The Santa Lucia Conservancy in Carmel, CA, began experimenting with the use of grazing to restore grasslands on the Santa Lucia Preserve a number of years ago.  As of 2020, the organization has announced that they are expanding their herd and have claimed that the method is the latest and the greatest, and that there is renewed interest in applying it more widely.  A review of the literature shows many failures and little success with the method.  In fact, in an interview conducted by Doug Johnson (“Restoring zombie  ecosystems,” Winter 2018-2019), Craig Dremann cites grazing as one of the methods that has failed over the past thirty years to bring back an endangered plant in the Santa Cruz area.

Bill Gates says, ““… if we’re going to solve climate change, we need to get to near-zero emissions on all the things that drive it—agriculture, electricity, manufacturing, transportation, and buildings.” The annual production of methane by one cow offsets the benefit of driving an electric car for a year, a statistic that would seem appropriate to weigh in considering the introduction of more cows onto the planet --  for any reason.

I would appreciate having comments on the accuracy of the statement that there is new momentum in the use of grazing, and, if so, whether there is any consideration of its impact on climate change.

Teri Goodman

Community Member

The Santa Lucia Preserve