Ranching, Endangered Species, and Urbanization in the American Southwest

"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service bought the Buenos Aires Ranch in 1985, removed all livestock, and set about to restore the land to its "original" grassland in order to protect an endangered species, the masked bobwhite quail.

Sayre examines the history of the ranch and the bobwhite together, exploring the interplay of social, economic, and ecological issues to show how ranchers and their cattle altered the land - for better or worse - during a century of ranching and how the masked bobwhite became a symbol for environmentalists who believe that the removal of cattle benefits rangelands and wildlife."--BOOK JACKET.