| Show range improvement pays big dividends on dust area A 4 i V AE ILI before proper range management began this is how the grantsville Grants Grant ville tooele thoele dust area looked in ALL Z e ar 0 A V A K wr W A am A I 1 a I 1 0 LL 4 44 4 W 70 A A 00 lot lo t r it how reclaimed range looks now after range management re vegetated the area this is the way it loohs looks today the by lowell woodward work unit conservationist soil conservation service tooele thoele utah range improvement during the past 12 years has paid big divi 1935 virtually useless for grazing its dust storms hampered living in nearby communities acres support 26 times time a ny arly as nell as se several eral hundred horses and cattle feeds on the former grantski vi vine e tooele thoele dust area this area which vas v as poorly managed for many years produced serious dust sto ms ims from 1934 through 1936 that liv ma u in adjacent towns became next to unbearable during this period the plant cover on the are area i be came so deteriorated that 48 squaw miles acres of this land supported a mere sheep for 4 months annually annu illy during the pros eaf en winter 1947 1948 the same area is supporting an equivalent of 26 times this number of sheep for the same period of time daring the present year on 56 square n les 36 acres of this laid horses and cattle will ira ra e for four months and 9 h P will graze an average of t 3 mon hs under th s use the ange a w 11 still be conservatively gorazd ind no dust storms are anticipate I 1 the head of cattle and hors es glazing in the area represent n ral different owners and the sl e p 12 different owners seene 0 the smaller sheep owners buol the r sheep together to make larger he be ds lor for more economical herd ng ti e belef ts from bivs im are spread among a large number of small local farmers i ahe he tremendous increase in gr griz tz wg ing capacity has been the re te it of proper grazing mana management gemert combined with reseed ng fencing and water developments ele en ea bears u ago the grantsville Grants ville soil con se e 1 atlon D strict was d to combat ni at the dust problem the dis t let obtained technical I 1 such as range specialists fro n the bell conservation service by ag ee ment with the land owners he so I 1 conservation district assumed asburn d con management of the area A few years ago the U S ar ny took control of part of this area but through an agreement with ane army the soil conserva Conser ion D strict manages the grazina on the army lands the remainder of the land is comprised of tracts w are federal public domain state private and soil conserva I 1 op district owned land federal permits are honored to the extent of their land the state land 1 lo 10 leased by the district and the DU dil late N ate land is managed for its ta 2 scattered owners on a basic in A I 1 ich the owners receive ohp th r share of the profits from the are aree progress toward the improvement of the range has been quite en cou raging since 1936 acres of land have been seeded to crested wheatgrass wheat grass and smaller amounts have been seeded to other prom is ng species such as ch chamine amise w western e s t e r n wheatgrass wheat grass and tall wheatgrass wheat grass S nee nce 1944 water de have been completed at eight different locations and seven miles of fence have been constructed the improved condition of this range has been the result of range management in actual practice each year before graz ing starts an range technician goes over the area for the district and estimates the available feed the estimate is based on the cur rent years growth important changes due to re reseed seeding mg and past use lecorps this estimate is usual ly reliable and is the basis for issuing permits by the soil con district A range use sur vey is made near the close of the grazing season this survey is used for the district to decide on a def mite date for removing livestock at the close of the grazing season another range use survey is made to determine the actual per cent of forage used over all parts of the grazing area this survey is used for ifor such purposes as estimating next years grazing capacity and the need for supplementary meas ures such as fences water develop ments and salting areas the tech meal assistance on such a lem requires help on the ground rot merely armchair advice the methods and technical facilities used by the soil conservation dist net in this project are applicable and to any local farmer livestock owners have expressed their satisfaction with the manage ment of this project and with the condition of their animals many claim their stock come off the area in better condition than they were when put on the furuie of this project looks bright for so I 1 conservation the grasses which succeed best in re seed ng gre ire usually the best for contrell con troll ng both wind and water eros on because of their enormous root systems these grasses are also some of the highest yielding glasses which make high grazing capacities several new grasses which are just becoming estabi sh ed promise some choice for dif ferent seasons of use crested thrass is primarily an early spring and fall grass tall wheat grass however promises to be a late spring and early summer feed as it starts gro ving much later and an d stays green much later than crest ed wheatgrass wheat grass it seems to be as easily established as crested and it just as palatable to livestock in termed ate and stiff haired wheat are also very promising and it is likely that many others may soon become valuable for reseed ing our range lands in addit addia on to the range improve ment on this former dust area itself the area is used as a tool to help build up other ranges which have been too heavily used in the past A program is worked out for these other ranges which involves reseed re seeding mg and conserva tive grazing use or complete pro lection while such programs are being carried out the excess live stock will be cared for on this former dust area this former dust area thus becomes a mighty fac tor in getting range conservation estabi she shed d on many other ranges tl TI e over grazing cycle w which aich de creased teed feed production to make overgrazing more severe etc can now be reversed in this vicinity As more ranges improve more range can be properly used or pro which increases creases in feed pro the dres present ent board of supervisors of the grantsville Grants ville soil conservation district who manage this project as fell as many others are A L hanks rocele C chairman ray hammond grantsville Grants ville secretary treasurer P P matthews grants ville howard J clegg tooele thoele and alien allen warr erda mr hammond was responsible for the tion of the district and has been a key man in the organization since that time bob ashby and jack dark clark of delta spent the weekend at the home of mr and mrs roy alsop mrs alsop is mr ashby s aunt |
