Morning Rant.

                                    Nice grass and a nice Okie Point

 A subject that  popped  up on an internet chat board is that the bird numbers this year are reflective of the grazing or over grazing practices of the ranchers that use the Coronado National Forest.My own observations are that areas that received rain have some birds and that area's that received minimal monsoon rains are void of birds and grass.
Another topic that has also surfaced is that the Coronado National Forest has caved in to Rancher's demands to allow more cattle on the grazing leases, lets hope that this is just a rumor.
Having spent a lot of time chasing birds across Western North America I am of the opinion that overgrazing is the curse of the bird hunter and to some extent where overgrazing impacts riparian zones the Fly-fisher.Not much can be done when overgrazing takes place on private land however it is clear that the owner is shooting himself in the foot. Over grazing on public land is a different story as there are many other users of that public land that come into play.
Here in Arizona the grasslands never had large animals re. Buffalo that grazed, grasslands in AZ. also receive minimal rainfall so having large mammals graze the already fragile ecosystem is a real shock to the system .
One would hope that the powers to be would realize this , and push for responsible land use practices.
Cattle or Beef production in the State of Arizona is not a big money maker however tourism is . In my opinion an economic impact study regarding the use of public lands needs to be conducted and the management of the public lands should be geared towards the result.
From a hunting standpoint AZ could easily become one big Quail cover similar to how other States have become large revenue generating pheasant covers,the dollars generated would be more evenly spent within the State's economy and good wildlife habitat would also result in other eco-tourism revenue sources.
It is time that other public land user groups including  hunters  get organized and start making their voices heard.