Ranchers Adjust Grazing During Drought

[Nemont]

With the public lands grazing hysteria that goes on here it is good to post some positive information even though the anti grazing forces with still find something to gripe about.

June 1, 2004

Ranchers will be limited on rangeland
By PERRY BACKUS
Montana Standard

DILLON - Six years of drought have forced the Bureau of Land Management to tell local ranchers they won't have as much forage for their cattle this summer on public lands in southwest Montana.

Livestock producers south and west of Dillon are asked to cut back by as much as 40 percent and ranchers grazing cattle on the BLM east of Dillon are asked to cut back by up to 20 percent.

"These are tough times for livestock operators," said Tim Bozorth, Dillon field manager. "At BLM we want to thank our local permittees for their cooperation and willingness to do what is right for rangeland health."


Long-term drought stresses plants and even though the recent rain will probably give a boost, the plants need to time to fully recover before being grazed hard, said Pat Fosse, supervisory range specialist for the BLM's Dillon office.

"During years of drought, plants go into dormancy. It's a self-preservation thing," Fosse said. "During that time, the plants can become weaker. They have no root reserves."

With moisture, the plants will often focus on growing above ground initially and too much grazing can have a big impact, she said.

"The timing of this rain is wonderful, and I think we'll grow some good grass," Fosse said. "We just have to careful that we don't graze it too hard."

Ranchers will have the option of either lowering the numbers of cattle they put on the public range or cutting back on the amount of time their cattle spend there.

"We tried to be as flexible as we could," Fosse said.

Despite the fact that the reductions will hurt local operations, Fosse said after local ranchers took a look at the range for themselves, they all agreed the cuts were necessary.
"The cooperation from permittees was outstanding and all temporary reductions were completed through agreements," Fosse said.

BLM lands are normally lower in elevation and livestock typically are moved on to them in mid-May or early June. On the other hand, Forest Service lands are higher elevation and the jury is still out on what impact drought may have there.

Nemont