VIEWPOINT - THE IMPORTANCE OF RANGE SCIENCE TO FEDERAL GRAZING POLICY

The value of science to policy design is questioned by many, including political scientists, Critics view scientific expertise as subject to monopolization by an elite technocracy; a process with antidemocratic consequences, Science has been influential in the development of fede ral grazing policy by creating the Clementsian paradigm, by affecting the policy agenda, and by defining terms of discussion, Science has be en less influential in the implementation of grazing policy, In contra st with many policy issues, science is important to sound grazing poli cy, because western rangelands are isolated from the thought process o f the general public by geographic, demographic, and temporal features , In America, good policy is that which solves important problems and fosters democracy, Democratic forums in which grazing policies are bor n are enlightened by the disciplined competency of science. More than any other form of knowing, science represents concentrated, devoted st udy of a topic. Range science should provide the basis of public infor mation and opinion that is converted, via the political process, into federal grazing policy.