Patagonia: Range Management at the End of the World Guillermo E

106 Rangelands 9(3), June 1987 Patagonia: Range Management at the End of the World Guillermo E. Debase and Ronald Robberecht Cold, disagreeablewinters, arid steppeswith fierce winds 23 at all seasons—mixedwith a bit of mystery, romance, and adventure—is the image that arises in the minds of people when the word "Patagonia" is brought up. While many sim- ilarities inclimate and vegetation exist betweenthe semiarid lands ofPatagonia and those ofthe western United States,as well as similaritiesIn the early settlement of these regions, \ several key differences have ledto contrasting philosophies inthe managementof theirrespective rangelands.In Argen- tine Patagonia, livestock breeding forhigh quality meat and wool to satisfy the demanding markets of Europe was fore- most, and care forthe land was In contrast, man- secondary. Vi.dmO agement of western United States rangelands hastended to emphasize appreciation of both livestock and vegetation. PuiftO Modryn Thecultural and ethnicbackgrounds ofthe early settlers and ma a the concentration of wealth, educational institutions, and Comodoro R,vodovia — Ir evil In — political power In the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires, have played a major role in the development of Patagonia. This article examines some of the historical and culturalfactors wJ? .- .— that have led to the development of these two divergent land-use and their effect on manage- philosophies range U sa oh Is t____..___ ment practices in the United States and Patagonia. 55• The Land Argentina, like the United States, lies almost entirely in the tem- The Patagonianregion of the Argentine Republic extends perate zone ofthe westernhemisphere. Patagonia (hatched area) is from the Colorado River in central to the a semiarid shrubsteppe region, of which nearly 90%is rangeland. Argentina Beagle ComodoroRivadavia is andis the center Channel In thesouth and fromthe Cordillera de losAndes to Petagonia'slargest city, for commerce andindustry in the region. theAtlantic Ocean. Itcovers an areaof about 1 million km2or about 1/3 of the total land area of Argentina. The climate is These notable scenic areas and cities may sometimes generally dry,cold, and windy. Below-freezingtemperatures obscure thefact the the majority ofPatagonia—nearly 90%— can occur throughout the year, and annual precipitation is rangeland. Forested land accounts for only about 10% of varies from more than 4,000mm in the PatagonianAndes to the Patagonian region, and irrigated valleys less than 1%. less than 150mm in central plateau of Patagonia.Since only Patagonia is thus truly the rangeland regionof Argentina. about 4.5% of Argentina's population of 30 million people Vegetation throughout this vast cool semidesert/steppe Inhabit the Patagonian region, this wide and expansiveland zone consists mainly of tussock grasses (bunchgrasses is indeed sparsely populated. referred to as coirons) intermixed with shrubs. Dominant Although vast uninhabited steppes create an impression grass generainclude Festuca, Poa, Stipa, Bromus, and Hor- of desolation for visitors, not all Patagonia is arid and semi- deum, and the major shrub genera include Nassauvia, Ber- arid. The Patagonian Andes, for instance, is a highly scenic beris, Mu/mum, Adesmia, and Senecio. The physiognomy, region with majestic mountain peaks.Several national parks or overall appearance of Patagonian vegetation, is some- with lakes,forests, and glaciers of magnificentscenic beauty whatsimilar tothat of manyshrub steppevegetation zones of occurthere. The city of Bariloche, the main skiing centerof the western United States rangelands. Soils of Patagonia South America and considered by some to be one of the vary from humicin the forests to alluvials and lithosolics in world's beautiful cities, is located in this Andean mountain Patagoniantablelands. Thearticle by Soriano (1983) is sug- range.Other popular touristattractions of Patagoniainclude gested for a detailed review of the climate, vegetation and numerous indigenous animal species suchas the rhea, gua- soilsof Patagonia. naco, and mara; the marine mammal reserve at Peninsula ColonIzation Valdés;and Usuahia, the southernmost city in the world. The coast of Patagonia was first explored in 1518 by members of the Authors are with theDepartment ofRange Resources, University of Idaho; Magellan expedition. Prominent scientists Defosséis on leave from centroNaclonal Patagonio (CON ICET) 9120Puerto and explorers such as Darwin, Ameghino, Musters, and Madryn, chubut, Argentina. Contribution of the Forest, Wildlife and Range ExperimentStation, No. 305. Dusen mounted severalsignificant expeditions of scientific Rangelands 9(3), June 1987 107 discovery to thisregion in the last century. Until the opening ofthe Panama Canalin 1914, thearduous journey aroundthe South American continentby way of the Strait of Magellan was the only way to travel from the Atlanticto the Pacific Oceansby sea. Although there were many opportunities for settlementduring this period, where coastal ports were used to resupply the ships, this region was apparently uninviting because of its cold climate and high winds. It was not until 1865that effective settlement of Patagonia was realizedwhen a small groupof Welsh immigrants established two settlements in northern Patagonia. The prosper- ous city of Puerto Madryn was established at the original landing site, and thecity of Gaimanwas establishedabout 70 km to the south by the ChubutRiver. Within 25 years, other settlements were developed along the Chubut River. The Welsh colony developed sufficiently to supportagricultural systems based on irrigationand a railroad to interconnect those settlementswith the exporting port of Puerto Madryn. Additionalsettlements were also establishedon thefoothills of the Andes, now the cities of Esquel and Trevelin. Immi- grantsfrom severalother European countries followed later, and by the turn of the century the entire Patagonian region was fully explored. By 1920, ranches or estanciasbased on a sheep livestock industry as well as coastal meat packing factories and ports had been established. Development of a Sheep Livestock Industry In the first decades of this century the Patagonian econ- omy was based entirely on the sheep industry, which expanded vigorously. The importation of rams from Austra- lia was a practice commonly used for improving the quality of Patagonia sheep herds, a that is still quite com- practice Sheepraising is the main activityon Patagonianran gelands. mon. Despitethe impetusfor industrial and economic development of Patagoniathat came in the early 1900'swith the ed from the region to develop Buenos Aires and the sur- discovery of oil in the region, the economic base of Patago- rounding humid pampas. In recent years depressed wool nia remained largely dependent on the sheep industry for prices on international markets coupled with increased meat and wool production. To put the prominence of Pata- growth ofnew textile, aluminum, andfishing industries have gonia'slivestock industry and theregion's natural resources caused the traditional and once powerful sheep in the since settlement Patagonian perspective, Patagonian rangelands industry to decline in terms of gross income. haveproduced more than5 billion kgof wool—enough wool to make a sweater for human on earth 15 Range ManagementPractIces every today—, in billion kg of meat, and more than half the energy (oil, coal Today, range management Patagoniaprimarily involves and that has consumed tothe the raising of sheepfor wool and meatproduction. Although hydroelectricity) Argentina up the Cordillera de los is becom- present. Unfortunately, economic benefits to Patagonia cattle ranching along Andes were minimal becausemost ofthese resourceswere exporting an important industry, particularly in response to the Vegetationdeterioration and soil erosion are the main problemscaused by overgrazingon Patagonianran gelands. 108 Rangelends 9(3), June 1987 growingmarkets for beef in several coastal cities, it remains to these late nineteenth century European settlers as an a relatively minor industrycompared with sheep ranching. inexhaustible resource for livestock production. This philo- There are about 350,000 cattle in Patagonia, quite a small sophy fostered little desire for the conservation of these population relative to the 16 millionsheep. inexhaustible rangelands. Low regard for the shrub steppe Sheep managementhas alwaysbeen quite simple,with the rangelands of Patagonia was reinforced by the establish- herds maintained in the field yearlong. Animals may be ment of agronomy and veterinary colleges north of this moved between summer and winterranges on ranches near region near Buenos Aires, which, with little exception, the Andes in western Patagonia, though overstocking on tended toemphasize development of the humid pampas. The bothranges tends to deteriorate theland in asimilar manner less productive lands of Patagonia, viewed as marginal for as yearlong grazing (Soriano 1956b). Utilization of coastal agriculture, were accorded slight consideration. The lack of valleys as winter ranges, which are milder in climate and interest and understanding of such marginal ecosystems closerto meat markets, is becoming quite common. A few inhibited the development of range science. Only recently ranching events are noteworthy: the señalada (countingof has concern for more than just the animal and its perfor- new lambs), esquila (sheepshearing), pelada de 0/os shear- mance become of general interest of Argentineans. Range ing around the eyes),

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