walnut creek stops some cattle grazing

it looks like walnut creek will stop cattle grazing on Acalanes and Sugarloaf open spaces due to an increase in cattle attacks against humans. Unfortunately, the city of walnut creek is not going to get rid of cattle on the much larger Lime Ridge and Shell Ridge open spaces. I guess the negative impact of cattle on the environment is not important to city government as long as ranchers keep the money coming in.

Federal
wildlife agencies have identified cattle grazing as a factor leading to the listing under the Endangered Species
Act (“ESA”) of multiple species that occur on or have been extirpated from East Bay rangelands. These
species include but are not limited to the California red-legged frog, steelhead trout, Alameda whipsnake,
and listed species of butterflies, as well as numerous special-status East Bay plants.

cattle grazing is harmful to the animals and plants of the area, along with the natural eco systems. Erosion, cow dung and all the fences needed to keep the cows in place all make the areas look ugly. Cattle grazing on east bay park land has been controversial for a while now.

"Our big beef," said Jeff Miller, director of environmental group Alameda Creek

Alliance, which has sued the park district over its grazing policy, "is that these are public

lands in the public domain. Yet what you have occurring on many of these lands is that

the primary beneficiary is the private rancher."

Miller and others point to the nearby 20,000-acre Mount Diablo State Park — where

private grazing was banned in 1990 — as an example of appropriate management of

public lands.

But as is usually the case, as long as money is being made, the politicians just dont care about the negative environmental impacts. Dont expect private cattle to go away anytime soon.