertification. It won’t herd, of about 500 cows, and its herders were trained to do this in be easy, but as the above testaments reveal, it’s possible. The sooner about a week. we replace complaining and griping with proactive solutions and “With sheep and goats there are other things we routinely did to can-do, creative attitudes, the easier this shift will be.
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Cows Have Culture Too—
Understanding Livestock/Landscape Interactions by Jim Howell
I
to keep on breeding back and weaning big calves without missing a n Zimbabwe, one of the protein staples of the native human beat. There’s always the dreaded adjustment period. Depending on population is mopane worms. They are big, fat, black, caterpillarhow different the environments, the pain of this transition can be looking critters. When my wife, Daniela, and I are there with our highly variable, but it pretty well always happens, even when moving tour groups, we always make sure our clients are presented with the from relatively tough country to what looks like easy street. This opportunity to munch on this local delicacy. After all, getting in touch adjustment period also happens when we decide to change our with native custom is one of our big draws. Amazingly, most of our management for the benefit of our land. When we start amalgamating adventurous travelers decline the privilege, turning their noses up like animals that don’t necessarily want to be with each other, and then a five-year-old presented with a plate of broccoli. The local folks, on make them go into areas that they don’t particularly fancy being in, a the other hand, eat ‘em like potato chips. uniform chorus of bovine protestation can result. Well, what would Why is this? How can a food item so readily devoured by one you do if you were unwillingly plucked off of your pretty farm in the group of humans be so repulsive to another? What does this have green hills of Missouri, transported to a new ranch in the badlands of to do with managing livestock? Actually, the principle(s) involved Wyoming, given a brand new set of friends, all new food, different transcend the species gap. Food preference probably has just as weather, a novel landscape, and salty much to do with culture as it does with water? You most likely would protest nutrition, if you define culture as the and perform below your potential, at norms, traditions, and accepted code of least initially. What if you had been on conduct between members of a that same Wyoming ranch your whole population, and assume that culture life, and had been in charge of the contributes to a population’s success winter country down in the Red Desert at surviving within a given set of all that time. You know every square environmental constraints. foot of that place—where all the In humans, culture is learned. We winterfat and best grass patches are, the learn to eat, or not eat, worms. Most of good places to take shelter in blizzards, us figure that groups of animals don’t how far you can ride out and still get really have culture. We think they do Simmental cattle, native to the lush pastures of back before dark (or how to get home everything innately, by instinct—that temperate Europe, survive on pretty thin pickings in in the dark), etc. You are intimate with they don’t learn to eat things, they just Namibia at the tail end of an extended drought. Over the land. Now your foreman has decided know what to eat. the past 100 years, the animals that have figured out to move you to the summer unit in the Well, early last December, I attended how to survive in this new environment have passed Green Mountains. How long will it take a one-day workshop by one of the that behavior on to their offspring. They have evolved you to learn that place and become as more grounded and practical academics a new culture. intimate with it as you are with the I’ve met—Dr. Fred Provenza from the winter country? Probably a long time, Department of Rangeland Resources at but if you have to do it, you will. You Utah State University—which greatly can adapt. You have the capacity to change your habits to enhance expanded my appreciation of what makes a cow a cow. Turns out that your prospects for survival. cows (or sheep, goats, bison, reindeer, or whatever species you prefer) Such scenarios are equally as applicable to your animals, according have culture too, according to Provenza. to Provenza, including this ability to learn and adapt to new For those of us managing ranches holistically, this whole issue of circumstances. That’s good news for those of us who realize we need livestock culture has huge implications as we begin to plan our grazing to change our management. Riparian zone blowouts, overrested mesas, and develop our ranch infrastructure. In my opinion, it goes a long way and sagebrush monocultures are not acceptable in the modern West. to explaining why so many of us have struggled as we transition to To begin to rectify these problems, we need to change the behavior planned grazing. If we can understand the components of culture and of our animals, which means we must change their culture. more deeply appreciate the ways that animals interact with their environments, I think we might be able to smooth out these How Do Cows Get Cultured? discouraging learning curves. Now, to get to the point, what exactly constitutes bovine culture, A Change of Scenery and how do we change it? Complexity is the rule, but here are some Most of us who manage livestock realize that it’s hard to take a bunch of critters from one environment to another and expect them continued on page 14
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Understanding Livestock/Landscape Interactions
Satiation vs. Palatability
For many years now, Allan Savory has been saying that animals don’t select their diet based on which species are palatable as opposed continued from page 13 to unpalatable. They simply select from all the plants on hand to meet their energy, protein, mineral, and vitamin needs. Sometimes this correlates to a particular species, but oftentimes it doesn’t. Things such basics. According to Dr. Provenza’s studies, young animals learn what to as growth form (young and tender vs. old and fibrous) and growing eat and how to eat from their mothers. Sounds simple, but its impact site (highly mineralized vs. leached soil) often have just as much or on how animals use the range is huge. If a calf or lamb doesn’t see its more to do with a plant’s attractiveness as the species itself. The mother grazing larkspur, it won’t eat it either. If it sees its mother animals know how to select what they need. Many academics have munching fallen mesquite beans, or sagebrush, or taking a bit of said that’s hogwash. snakeweed every now and then, by golly it will too. By following their Dr. Provenza isn’t one of them. In fact, his trials indicate that mothers, young animals learn which toxic plants to avoid, which toxic animals can figure out what they need. It’s not a conscious choice, but plants they can eat some but not a lot of, which grasses, forbs, and the result of a complex web of interrelated physiological and cognitive browse are most nutritious at certain times of the year, etc. It’s not processes. In one trial, as lambs were given an energy infusion into innate knowledge. It’s learned; it’s part of their culture. Dr. Provenza’s the rumen during the consumption of straw, daily intake of straw trials also show that once mother becomes less of a focal point, peers increased steadily. The body sensed that its energy needs were being start to have an important impact on foraging behavior. For example, met, the lambs associated this sensation of satiation with the flavor of if you buy a load of yearlings and stick them in with your weaned the straw they were eating, so they kept eating straw. In the control heifers, the new kids on the block will watch what the experienced group without the energy infusion, daily consumption of straw locals are eating, and they’ll gradually take on those habits. steadily dropped. The straw was not satiating their energy needs, so they quit eating it. These two groups were in pens side by side, and Dr. Provenza had parts of the trial on video. By the third day, when the straw was placed in the pens, the energy infusion group was diving into the feed rack with enthusiasm, while the control group watched them through the fence, with looks on their faces that seemed to say, “What on earth do you guys see in that crap?” And not only do they know what they do need, they also know what they don’t need. The emetic system is the body’s defense mechanism against overconsumption. Animals can eat too much of a good thing, like protein or energy, or too much of a bad thing, like toxic compounds. In either case, when too much goes down the hatch, the emetic system kicks in, making the animal feel sick to its stomach. Humans can relate. Usually we can sense this coming before we need to head for the bathroom, and we naturally stop eating the thing that’s Very brittle savanna near the Botswana/South Africa border. Plants growing under brush making us full or starting to make us nauseous. are often highly favored, regardless of species, due to superior nutrient content created b y If we go too far, the unique sensation just prior to mineral deposition from the brush and nitrogen fixation when the brush is a legume. losing one’s cookies tends to stick with us. Your brain associates that sensation with the food you just ate, and maybe even with the restaurant or room you ate it in. Chances are that food or restaurant will be All this begs another even more fundamental question: What unpopular for years to come. According to Provenza, the same goes for exactly tells the mother cow that it’s safe to eat this, a little bit of that, animals. When an animal overeats on a particular plant, it remembers it and none of that? She probably learned from her mom, too, of course, for a long time. A bad eating experience can last a lifetime. but this knowledge had to start somewhere. I often think of the poor Fleckvieh Simmentals from the lush pastures of Germany that first set foot in Namibia, in southwestern Africa. Those first bulls were lowered into the icy Atlantic, swam ashore onto the Namibian coast, and were then lined out in a forced march across the blazing Namib Desert to the scrubby arid savanna of the country’s interior. Talk about culture shock. How did those poor critters learn what to eat?
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Diversity—the Spice of Life From a practical management point of view, this is both good and bad. If the plant is indeed highly toxic, we want the animal to avoid that plant for the rest of its life. More often than not, however, the plant has the potential to play an important part in meeting the
animal’s needs as long as not too much of it gets consumed at any one time. Dr. Provenza has demonstrated that when presented a variety of different plants containing toxic compounds, livestock will consume more total nutrients per day than with only one or two mildly toxic plants available. This isn’t because the high variety diet contains more nutrients per pound than the simpler diet; it’s because an animal will only eat so much of one plant type before it becomes satiated on that plant and wants to eat something else. In this case, the satiation is caused by toxic compounds in the plant. Essentially all plants contain these compounds and are potentially toxic if overconsumed. The emetic system starts to tell the animal to slow down on one plant and switch to another. It’s important to emphasize that an animal initially begins to select a particular plant because of its protein or energy content. If there were no toxic compounds in the plant, it would continue eating that plant until its energy or protein needs were satiated. But when a plant contains toxic compounds, the animal may become satiated on that toxicity before it fills up on protein or energy. To continue filling those nutrient needs, it must switch to another plant type. Most rangeland landscapes support a broad diversity of species, especially those in which the ecosystem processes are functioning effectively. Most of those species can be used by our domestic livestock to one degree or another. We often assume that broad, uniform utilization of our ranges can only be achieved by a mix of livestock species. That, of course, is one way to do it. Some species have higher tolerances for some toxic compounds than others. Goats, for instance, will tend to browse sagebrush more readily than cattle. But oftentimes, a particular species has the potential to feed over a much broader range of plants than we give them credit for. The reason they don’t, typically, is because they’ve never learned to. This learned behavior can take years to evolve, but there are things we can do as managers to help it develop faster—more on that in a minute.
Culture Shock This brings us back to culture. The Fleckvieh Simmentals in Namibia know how to make a living in their very unGerman environment. Over the past hundred years, the animals that have figured out which combination of plants they can best make a living on have been the ones to survive and pass that behavior on to their offspring. They have evolved a new culture. A population of animals that is intimately familiar with a ranch, and that has been managed the same way for years, decades, or even centuries, will have developed a very strong
culture—a culture of survival molded by history and dependent on a diversity of plants. When we change that culture by mobbing them up into bigger and bigger herds, for example, and into smaller and smaller units of land, we have to expect a culture shock. Many of the little bunches that formerly occupied their own smaller home ranges are now being forced into areas of the ranch where they seldom venture, and possibly exposed to plants they’ve never seen. The foraging patterns or habits of each original little bunch will change drastically, because the land they have access to on any given day will be totally different to what they’re accustomed to, and it will take time before the animals learn a new grazing pattern that meets their nutritional needs. If the animals are moving through lots of pastures, they’ll have to go through this learning curve in every pasture. This is stressful, but the animals will figure it out. In my experience, the more radical the change of environment, especially if generally of lower nutritional quality, the higher the stress. While managing a grass-based dairy in east Texas, I brought in 600 springing heifers over the course of a year. With the exception of one truckload, all of those animals came from a confinement heifergrowing operation in the upper Midwest, and they battled to adapt to a grazing lifestyle for their entire first year. Only that one truckload of 40 heifers adapted with minimal trouble, and it came from a grazing operation in eastern Oklahoma, with a climate and forage base very similar to their new home in Texas. My experiences buying and grazing cattle in arid New Mexico and high altitude cold Colorado have been similar.
Smooth Transitions
Be prepared for trouble, but be patient, observant, and don’t give up, because the good news is that the animals will learn. They will change their culture, and there are some things we can do to help them along. One of those is to take things slowly. Expecting to turn a desert into the Garden of Eden in one season is wishful thinking. Initial enthusiasm wanes quickly when animals aren’t happy. As you start to amalgamate herds, think about the best way to do that from the animals’ point of view. For example: ■ Scattered groups of animals that are already using one ecologically distinct region of the ranch (and therefore already know each other and the plants) can be combined into one herd and managed under that new social and spatial context before they’re taken into completely new country and combined with totally Babies learn what to eat, and therefore how to survive in their environment, from mom. Lasater Ranch, eastern Colorado. continued on page 16
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Understanding Livestock/Landscape Interactions
combination with hoof action, will help open up these sagebrush monocultures and stimulate new forbs and grasses to start filling in bare ground. If the animals refuse to eat sagebrush, there is little chance of making this happen. continued from page 15 With two groups of lambs familiar with sagebrush (i.e., it wasn’t a novel plant to them), he offered one group a restricted amount of an unfamiliar animals into even larger herds. energy supplement (200 grams per day) and a protein supplement ■ When planning the development of new pastures or grazing (also 200 grams/day), along with all the sagebrush they wanted. units, try to make sure each area has as much plant diversity as Another group was offered both of these supplements ad lib—they possible. Remember that the more plant types an animal has to select could eat all they wanted—in addition to the sagebrush. The restricted from, the more able the animal will be to meet its protein, energy, group ate 1500 grams of sagebrush per day, while the ad lib group and mineral needs. only ate 800 grams per day ■ You may already have of sagebrush. animals that know how to The ad lib group wasn’t meet their needs from the stupid. The alfalfa and barley range of plants on your in the supplement met their ranch, but if you mob them needs more readily than the up into smaller pastures that sagebrush, so without the lack that diversity, expect restriction, they ate more of trouble. I’ve had personal it and roughly half the experience with this sagebrush as the restricted challenge on the ranch in group. The 200 grams each New Mexico, which was of protein and energy was fairly degraded. If I had enough of a complement understood the importance to the sagebrush that the of access to plant diversity, restricted group really put I would have urged our away the sagebrush—lots management group more than they would have If we stay out of nature's way (and don't wean calves, separate age classes to do our land planning and without the supplement. into distinct herds, etc), domestic animals form complex social, or family subsequent infrastructure Roughly 75 percent of their groups, just as their wild relatives—a behavior that undoubtedly contributes development differently. daily dry matter intake was to the development and maintenance of a herd culture well-adapted to its ■ When bringing new composed of sagebrush. That’s environment. This is a family group in South Africa—from right to left: old animals onto a property, pretty good. This indicates matriarch co w, her yearling calf, current calf, a four-year-old daughter with remember that younger that restricted use of strategic her yearling calf and current calf. The remainder of this 600-head herd is animals will more readily supplements, in combination standing behind the photographer. adapt to the new with sound grazing planning, environment than older might just be the trick to the individuals. The old adage utilization and healing of vast that “you can’t teach an old tracts of otherwise worthless dog new tricks” applies to our domestic herbivores as well. Also, those rangeland, or to getting animals to eat any plant that is potentially new animals, regardless of age or history, should always be mixed with useful but greatly underutilized. Anyway, they’re currently trying it animals that know what to eat and where to go, and an effort should out on the Deseret Ranch in northeastern Utah on a commercial be made to keep them mixed. The new ones will tend to segregate scale, so we’ll have a better idea of how this works in the real world themselves, but the quicker they integrate, the faster the newcomers pretty soon. will learn how to make a living in their novel surroundings. One last thing. It’s awfully important to remember that most of us, when starting to manage holistically, will not only be changing the Fine Tuning culture of our animals, but our own as well. Give yourself time, be And finally, for those of you who have survived the inevitable clear on what you’re doing and why you’re doing it (holistic goal), performance dip and now have culturally sophisticated livestock that and keep a positive attitude. If you think the transition to a healthier prefer to be bunched and constantly moving, here’s another tidbit ranch, a healthier lifestyle, and a healthier bank account is going to Dr. Provenza threw out. He is now experimenting with different create more pain than it’s worth, you’ll probably be right. If you levels of protein and energy supplements designed to stimulate know you’re going to make it work and be successful no matter animals to eat plants that they normally don’t select (or at least don’t what happens, you’ll also be right. It’s up to you. select aggressively), like sagebrush and other plants that dominate Now go get cultured. vast tracts of land in the West. If we can get animals to go after these plants, we’ll have a much better chance at healing many severely You can contact Fred Pro venza at Department of Rangeland degraded landscapes. Heavy browsing pressure on sagebrush, in Resources, Utah State University, Logan, Utah 84322.
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Savory Center Bulletin Board New Project Manager he Savory Center is pleased to introduce our new Project Manager, Craig Leggett. Craig is responsible for the day-to-day details of the special projects that the Center has under contract. Currently, these projects include the management and planning of two Bernalillo County Open Space Craig Leggett properties in the Albuquerque area, a Holistic Management demonstration project on the Navajo Reservation for the Rio Puerco watershed restoration initiative in New Mexico, and development of conservation plans for Rural Legacy Foundation clients. He also assists with the logistics of the Ranch and Rangeland Managers Training Program and with fund raising events. Craig also works part-time for Land Renewal, Inc, the Savory Center’s for-profit subsidiary, managing efforts such as our phytoremediation project on the Yuma Proving Grounds in Arizona. Craig comes to us by way of Vermont. He holds a Bachelor of Science in agriculture from the University of Vermont. He first read about Allan Savory and Holistic Management in 1990, was inspired by its possibilities, and has been trying to get to New Mexico ever since. He succeeded in that ambition with his wife, Jessica, and their three sons when they moved here last year. Craig brings with him his experience in managing fields, forests, gardens, and people.
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Financial Planning Software Upgrade The Savory Center’s Holistic Management® Financial Planning Software is now available for those running Office XP. Please note that it doesn’t matter which version of Windows you have because our software runs off of Excel, so check the version of Office or Excel that you have before ordering.
Holistic Managers in the News Savory Center members Joe and Julie Morris were featured in a publication by the California Cattlemen’s Association, Grazing for Change: Range and Watershed Management Success Stories in California . You can view their story at www.cattlemen.org/GrazingforChange/T.O. . htm.
There were also articles about Savory Center members, Robert and Cheryl Cosner and Don Nelson in the January 2002 issue of the Western Beef Producer . We appreciate Doug Warnock’s efforts in bringing this publication’s attention to the Cosners’ efforts. We also appreciate how these members took these opportunities to educate others about Holistic Management and how it has influenced their work.
Outreach Efforts
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nder the direction of Certified Educator Tina Pilione, the Savory Center’s outreach efforts are going full-speed ahead. With the winter months full of agricultural conferences, we capitalized on this opportunity to get our materials in front of conference attendees. The cooperation of the organizations sponsoring these conferences around the country has been heartwarming. We’ve mailed out information to over 20 conferences, with more slated. We’ve also greatly appreciated the response of our membership who have helped us in getting materials to conferences, staffing booths, answering questions, and providing us with further contacts. We would especially like to thank Savory Center members and affiliates Karl North, Larry Johnson, Jim Weaver, George Work, Tom Walther, Ken Roberts, Jim Vanderpol, Steve Bonney, and Joy Law and the following organizations: UVM Center for Sustainable Agriculture (Vermont), The LaCrosse Center (Wisconsin), NRCS (Dubois, Pennsylvania), Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture, Future Harvest-CASA (Maryland), Ecological Farming Conference (California), SSAWG (Tennessee), River Country RC&D (Wisconsin), Minnesota Grazing Conference, Midwest Small Farm Conference & Trade Show (Indiana), and North Central Ohio Grazing Conference (Ohio), Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society (North Dakota), NOFA (NY), The Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota, The Ohio Innovative Farmers, The Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society, and Virginia Biological Farming. If you know of any conferences or workshops coming up in your area, please contact us with information about the conference at 505/842-5252 or anna@holisticmanagement.org.
New Study Group in Wisconsin
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nder the leadership of Cooperative Extension Agent, Andrew Hager, a new
Holistic Management study group has started near Medford, Wisconsin. Study materials for this group are the textbook, Holistic Management , the video, “Creating a Sustainable Civilization,” and bulk subscriptions to IN PRACTICE. If other study groups are forming, please let us know so we can post your contact information to others. If you would like to order bulk subscriptions of IN PRACTICE at a discounted rate, please contact Ann Adams at anna@holisticmanagement.org or 505/842-5252.
Fundraising Efforts
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e’d like to extend a long overdue note of public thanks to Dean Rudoy and Craig and Laura Risk for hosting a Savory Center friend and fundraising dinner last September. Dean, Craig and Laura live in Sandia Park, New Mexico and hosted a delightful evening entitled “A Walkabout with Allan Savory.” The hosts invited some of their neighbors and friends to meet Allan, walk about with him on the San Pedro Creek Preserve, and learn about Holistic Management and the work of the Savory Center. The evening was accentuated with gourmet food prepared by Chef Claude Gohard. Through this event, the Savory Center engaged 27 new friends and raised a little over $4,000 to support our mission and programs. Again, thank you Dean, Craig, and Laura for hosting this dinner and helping spread the work of the Savory Center.
Annual Appeal
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hank you to everyone who sent in a contribution in 2001 to help further the work of the Savory Center and the Africa Centre. As with any non-profit organization, the Savory Center and our sister organization in Africa count on the philanthropic support of individuals, corporations, and foundations to keep us stable, viable and moving forward. Your support will help our efforts to expand our membership and network, bring Holistic Management to new territories, and help us to continue to collaborate with other organizations on crucial social, agriculture, and environmental projects.
Correction Please note that in the last issue of IN PRACTICE we listed the wrong website for the San Pedro Mesquite Company. Their website is www.spmesquite.com. We apologize for any inconvenience.
HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE • MARCH / APRIL 2002 17
Certified Educators To our knowledge, Certified Educators are the best qualified individuals to help others learn to practice Holistic Management and to provide them with technical assistance when necessary. On a yearly basis, Certified Educators renew their agreement to be affiliated with the Center. This agreement requires their commitment to practice Holistic Management in their own lives, to seek out opportunities for staying current with the latest developments in Holistic Management and to maintain a high standard of ethical conduct in their work. For more information about or application forms for the U.S., Africa, or International Certified Educator Training Programs, contact Kelly Pasztor at the Savory Center or visit our website at www.holisticmanagement.org/wwo_certed.cfm? These Educators provide Holistic Management instruction on behalf of the institutions they represent.
UNITED STATES ARKANSAS Preston Sullivan P.O. Box 4483, Fayetteville, AR 72702 501/443-0609; 501/442-9824 (w) prestons@ncatark.uark.edu CALIFORNIA Eric Adler 924 Anacapa St., Ste B1-D Santa Barbara, CA 93101 805/563-1944; 805/963-5800 (w) eric@ericadler.com Monte Bell 325 Meadowood Dr., Orland, CA 95963 530/865-3246; mbell@glenncounty.net Bill Burrows 12250 Colyear Springs Rd. Red Bluff, CA 96080 530/529-1535; burrows@cwnet.com Richard King 1675 Adobe Rd., Petaluma, CA 94954 707/769-1490; 707/794-8692 (w) rking@ca.nrcs.usda.gov Christopher Peck P.O. Box 2286, Sebastopol, CA 95472 800/736-7892 ctopherp@holistic-solutions.net COLORADO Cindy Dvergsten 17702 County Rd. 23 Dolores, CO 81323 970/882-4222; cindydv@reanet.net Rio de la Vista P.O. Box 1379 Pagosa Springs, CO 81147 970/731-9659; riovista@rmi.net Daniela Howell 63066 Jordan Ct. Montrose, CO 81401 970/249-0353; howelljd@montrose.net Tim McGaffic P.O. Box 476, Ignacio, CO 81137 970/883-2672; tim@dblt.com
IOWA Bill Casey
1800 Grand Ave. Keokuk, IA 52632-2944 319/524-5098 wpccasey@interl.net
LOUISIANA Tina Pilione P.O. 923, Eunice, LA 70535 phone/fax: 337/580-0068 tinap@bbs.whodat.net MINNESOTA Larry Johnson RR 1, Box 93A Winona, MN 55987-9738 507/457-9511; 507/523-2171 (w) lpjohn@rconnect.com MONTANA Wayne Burleson RT 1, Box 2780 Absarokee, MT 59001 406/328-6808; rutbuster@montana.net Roland Kroos 4926 Itana Circle Bozeman, MT 59715 406/388-1003; KROOSING@aol.com
Ann Adams Montana State University Department of Land Resources & Environmental Science Bozeman, MT 59717 406/994-5079 montagne@montana.edu NEW MEXICO The Savory Center 1010Cliff Tijeras NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102 Montagne 505/842-5252 anna@holisticmanagement.org Kate Brown Box 581, Ramah, NM 87321 505/783-4711 kbrown@nedcomm.nm.org Kirk Gadzia P.O. Box 1100, Bernalillo, NM 87004 505/867-4685; fax: 505/867-0262 kgadzia@earthlink.net
INTERNATIONAL AUSTRALIA Graeme Hand 162 Hand and Associates Port Fairy, VIC 3284 61-03-5568-2158; gshand@hotkey.net.au Mark Gardner P.O. Box 1395, Dubbo, NSW 2830 61-2-6882-0605 gardnerm@ozemail.com.au Brian Marshall “Lucella”; Nundle, NSW 2340 61-2-6769 8226; fax: 61-2-6769 8223 bkmrshl@northnet.com.au
GHANA Arne Vanderburg U.S. Embassy, Accra, Dept. of State Washington, D.C. 20521-2020 233-21-772131; 233-21-773831 (w) asvanderb@hotmail.com MEXICO Ivan Aguirre La Inmaculada Apdo. Postal 304 Hermosillo, Sonora 83000 52-637-78929; fax: 52-637-10031
Bruce Ward P.O. Box 984, Inverell, NSW 2360 61-2-6721 1105; fax: 61-2-6721 1094 blward@northnet.com.au
Elco Blanco-Madrid Cristobal de Olid #307 Chihuahua Chih., 31030 52-14-415-3497; fax: 52-14-415-3175 elco-blanco@hotmail.com
CANADA Don and Randee Halladay Box 2, Site 2, RR 1, Rocky Mountain House, AB T0M 1T0; 403/729-2472 donran@telusplanet.net
Manuel Casas-Perez Calle Amarguva No. 61, Lomas Herradura Huixquilucan, Mexico City CP 52785 52-5-291-3934; 52-5-992-0220 (w)
Noel McNaughton 3438 Point Grey Rd Vancouver, BC, V6R 1A5 604/736-1552; noelm@telus.net
Manuel L. Molina Rio Bravo #38 Col. ISSSTESON Centario, Sonora CP 83260 52-62-13-14-00
Len Pigott #120 Stewart Crescent, Kindersley, SK S0L 1S1 306/463-6236, 306/463-2696 JLPigott@sk.sympatico.ca Kelly Sidoryk Box 374, Lloydminster, AB, S9V 0Y4 403/875-4418; higain@bordercity.com
Chadwick McKellar 16775 Southwood Dr. Colorado Springs, CO 80908 719/495-4641; cmckellar@juno.com
CHINA/GERMANY Dieter Albrecht Melanchthonstr. 23 D-10557 Berlin 49-30-392 8315 alialb@gmx.net (international)
Byron Shelton 33900 Surrey Lane, Buena Vista, CO 81211 719/395-8157; landmark@my.amigo.net
China Agricultural University CIAD Office, Beijing 100094 86-10-6289 1061
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NAMIBIA Gero Diekmann P.O. Box 363, Okahandja 9000 264-62-518091 nam00132@mweb.com.na Wiebke Volkmann P.O. Box 182, Otavi 067-23-44-48; keilberg@mweb.com.na NEW ZEALAND John King P.O. Box 3440 Richmond, Nelson 64-3-543-3830 Joking@clear.net.nz
SOUTH AFRICA Johan Blom P.O. Box 568, Graaf-Reinet 6280 27-49-891-0163; j&tblom@eastcape.net Ian Mitchell-Innes P.O. Box 52, Elandslaagte 2900 27-36-421-1747; blanerne@mweb.co.za Norman Neave Box 141, Mtubatuba 3935 27-35-5504150; norboom@saol.com Dick Richardson P.O. Box 1806, Vryburg 8600 tel/fax: 27-53-927-4367 judyrich@cybertrade.co.za UGANDA Bob Buzzard Department of State/USAID 2190 Kampala Pl. Washington D.C. 20521-2190 256-41-235897/342-896; fax: 256-41-258981 buzzin@infocom.co.ug ZIMBABWE Mutizwa Mukute PELUM Association Regional Desk P.O. Box MP 1059 Mount Pleasant, Harare 263-4-74470/744117; fax: 263-4-744470 pelum@mail.pci.co.zw Liberty Mabhena Spring Cabinet P.O. Box 853, Harare 263-4-210021/2 263-4-210577/8; fax: 263-4-210273 Brian Wehlburg 78 Rhodesville Ave. Highlands, Harare ijapo2000@yahoo.com Sister Maria Chiedza Mutasa Bandolfi Convent P.O. Box 900, Masvingo 263-39-7699, 263-39-7530 Elias Ncube P. Bag 5950, Victoria Falls 263-3-454519; rogpachm@africaonline.co.zw
Sterling Grogan Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District P.O. Box 581, Albuquerque, NM 87103 505/247-0235 ext. 337 (w) fax: 505/243-7308 grogan@mrgcd.dst.nm.us Ken Jacobson 12101 Menaul Blvd. NE, Ste A Albuquerque, NM 87112 505/293-7570; kbjacobson@orbusinternational.com
University of North Dakota—Williston, P.O.Wayne Box 1326, Williston, ND 58802 Berry 701/774-4269 or 701/774-4200 wayne.berry@wsc.nodak.edu OHIO Department of Entomology OARDC 1680 Madison Hill, Wooster, OH 44691 330/202-3534 (w); stinner.2@osu.edu OKLAHOMA Kim Barker RT 2, Box 67, Waynoka, OK 73860 580/824-9011; barker_k@hotmail.com
The Savory Center 1010 Tijeras NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102 505/842-5252; kellyp@holisticmanagement.org
OREGON Joel Benson 613 Fordyce St., Ashland, OR 97520 541/488-9630; joels888@aol.com
David Trew Kelly Pasztor 369 Montezuma Ave. #243 Santa Fe, NM 87501 505/751-0471 trewearth@aol.com
Cindy Douglas 2795 McMillian St., Eugene, OR 97405 541/465-4882; cdouglas@omri.org
NORTH CAROLINA
TEXAS Christina Allday-Bondy 2703 Grennock Dr. Austin, TX 78745 512/441-2019; tododia@peoplepc.com
Sam Bingham 394 Vanderbilt Rd. Asheville, NC 28803 828/274-1309; sbingham@igc.org
Local Networks
NORTH DAKOTA Deborah Stinner
Guy Glosson 6717 Hwy 380, Snyder, TX 79549 806/237-2554 cowdog@caprock-spur.com University of Texas at Austin Department of Integrative Biology Austin, TX 78712 512/471-4128 d.richardson@mail.utexas.edu Peggy Sechrist R.H. (Dick) Rd. Richardson 25 Thunderbird Fredericksburg, TX 78624 830/990-2529; peggy@fgb.net UTAH Chandler McLay P.O. Box 12 Monticello, UT 84535 303/888-8799; mcchan@msn.com WASHINGTON Carl Jeffry Goebel Goebel & Associates P.O. Box 413, Pullman, WA 99163-0413 509/334-4767; goebel@wsu.edu Craig Madsen P.O. Box 107, Edwall, WA 99008 509/236-2451; madsen2fir@mindspring.com
Don Nelson Sandra Matheson 228 E. Smith Rd. Bellingham, WA 98226 360/398-7866; smm1@gte.net Washington State University P.O. Box 646310, Pullman, WA 99164 509/335-2922 nelsond@wsu.edu Maurice Robinette S 16102 Wolfe Rd Cheney, WA 99004 509/299-4942; mlr2@mindspring.com Lois Trevino P.O. Box 615 Nespelem, WA 99155 509/634-4410; 509/634-2430 (w) lois.trevino@colvilletribes.com Doug Warnock 151 Cedar Cove Rd. Ellensburg, WA 98926 509/925-9127; warnockd@ elltel.net WYOMING Miles Keogh 450 N. Adams Ave Buffalo, WY 82834 307/684-0532; mkeogh@trib.com
There are several branch organizations or groups affiliated with the Center in the U.S. and abroad (some publish their own newsletters.) We encourage you to contact the group closest to you:
United States CALIFORNIA Holistic Management of California Tom Walther, newsletter editor 5550 Griffin St. Oakland, CA 94605 510/530-6410 tagjag@ aol.com
MINNESOTA Land Stewardship Project Audrey Arner, Program Director 103 W. Nichols Ave. Montevideo, MN 56265 320/269-2105 www.landstewardshipproject.org
OKLAHOMA Oklahoma Land Stewardship Alliance Charles Griffiths Route 5, Box E44, Ardmore, OK 73401 580/223-7471; cagriffith@brightok.net
COLORADO Colorado Branch of the Center For Holistic Management Jim and Daniela Howell newletter editors 1661 Sonoma Court, Montrose, CO 81401 970/249-0353 howelljd@montrose.net
NEBRASKA Nebraska Branch of the Center For Holistic Management Brenda Younkin Kury P.O. Box 3723, Alpine, WY 83128 307/654-3527; bkury@hotmail.com www.users.uswest.net/~vkury
PENNSYLVANIA Northern Penn Network Jim Weaver, contact person
NEW YORK Regional Farm & Food Project Tracy Frisch, contact person 148 Central Ave., 2nd floor Albany, NY 12206 518/427-6537
AUSTRALIA Holistic Decision Making Association (AUST+NZ) Lennie Chaplain, Executive Officer P.O. Box 1157 Moree NSW, 2400 tel: 61-2-6752-9065; fax: 61-2-6752-9064 cvchaplain@bigpond.com
GEORGIA Constance Neely SANREM CRSP 1422 Experiment Station Rd. Watkinsville, GA 30677 706/769-3792; cneely@arches.uga.edu IDAHO National Learning Site Linda Hestag 3743 King Mountain Rd. Darlington, ID 83255 208/588-2693; mackay@atcnet.net MONTANA Beartooth Management Club Wayne Burleson RT 1, Box 2780, Absarokee, MT 59001 406/328-6808; rutbuster@montana.net
USDA/NRCS - Central NY RC&D Phil Metzger, contact person 99 North Broad St. Norwich, NY 13815 607/334-3231, ext. 4 phil.metzger@ny.usda.gov NORTHWEST Managing Wholes Peter Donovan 501 South St., Enterprise, OR 97828-1345 541/426-2145 www.managingwholes.com
RD #6, Box 205, Wellsboro, PA 16901 717/724-7788 jaweaver@epix.net TEXAS HRM of Texas Peggy Jones, newsletter editor 101 Hill View Trail Dripping Springs, TX 78620 512/858-4251 delphic@earthlink.net
International
CANADA Canadian Holistic Management Lee Pengilly Box 216, Stirling, AB, T0K 2E0 403/327-9262 MEXICO Fundación para Fomentar el Manejo Holístico, A.C. Jose Ramon Villar, President Zeus 921, Contry La Escondida,
Guadalupe, NL 67173 tel/fax: 52-8-349-8666 fmh@prodigy.net.mx NAMIBIA Namibia Centre for Holistic Management Anja Denker, contact person P.O. Box 23600 Windhoek 9000 tel/fax: 264-61-230-515 unicorn@iafrica.com.na SOUTH AFRICA South African Centre For Holistic Management Dick & Judy Richardson P.O. Box 1806, Vryburg 8600 tel/fax: 27-53-9274367 judyrich@cybertrade.co.za
HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE • MARCH / APRIL 2002 19
To Order . . .
Please indicate if items are to be shipped to an address different from below
Indicate quantity in box preceding item, print shipping address at right, mail this page (or a copy) and your check or international money order payable in U.S. funds from a U.S. bank only to: The Allan Savory Center for Holistic Management 1010 Tijeras NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102 Credit card orders: 505/842-5252,or fax: 505/843-7900. All prices quoted include shipping and handling, unless otherwise noted. Bulk discounts available on all items, please call for prices. For online ordering visit our secure website at: www.holisticmanagement.org
name __________________________________________________ address ________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ Overseas? Most of the items listed here are available in Australia/New Zealand and southern Africa from: Australia: Holistic Decision Making Association, Lennie Chaplain, P.O. Box 1157, Moree NSW 2400, fax: 61-2-6752-9064; tel: 61-2-6752-9065; cvchaplain@bigpond.com. South Africa: Whole Concepts cc, PO Box 1806, Vryburg 8600; tel/fax: 27-53-9274367; judyrich@cybertrade.co.za
Holistic Management® Planning and Monitoring Guides
Holistic Management IN PRA CTICE —A bimonthly journal for Holistic Management practitioners Subscribe for 1 year for only $27/U.S. ($33/International) 2 years ($50/U.S.; $60/International) 3 years ($70/U.S.; $90/International)
Special Edition: An Introduction to Holistic Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5/$6 International (Audio tape) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$12/$14 International (Compact disc) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$14/$16 International
Bulk subscriptions available. One year for $17 each/U.S., or $22 each/International (To qualify you must order 7 or more one-year subscriptions, paid in full. Issues will be sent in bulk to one address for distribution at your end). ______ # of one-year subscriptions
Back Issues: $5 each; bulk orders (5 or more issues) $4 each. List issues by number: _____________________________________
Holistic Management® Planning Forms
Books & Video
(non-U.S.: add $2/ea.) Annual Income & Expense Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10
(All forms are padded - 25 sheets per pad)
Holistic Management: A New Framework for Decision-Making, Second Edition, by Allan Savory with Jody Butterfield. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $30 ($34/Mexico & Canada; $36—all others) Hardcover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $50 ($54/Mexico & Canada; $56—all others) At Home With Holistic Management, by Ann Adams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $20 ($24/Mexico & Canada; $16—all others) Holistic Management: A New Environmental Intelligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10 ($14/Mexico & Canada; $16—all others)
Video: Creating a Sustainable Civilization— An Introduction to Holistic Decision-Making, based on a lecture given by Allan Savory. (Please specify if you want PAL format) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $29 ($32—All outside U.S.)
Software Holistic Management® Financial Planning (single-user license) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $259 ($264—Canada/Mexico; $275—all others) Please specify PC or Mac, Office ‘ 9 5 or ‘ 97 or 2000 and version of Excel you are using
Pocket Cards ®
Holistic Management model & testing questions, March 2000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4
The Allan Savory Center for Holistic Management Ad definitum finem
The Complete Holistic Management ® (non-U.S.: Planning and Monitoring Guide add $1/ea.) September 2000, 192 page 3-ring binder ($39/Mexico & Canada; $41—all others) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$35 Financial Planning May 2000, 44 pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$15 Aide Memoire for Grazing Planning May 2000, 46 pages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$15 Early Warning Biological Monitoring— Croplands April 2000, 26 pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$12 Early Warning Biological Monitoring— Rangelands and Grasslands January 1999, 32 pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$13 Land Planning—For The Rancher or Farmer Running Livestock January 1999, 36 pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$13
1010 Tijeras NW Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102 U.S.A.
Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$ 7 Livestock Production Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$15 Control Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$ 3 Grazing Plan & Control Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$15
Membership Items Savory Center Membership/Gift Membership (non-U.S. add $5/each) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$30 Organic Hemp Cap w/ logo ($29 Mexico & Canada; $31 all others) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$25 Organic Cotton T-shirt w/ logo ($19 Mexico & Canada; $21 all others) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$15 All the Time in the World CD or Cassette ($9 Canada; Mexico & International) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$7
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