OCR Text |
Show BLM says drought will still effect stock operators Although recent moisture has given us and livestock operators cause for optimism, the effects of the drought will still be with us into the 1978 grazing season. According to Gene Day, District Manager for the Moab District of the Bureau of Land Management, range plants were subjected to extremely ex-tremely adverse conditions during the drought and will enter the new growing season in a low state of vigor.' Livestock grazing pressure, especially during the initial growth stages, will not allow the plants an opportunity to regain that vigor. Day said that it was interesting inter-esting to note that the Inter-mountain Inter-mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station reports that the drought has apparently appar-ently caused extensive winterkill win-terkill and injury of some range and forest shrubs in the Intermountain and adjacent areas. Mr. Day indicated that the Moab District is initiating action to prevent damage from occurring to the range resource during the initial growth stage of the plants. He is asking for voluntary cooperation cooper-ation of the livestock operators oper-ators in adjusting their spring use. He is extremely pleased with the cooperation of the livestock operators during last summer's drought. In many cases voluntary reductions reduc-tions caused the livestock operator economic hardships, but they realized that keeping the range in good condition was a long-term asset. |