THE Plains Wanderer has become the rallying cry for farmers fed up with ridiculous government ideology.
For almost 150 years the frightened little bird has been able to survive alongside farming.
A decade or so ago we went out of our way to ensure the species' survival, and may have killed it off in the process.
The shuttered environmental mind that has controlled policy for a generation needs to have a close look at the plains wanderer.
It could also look further afield at the disappearing grouse of the Scottish highlands.
There, the heath grew too thick for the good of the grouse after grazing cattle were removed - the cattle are now being returned.
Scientists were so certain farm animals were ruining the environment they influenced governments to buy private farm land, take back the leases of public land and use covenants over land titles. They then padlocked the gates to keep those bad farmers out.
But all the best intentions haven't helped the plains wanderer.
Given what has happened to the bird, it seems only reasonable we re-open other cases where similar damage might also have been done.
With a bad fire season in the offing, will the exclusion of cattle from the Barmah Forest leave a national treasure exposed to devastation? Is the high country any better without the mountain cattlemen and their stock?
Unfortunately for the plains wanderer, authorities have been too slow to react or too foolish to think outside a square of their own making.
Livestock are not the enemy. In some cases they are part of the solution.
