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Mark Gordon on Environment |
In our quest for UW to be a top-tier agricultural school, certainly one mission we should consider expanding is our research into better ways to expunge and control the spread of invasives. In support of that effort, I plan to work with UW's College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, our community colleges and the state's weed and pest districts to put together a program that will combine research with management, aiming to make sure Wyoming is a leader nationally on combating invasive species.
I grew up with people who understood the responsibility of stewardship. I have spent my life, as have many other ranchers, promoting that sense of stewardship to a country increasingly losing touch with the land. I have worked across party lines, with environmental groups and oil companies to advance the spirit of Teddy Roosevelt's famous quote, "Conservation means development as much as it does protection." I recognize the right and duty of this generation to develop and use the natural resources of our land; but I do not recognize the right to waste them, or to rob, by wasteful use, the generations that come after us."
Even though a significant portion of Wyoming is affected by the federal government through federal agencies; it is our private lands that make up some of the most valuable open spaces and high quality wildlife habitat.
