Profiles written by Courtney White, originally published in Headwaters News.
Headwaters News Website

A retired Forest Service biologist uses the natural meanderings of waterways to help restore the ecological health of the land.

Excerpt:
"Question: You know cattle are walking up and down a trail in a deep, sandy bottom in desert country, cutting a deeper and deeper incision in the soft soil with each journey. You also know that left unchecked, the trail may soon capture the creek and start downcutting, dropping the water table and causing the whole system to unravel over time.

"What do you do?

"If you are an environmentalist, the traditional answer has been to kick the cows out and damn the social and economic consequences to the local community. If you are a rancher, the traditional response is to ignore the damage the cattle are doing and pray for more rain. If you belong to an agency, a typical answer might be to get a government grant to fix the damage and then orchestrate a symphony of backhoes, riprap, cement and paperwork.

"If you are Bill Zeedyk, who tried all of the above through a long career as a biologist with the U.S. Forest Service, you try something else. You get community members to construct short fences and place them squarely across the trail, at carefully measured intervals, so that the cattle are forced to meander in an S-pattern as they walk - precisely where you think the water would meander naturally...."