If cows aren't wild animals, do they belong in parks? Despite complaints that cattle trample plants and wetlands and are more characteristic of farms than of wilderness, the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) recently concluded that grazing has many benefits for parks if carefully managed. In its final report to the district board, the Grazing Review Task Force concluded that under the proper conditions, grazing was an appropriate tool to preserve certain types of habitat and reduce fire danger.
Park users and environmental organizations have expressed concern that cattle foul streams, damage trails and streambanks, cause erosion, and destroy vegetation. They are distressed by encounters with grazing animals as they hike and camp, and dismayed at finding flattened plants, bare cropped hillsides, and manure on trails and in streams and ponds. The practice has been supported by ranchers and firefighters, who maintain that grazing reduces dry vegetation subject to fires, and is a traditional use of open spaces in the Bay Area, contributing to the survival of ranching in the region.
The district's Grazing Review Task Force was established in Spring 2000 to fully explore this complex issue. It included three board members and five members of the district's Park Advisory Committee. Through public hearings, workshops and field trips, the group gathered comments from park users, scientists, ranchers, fire departments and other public agencies.
The Task Force found that cattle grazing is a management tool. While overgrazing, or otherwise inadequate program management, could have a negative impact on parkland resources, a well-regulated program is an appropriate method to maintain a diverse parkland with many habitat types, including substantial areas of grassland. Grasslands are important because they "preserve the visual quality of parklands, reduce the hazard of wildfires and provide open areas for the health and well-being of native plants and wildlife that depend on open grassland environments." In addition, "the habitat conditions maintained by cattle grazing support many notable wildlife species including golden eagle, San Joaquin kit fox, California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, and burrowing owl."
Through field trips and input from biologists and park staff, the Task Force learned that where park users see muddy ponds and streams with trampled edges and few plants, endangered species such as the California red-legged frog and tiger salamander are happy with the open water areas devoid of cattails and tule reeds. Ground squirrels, which enjoy open areas where cattle have grazed, are food for the San Joaquin kit fox and golden eagle, and provide burrow spaces used by red-legged frogs and burrowing owls. With the original native grazers gone from the region, cattle are needed to keep some of the grasslands open, and to crop the non-native grasses which compete with the native species.
Reducing fire hazards is a major concern for EBRPD. Uncontrolled fires damage or destroy park resources, and pose dangers to nearby development. Grazing is one of several "vegetation management" techniques which are aimed at fire suppression. Others are controlled burns, mechanical removal of vegetation for firebreaks, and use of chemical or biological controls. Each has advantages and disadvantages. For example, herbicides are locally effective, but expensive and potentially harmful to wildlife. Creating firebreaks can be expensive if done by hand, while mechanical equipment can be disruptive to wildlife, and the broken soil areas are hospitable to weeds and may cause erosion. Despite problems with trampling, properly managed grazing can be extremely cost-effective and works with many different types of vegetation. The Task Force was told that other park districts which discontinued grazing found that other fire suppression methods are not totally satisfactory, and some have reinstituted limited grazing.
The Task Force report stressed that careful management was essential to keeping grazing a desirable use for park lands. A key part of this is adequate monitoring to determine when grazing is damaging desirable native grasses, wildflowers and other wildlife, so cattle can be moved to other areas. Fencing is needed to keep cattle out of wetlands and away from streambanks, although it may be desirable to let them graze near ponds at certain times to control unwanted plant growth. In some areas, it may be preferable to use sheep or goats, instead of cattle.
In addition, there needs to be additional sensitivity to potential conflicts between grazing animals and park users. One recommendation, already implemented, was to allow individual park supervisors, in consultation with the district's Stewardship Department, to take full responsibility for making all day-to-day grazing management decisions in their parks. This means that if a park supervisor notes excessive trampling, or notes that large numbers of hikers are choosing to hike through an area used for grazing, cattle can be shifted to other, more appropriate areas.
As the Task Force learned more about the various considerations which determine when and where grazing is desirable, the group became aware that many park users did not fully understand the issue either. Therefore, it recommended an expanded public information program to educate the public about grasslands, grazing, and use of parks where grazing is allowed, including annual field trips to learn about grassland management.
In June, the EBRPD board approved the Task Force recommendations and directed staff to bring the proposed Native Grassland Monitoring and Restoration Action Plan back to the board in August. The Action Plan is aimed at assessing the effectiveness of restoration techniques for native grasslands, followed by development of a long-term restoration program for EBRPD native grassland areas. The initial step would be a pilot study in 2002 to evaluate restoration techniques at three to five selected park sites. Techniques would include grazing by sheep, goats or cattle, controlled burns, mowing, and biological controls, singly or in combination. The results would be incorporated into a long-term plan for restoration district-wide.
Sometime in the future, the long-term plan for grassland restoration may change the way grazing is allowed in parks, or may eliminate it altogether. Until then, the varied wildlife of the East Bay parklands will occasionally be joined by the not-so- wild, but useful, domestic cow.
Leslie Stewart
For more information: Tom Mikkelson, EBRPD, 510-635-0138 ext. 2301