A recurring theme in my writing has been that we must listen to the land. We hear its songs of happiness or groans of pain as humans stroke it with their varied uses. When we hear cries of anguish, we attempt to rescue it with our science and action programs, We design new research to produce lyrics for the earthsongs we hear. We develop educational efforts to teach both private owners and government agencies about how science can heal wounded land. Range management came into existence when overgrazing and drought stripped the land of its protective cover during the last half of the 19th century Pioneer botanists heard the earth scream and our founders spoke elegantly. Concepts of ecological management of native ranges developed and were tested by controlled experiments. Gradually, we became the authorities on overgrazing, the causes of deterioration, and the conditions of stability. Perhaps the range profession was born to write the grand opera of herbivory's interaction with people and land. Thestage was set for the cries, groans, and yells screamed by eroding land to be answered by passionate, powerful voices of science. Earthsongs detailed the drama of destruction and resurrection, insanity and reason.
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