Society for Range Management 2015 Summer Workshop Roaring Springs Ranch, Frenchglen, Oregon
T
he Nevada Society for Range Management (NVSRM) offers an annual summer workshop and field tour to discuss topics important to managing Nevada’s rangelands. Mr. Stacy Davies, manager of Roaring Springs Ranch, led an exciting tour on strategies, discussions of practical applications to ranch management, and approaches when working with public land management agencies. The Steens Mountains, near the ranch, has provided perfect opportunities for graduate research. Dr. Tamzen Stringham, university professor, has collaborated with the ranch for 17 years, and completed eight thesis projects. Part one of this article showcases multiple ranch strategies; the benefits of juniper cutting, prescribed fire, improved grazing, and irrigation management. Part two offers insights observed during the cheatgrass grazing and white sage (winterfat) desert management tour.
Part One:
Strategies from Roaring Springs Ranch August 26-27th
By Amanda K. Wartgow, Rangeland Ecologist, University of Nevada, Reno Conservation and ranching go hand in hand. Land management, which benefits entire ecosystems, also benefits the ranching industry. The NVSRM 2015 tour was near Frenchglen, Oregon, but strategies learned from this area could benefit all rangelands. The tour focused on land management benefiting both wildlife and cattle while remaining profitable. Mr. Davies emphasized needs for adaptive management strategies as opposed to rigid grazing schedules allowing for grazing management to be “biologically driven.” This topic is part of the larger question that addresses many conservation and ranching concerns: how to work with current management strategies on public lands? At each tour stop, Mr. Davies explained how he works with the BLM, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and many conservation groups to understand their goals are all the same: a thriving, productive, and healthy ecosystem. On August 26th, while enjoying a wonderful evening ranch meal, Andrew Shields, wildlife biologist and full-time Roaring Springs Ranch employee, discussed sage-grouse research conducted at the ranch. During the late 1990s, the ranch began several projects aimed at improving health and productivity of rangelands. Major treatments included juniper cutting, prescribed fire, and improved grazing management. These projects altered the successional stage of the landscape and improved habitat for sage-grouse, mule deer, redband trout, and many other species. In 2013, the ranch began a study to evaluate how sage-grouse use this landscape. Sage-grouse were captured, radio-collared, and monitored. Radio-collared birds used treated areas extensively, particularly prescribed burned areas. Sage-grouse either moved up in elevation or to wet areas during summer. One research bird was documented moving approximately 30 miles to wet areas on the ranch during summer. This information helps the ranch prioritize areas and implement conservation goals to maintain healthy populations of sage-grouse. August 27th began by touring the ranch and several conservation projects implemented by Mr. Davies and Dr. Stringham. The first stop was the end waters of 3 Mile Creek, historical habitat for redband trout, a species that was considered for federal listing in 1999. In providing habitat for the fish, Mr. Davies designed and engineered a fish screen that was placed in the creek channel above a fish passage, welded to the irrigation culvert that runs perpendicular to the original water channel. Historically, the headgate could be closed to divert all water from the channel to the irrigation culvert. With the screen in place the headgate is only able to divert water that flows over the top, allowing fish to swim through the fish passage/channel underneath. The whole system was designed to ensure that fish get priority usage of channel water first; irrigation second. 32 January 2016
By Tye Morgan
Stop 2 examined a prescribed fire to control juniper encroachment, a strategy used by Roaring Springs. The goal was to eliminate 50% of juniper trees. The next canyon over is untreated which was used as a control to compare treatments. Post fire cheatgrass growth was managed by grazing. Stop 3 was the site of a recent wildfire. Mr. Davies stopped here specifically to discuss seeding of natives versus non-natives. Mr. Davies’ belief is to seed native or introduced perennial plants that will best compete with annuals. This particular fire site displayed a successful rehabilitation of forage kochia and crested wheatgrass. Mr. Davies received positive feedback relating to the amount of perennial species present and began questioning; if non-native species were this successful, why is this, and why are other seedings not? He learned that it wasn’t the species, but how it is planted. Mr. Davies takes into consideration public perception, knowing there is a strong preference towards a “natural” landscape. He searched for ways to revegetate burns without using drills and found many tools available. His seeding strategy for forage kochia is to first disturb the soil (so seeds remain in place), aerially apply kochia seeds to avoid drill row appearances, and plant at an appropriate depth. He seeds grasses in late October through December, trying to avoid planting too early so the seeds won’t sprout and freeze, while not planting too late into snow. Mr. Davies’ goal is to use the least expensive and invasive treatments. The use of tools such as the Lawson aerator, planes, rangeland drills, and imprinters can help the success of rehabilitation. Mr. Davies doesn’t chemically treat cheatgrass fearing the weed that will replace it is worse. Dr. Stringham noted that tilling or more invasive practices can open the site up for invasions, and suggests a “do no harm” approach: help residual perennials, assess the severity of fire, and use the correct tools. Mr. Davies’ cattle gain about two pounds a day even in the late summer season. The perennials provide a decent amount of protein while dead cheatgrass gives just enough carbohydrates to avoid bloat. He figures if these species can do that for a cow, they can do that for wildlife.
Figure 1: Mr. Stacy Davies and tour participants
Figure 2: Forage Kochia and Crested Wheatgrass seeding
The Progressive Rancher
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