It is disappointing that Bush seems to take so much genuine joy in the American West and has indeed incorporated it into his persona, yet he continues the U.S. government's long legacy of destruction in the region.

I recently learned that the Bureau of Land Management, which controls millions of acres of wilderness in the United States, has responded to ranchers who need open areas to graze livestock by rounding up some of the 45,000 wild horses. According to David Jaynes, an assistant field manager of the BLM, a lack of the horses' natural predators such as the wolf has caused their population to skyrocket, straining natural resources. "(The horses) are not only hurting our livelihood," Nevada State Sen. Dean Rhoads, a rancher, said. "(They are) also hurting the deer, the antelope and the elk."

The BLM has established an adoption program for the wild horses, but some wind up in a slaughterhouse after a year when their owners are allowed to sell them. This is hypocrisy, pure and simple. The cattle industry treads far more heavily on the West than horses ever could; the only difference is that the cattle help accrue a profit, and the horses do not.

In September the Fund for Animals and the Animal Legal Defense fund filed a lawsuit to stop the BLM, but a movement to protect the West and its indigenous species began, in fact, in the 1980s when Lynn Jacobs decided to use his inheritance to rally support to end ranching on public lands.

Under the jurisdiction of the BLM and the U.S. Forest Service, 306 million acres of public land, or 41 percent of the land in 11 western states or 25 percent of the total acreage in the lower 48 states, is used for private ranching. Including private land, cattle graze on about 70 percent of the Western land.

In the 1800s, ranchers bought land from the U.S. government for a few dollars per acre; the land was cheap because selling the land helped the government drive out Native Americans and Mexicans.

"After buying a relatively small amount of land, a rancher often gained exclusive grazing privileges to thousand or even tens of thousands of federally owned acres adjacent to his property," Jacobs said. "Today most grazing permits are technically up for renewal every 10 years, but renewal is essentially automatic. Once a rancher gains a permit, it's almost as though the public land becomes his property."

Jacobs goes as far to call the ranchers "the original welfare kings" because out of a 14,000-acre spread, a rancher may actually own a mere 40 to 80 acres, while the rest of the property is government land that he or she is allowed to use. In 1999, the fee for grazing a steer on government land was $1.35 for a month -- in other words, fattening an 800-pound steer on government land was cheaper than feeding a house cat. The fees are so low, in fact, that the federal grazing program costs the government more money that it generates.

The ranchers themselves are indeed an elite bunch. According to Fortune, 2.5 percent of the nation's ranchers own government livestock permits, and the ranchers pay one-quarter the price that they would for equitable private land.

It's no secret that cattle wreak havoc on the land.

"Cattle are far less selective about what they eat, and are capable of stripping the land of almost every kind of plant," Jacobs said. Grazing also contributes to erosion because there are fewer roots to anchor the soil during heavy rains.

Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of all is the obliteration of indigenous wildlife such as the grizzly bear, antelope, elk, pronghorn and bighorn.

In addition to paying for ranching roads, gates and cattle crossing, the government also pays for barbed wire, which disturbs wild animals' migratory patterns.

Wild animals sometimes starve during winter months because cattle have eaten nearly all edible vegetation during the summer and fall. During the winter cattle feed on hay provided by the ranchers, but wild species are not so lucky.

In 1997, Wildlife Services spent .6 million to kill over 90,000 animals that were perceived as a threat to cattle and sheep grazing lands. In 1988, 275 black bears, 1,158 bobcats, 75,869 coyotes, 669 gray foxes, 4,057 red foxes, 192 mountain lions, 124,292 prairie dogs and 53 timber wolves were killed. No numbers are available on wild animals shot, poisoned or trapped by ranchers themselves.

The prairie dog, which wilderness biologists describe as a "keystone species," is a prime example of how the demise of one species can directly affect others. In the case of the prairie dog, which has been struck from over 99 percent of the habitat they lived in before the 19th century, hawks, mice, coyotes and bison have been affected.

At the root of the problem is a skewed view about the worth of the land and the animals that live on it. A rancher's wife whom Jacobs interviewed said, "I believe grass was put here by the good Lord for us to raise livestock. If you don't graze this public land's grass then what are you going to do with it?"

Jacobs replied, "Not much; I'd leave it mostly for wild animals and the rest of nature."

The rancher's wife responded, "Now, what are you going to do with all those wild animals?"

The point is that we are not necessarily meant to do anything with those animals. An animal's worth is not derived solely from what it can provide for humans. Rather than worrying about what benefit an animal provides for us, we should honor the inherent worth of the land and all of the species that live on it.

Saving the pronghorn may seem like a frivolous pursuit after Sept. 11, but I feel that we cannot forget that we have a vice president who once denounced conservation as a "personal virtue." The pronghorn, the prairie dog, the bison and the dozens of other species are not just single animals but links in a food chain, indispensable parts of an ecosystem.

Protecting the environment is not just a choice, like whether or not to have cheddar on a Deacon Burger, but an unshakable responsibility.

The government should conserve our natural resources, put money into developing alternate sources of fuel, develop jobs that preserve rather than punish the land, hold those who pollute accountable and encourage organic farming because that's what's good for the environment and for our bodies in the long run.