Managing WholesCreating a future that works
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Featured articles from the Managing Wholes home pageIndex of articles and linksThese article summaries appear in the same order as they do on the home page, which shows 5 story summaries per day. Each day, yesterday's top story disappears, and a new bottom story appears. The block numbers are simply to help you figure out where you are on the page. Block 1Gardeners of Eden: Rediscovering Our Importance to Nature — book review by Peter Donovan. Author Dan Dagget explains how human management has been crucial factor in creating many of the environments that we mostly now regard as natural, and what that means for ongoing preservation and restoration of today's landscapes. Landscape brittleness--how "good" management can harm land by Wilma Keppel. Introductory overview. Includes Savory's brittleness scale, brittle/nonbrittle comparison list, and Jim Howell's new brittleness-productivity scale. Monitoring farms for progress toward sustainability: by Karl North and Donn Hewes. Introduces web graphs, a simple tool that provides a way to monitor even very complex systems, and visually summarize sustainability patterns at a glance. More stories about decision-making Establishing perennial grasses in dryland areas by rancher Bill Burrows. In a dry summer climate like northern California's, perennial grasses grow 3-10 times more forage than annuals, but are hard get started. Bill discusses several ways to do it. More ranching & farming articles Grassland productivity across brittle environments (slide show) by Jim Howell. Explore the differences between high- and low-production environments. Grid format makes comparisons easy. 12 slides. How can grazing heal land? Learn how grazing animals maintain grasslands in nature, and how people can harness the same forces to heal damaged land. A short introduction with photos. More environmental restoration articles Block 2Asset-based community development: John McKnight explains an alternative to the more popular needs- or deficiency-based model. More stories about building communities Basic ecosystem processes: A brief introduction to the water cycle, mineral cycle, solar energy flow, and community dynamics (succession). Monitoring these 4 important ecosystem indicators tells you whether landscape health is improving or deteriorating, long before damage or improvement become obvious. Beyond partial management by Marcos Gimenez-Zapiola. An Argentinian rancher elegantly summarizes some of the basics of holistic management, including the importance of understanding the whole. More stories about decision-making The farm that came to be Joel Huesby's account of major changes near Walla Walla, Washington. More ranching & farming articles Quiz page includes quizzes on desertification, ranching, behavior, and more. Test your knowledge! Building trust while working with livestock: Bud Williams describes low-stress livestock handling that is easier and healthier for people and animals. Part 1 of 4. More low-stress livestock handling stories Block 3Democracy and power by Bob Chadwick. How to share power so that democracy works, and people don't need to bypass the existing power structure. More conflict resolution stories Grasslands and Earth's carbon balance: Research into ancient soils shows some surprising results. Managing for a whole forest: Uniting high biodiversity, production, and satisfaction on 160 acres of timber in northeast Oregon. More sustainable forestry articles The New Agriculture by Allan Savory. Previous civilizations failed because agriculture damaged the ecosystem functions on which every civilization ultimately depends. What ours must do to survive. A keynote speech from the Agriculture Vision 2000 Conference in Kansas. More ranching & farming articles Managing productivity in brittle grasslands (slide show) by Jim Howell. Grazing, productivity, and landscape management issues on high- and mid-rainfall tropical savannas, mild temperate steppes, and cold steppes. 18 slides. Improving a small acreage with three horses: How Dick and Diane Knox in northern California revegetated their bare ground, and now manage their grazing to promote oak reseeding. More environmental restoration articles Block 4How to help people create viable local businesses: Ernesto Sirolli discusses the origins and practice of Enterprise Facilitation. More stories about new business development Brittleness: an introduction by Christine Allday-Bondy. Explores the difference between brittle and non-brittle environments in simple, non-technical language. Teaching Holistic Management so learners succeed by Noel McNaughton. How he developed a very successful program for teaching Holistic Management, and why he quit teaching it. More stories about decision-making Oregon Country Beef: an interview with Doc and Connie Hatfield by Peter Donovan. How and why Oregon Country Beef (a marketing cooperative that sells hormone- and antibiotic-free beef to natural food supermarkets) began and what keeps it going. More ranching & farming articles Water cycle demonstration: Discover the #1 cause of flooding and drought worldwide. 830 K Flash movie. Soil loss and soil surface management by Graeme Hand. Good soil surface management can stop topsoil loss at the source. The key is litter composting at the soil surface. More environmental restoration articles Block 5Grassroots Restoration: Holistic Management for Villages; Sam Bingham's 90-page book is one of the best introductions to Holistic Management. Available in HTML for browsing (English only), and in PDF or Word for free download in English, French, and Russian. Overgrazing primer: Is overgrazing caused by too much livestock, or something else? Bonus quiz at bottom. The Last Battle by Allan Savory. The biggest challenge humanity faces is how to live sustainably in our environment. A gripping keynote address to the 1997 Washington State University Holistic Management project. More stories about decision-making Dennis Wobeser: from feedyard to grass farming by Dennis Wobeser and Peter Donovan. How and why the 1999 winner of Canada's Emerald Award switched to grass in cold Alberta, Canada. More ranching & farming articles Erosion slide show: Pictures from around the world tell the story of erosion's causes, costs, and cures. In 2 parts: why erosion happens (20 photos); protecting and growing soil (15 photos). Managed grazing helps river basin resist drought: Changing grazing management in a Zimbabwe river's catchment area healed environmental damage, returned a river to year-round flow, and brought back wildlife. More environmental restoration articles Block 6Generating social capital in an urban neighborhood: An asset-based approach to urban neighborhood development in the West Central neighborhood of Spokane, Washington (USA). More stories about building communities Ecosystem basics — solar energy flow: Explores the energy that drives ecosystem processes. By Peter Donovan Merve Wilkinson's sustainably managed Wildwood Tree Farm: Since 1945, Merve Wilkinson has managed 140 acres on Vancouver Island to produce biodiversity, environmental benefit, and profit. Thousands of people visit each year, including foresters from all over the world. More sustainable forestry articles When the thistle wilts at Fat Sheep Farm: Cindy Dvergsten describes how Holistic Management helps small farmers in Colorado, U.S.A. cope with drought. More ranching & farming articles Simulations demonstrate emergent properties — behaviors that only arise from a whole system, not its parts. Simulations include flocking, decision-making, and grazing (range management). Restoring South Africa's desertified Karoo by Norman Neave, Sholto Kroon, and Roland Kroon. Learn the Karoo's surprising history, and visit two successful land restorations near Graaff-Reinet, South Africa. More environmental restoration articles Block 7Managing power by Bob Chadwick. Nothing makes people more uncomfortable than the management of the power struggles that exist in every environment. The subject is often too threatening to even confront. Instead, people avoid it. Yet power struggles lie behind many conflicts. Tutorial. More conflict resolution stories Landscape brittleness and productivity by Jim Howell. Introduces a better way of measuring brittleness (the biological effects of seasonal moisture changes) that gives managers more information about what their land needs than Savory's original brittleness scale. Setting good goals Two proven methods for setting goals you're likely to achieve, and will like once you attain them. By Wilma Keppel. More stories about decision-making Diversifying for profit, pleasure, and production by Joel Salatin. A gifted Virginia farmer, educator, and marketer tells how. More ranching & farming articles Making better decisions: Have you ever made a bad decision? Have you made decisions that seemed good at the time, but turned out to have bad consequences? Discover some common pitfalls of decision-making, and learn why it's so easy for conflict to happen, even among well-intentioned people. Untrained dogs of yesteryear by Bud Williams. Why this top livestock handler prefers "untrained" dogs to modern trial dogs. More low-stress livestock handling stories Block 8Supporting passionate people on their own terms reviews the Enterprise Facilitation projects helping local residents create jobs in Baker and Wallowa counties in northeast Oregon. More stories about new business development Ecosystem basics — the water cycle: What determines whether rain evaporates and runs off soil, or whether it waters plants and recharges groundwater? By Peter Donovan Biodiversity: where's the beef? by Peter Donovan. The beef industry as a whole is often viewed negatively by environmentalists and consumers. Can they take a wider view? More stories about decision-making Establishing perennial grasses in dryland areas by rancher Bill Burrows. In a dry summer climate like northern California's, perennial grasses grow 3-10 times more forage than annuals, but are hard get started. Bill discusses several ways to do it. More ranching & farming articles Learning from change: Livestock handling expert Bud Williams and feedlot owner Richie Davies discuss the changes in attitude and in livestock handling at Vee Tee Feeders in Lloydminster, Alberta, Canada. More low-stress livestock handling stories Block 9Learning from asset-based community development that builds on people's strengths, rather than focusing on their deficiencies or weaknesses. By Marilyn Trail and Sally Horton. More stories about building communities Community dynamics in the ecosystem: Why it takes a lot more energy and labor to maintain a wheat field than a prairie. By Peter Donovan. Common-sense timber management: by Peter Donovan. An award-winning tree farmer Howard Johnson of Wallowa, Oregon discusses his successful methods. More sustainable forestry articles Oregon Country Beef's Grazewell Principles by Jack Southworth. What a marketing cooperative that sells hormone- and antibiotic-free beef to natural food supermarkets strives for on the land. More ranching & farming articles Revegetating a stream in northern California, U.S.A.: This formerly seasonal creek now flows till September, and never dries out completely, creating a haven for dozens of species of wildlife. More environmental restoration articles Block 10Beyond Conflict to Consensus, Part 1: Learning manual by Bob Chadwick. A respectful, honest, and effective method for moving diverse groups into more effective beliefs and behaviors. Defuses conflict without compromise (which satisfies nobody), and gets people what they really want. More conflict resolution stories Simple water cycle demo you can build from plastic soda bottles and glue. Hwange villagers adopt Holistic Management by Lovemore Ngoma. Near Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, villagers have taken responsibility for their future by changing the way they make decisions. More stories about decision-making Wilke team designs a no-till future by Peter Donovan. A systemic, holistic approach to dealing with dryland agriculture's social, economic, and ecological problems in the intermediate rainfall belt of eastern Washington. More ranching & farming articles Working with stock dogs by Bud Williams. Advice from a top expert on low-stress livestock handling. Part 1 of 2. More low-stress livestock handling stories Block 11Creating full-time jobs for US $3,000 apiece in Hastings, Minnesota, USA. More stories about new business development Ecosystem basics — mineral cycles: Explores the ecology of the chemicals that make up the bulk of life on Earth. By Peter Donovan Testing technology: what will work for you? Even technology that passes the Holistic Management testing guidelines may have hidden costs or problems. How to discover them before you invest in the technology and get bitten. By Wilma Keppel. More stories about decision-making The Deseret Ranch experience by Gregg Simonds. How the people dynamic can change the ecological and economic conditions on a Utah ranch. More ranching & farming articles Restoring a nonfunctioning waterway: Clearing invasive weeds and restoring grassland in eastern South Africa using managed grazing. By Norman Neave. More environmental restoration articles Block 12Managing scarcity and stereotypes by Bob Chadwick. Introduces the participant to the skills, attitudes, and understandings needed to manage behaviors and conflicts that result from moving from an environment of plenty to one of scarcity. Tutorial. More conflict resolution stories How to build new topsoil by botanist Christine Jones. Several centimeters of topsoil per year can form under favorable conditions, which good management can create. This article explains how to do it. Creating an open log market in interior British Columbia: How the Ministry of Forests' log sort yard near Vernon, British Columbia creates economic, social, and environmental benefits. More sustainable forestry articles Monoculture, risk, and change: Karl Kupers discusses the risks of changing to no-till in seasonally dry eastern Washington. More ranching & farming articles Starting stock dogs by Eunice Williams. Advice on training young stock dogs. More low-stress livestock handling stories Block 13Economic development from the bottom up: How and why Wallowa and Baker counties in northeast Oregon, USA adopted Enterprise Facilitation. More stories about new business development Improving rain absorption and reducing flood damage using good grazing management: Better management replaces annuals like cheatgrass with perennials that help soil absorb water, and whose deep roots hold soil. By Peter Donovan. Holistic Management testing questions A quick but comprehensive way to determine whether a proposed action takes you toward or away from what you really want. More stories about decision-making Portable pens for pastured poultry--designs that beat heat, wind, and rain: Range chicken and turkey pens from the Midwestern U.S. that work in extremes of heat, rain, and wind. Explores key considerations like weight and cage size, and describes Andy Lee's day ranging system. More ranching & farming articles Using Nature's own forces to reclaim deteriorating land: Feral cattle and donkeys severely damaged this former wetland in northwestern Australia. Now managers are using cattle as their main tool to heal it. By Chris Henggeler. More environmental restoration articles Block 14Creating a sustainable future for fish, water, and people by Don Nelson. Building capacity to confront and resolve issues and conflicts surrounding salmon recovery, water quality, and economics in Vancouver, Washington, USA. More conflict resolution stories Water absorption in grazed and rested pastures by Tony Malmberg. A simple experiment demonstrates how both grazing and recovery improve the watery cycle. Low Stress Livestock Handling, Part 1: by Steve Cote. Practical instruction on Bud Williams's low-stress livestock handling methods. More low-stress livestock handling stories Enterprise Facilitation creates jobs in Canada: On site at two Canadian entrepreneurial development projects. More stories about new business development Grazing management for healthy soils: An excellent article by Australian botanist Christine Jones. Includes bibliography. Block 15Biological soil crusts: How well do they really protect soil? by Wilma Keppel. Widely regarded as beneficial protectors of exposed soil, soil crusts usually indicate severe environmental damage, and may interfere with ecosystem recovery. Animal impact: how trampling benefits grassland ecosystems by Wilma Keppel. Grasslands are adapted to grazing and trampling. Without it, they suffer environmental damage. Photos.
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