A Silkwood For Environmentalists?
Marleen Braun was in charge of the Carrizo Plain National Monument -- created by the Clintonistas in their last days in power to take 200,000 acres out of private hands -- and she was upset that her bosses in Bakersfield's Bureau of Land Management office were pushing her to allow more grazing.
So she shot her two dogs in the head, then herself. The LATimes is hard at work to make Braun into the Karen Silkwood of the environmental movemment, with a 5-clicker feature and seven photos -- and lots of insinuation that Pres. Bush's changes to the Department of Interior, as implemented through Braun's superiors in Bakersfield, are to blame for her death.
LATimes photo
The Carrizo Plain is a beautiful place. We drove through it on our way home from Paso Robles a few years back, and it reminded me of Montana -- wide open and under a big sky. I can understand why Braun loved it.
But the land she loved was the way she loved it not because of a few years of "management" by Clintonistas. It was the way it was because of its place, because of its climate, and because of its history -- including at least 150 years of grazing.
Grazing is still allowed on the Carrizo Plain, but it is restricted. Braun wanted more restrictions, which ranchers said were not set up in a way that would allow them to stay in business. The ranchers are willing to protect water supplies and move their cattle out of areas where native plants are threatened.
But that wasn't enough for Braun. She could have dedicated her life to furthering our understanding of making grazing more compatible with sensitive resource areas. But she tried to dig in her heels against the governmetn she worked for. When that didn't work, she killed herself.
She may become something of a posthumous hero for those who have forgotten that the human touch has been on the land for millenia. But the real heroes are the realists who work to balance the needs of man and nature, not those who turn the balance too much in one direction or the other.
So she shot her two dogs in the head, then herself. The LATimes is hard at work to make Braun into the Karen Silkwood of the environmental movemment, with a 5-clicker feature and seven photos -- and lots of insinuation that Pres. Bush's changes to the Department of Interior, as implemented through Braun's superiors in Bakersfield, are to blame for her death.
LATimes photoBut the land she loved was the way she loved it not because of a few years of "management" by Clintonistas. It was the way it was because of its place, because of its climate, and because of its history -- including at least 150 years of grazing.
Grazing is still allowed on the Carrizo Plain, but it is restricted. Braun wanted more restrictions, which ranchers said were not set up in a way that would allow them to stay in business. The ranchers are willing to protect water supplies and move their cattle out of areas where native plants are threatened.
But that wasn't enough for Braun. She could have dedicated her life to furthering our understanding of making grazing more compatible with sensitive resource areas. But she tried to dig in her heels against the governmetn she worked for. When that didn't work, she killed herself.
She may become something of a posthumous hero for those who have forgotten that the human touch has been on the land for millenia. But the real heroes are the realists who work to balance the needs of man and nature, not those who turn the balance too much in one direction or the other.
posted by Laer at 4:10 PM
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