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Show The Tfumderbird Monday, January 9, 1984 Page 7 Al Tait with his quarterhorse: We used to call him Little Man. But he grew pretty big... so we just call him Horse or Man. t a.. I i ' Horses, great outdoors help fill Al Taits life to Cedar City to teach other students about appreciating nature. Hes dabbled in rodeo ever since his first farm experiences, and although his collegiate rodeo work was limited to weekends, it wasnt long before he became the adviser to the SUSC Rodeo Club. As an adviser, Tait said he "filled out insurance forms, saw that their grades were up, signed up the participants and paid the fees. It was more of a caretakers job. But Tait isnt really complaining about the position. He speaks with pride whenever he talks about his teams. I really enjoyed watching the kids participate. I remember watching them compete in all kinds of weather. I had a lot of fun riding in the grand entries with my team. When Tait took a two year sabbatical to earn his doctorate in botany at Brigham Young University, he still advised the Rodeo Club when the riders competed at BYU. Though he couldnt travel with them after he was appointed department chairman, Tait says he still supported the teams when and however he could. He keeps his own horse, which he says is a good, gentle animal, even though he claims that its an expensive hobby, feeding him hay and keeping him happy In 1977 the Rodeo Club awarded him a plaque in appreciation for his dedication and commitment. It occupies a prominent place on the office bulletin board that is filled with other treasured awards and photographs of nature, friends, family or all three. Taits family enjoys hiking in the wilderness as much as he does and their frontier treks provide them with many peaceful hours of exploration and some harrowing ones, too. He related that once while fishing in the mountains near Cedar City, his wife and four young children became lost and spent the night in the woods. A search and rescue team found them the next day. A similar incident happened during a trip on Cobalt Barge. He may not find as many opportunities to get out and about these days, since a new job has recently entered his life that of a counselor in the SUSC student stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-da- y Saints. When he has the time, Tait unwinds by working on his fathers farm or working for friends. I enjoy a good hard days work on the farm, and getting out of the routine (at SUSC), t,e mentions. During the many years he has spent in botany, Tait has developed a philosophy about managing Americas national resources that can perhaps best be described as conservative conservationism I recognize the fact that in order to feed the masses theres got to be a certain amoupt of utilization of the land, whether it be for crops or grazing. I think theres been a lot of misuse of the land, but if were going to continue to feed the population, the land will have to be used to some extent. That doesnt mean every inch because some of it is not adaptable. There are areas that I would hate to see developed beyond what they are for the simple reason that I dont think theyd be that useful if they were developed. I also think that the land should be utilized. Ive seen forests that have been utilized under a growth management project that looked better after theyve been utilized. I think a lot of people who object to land utilization have no real concept of where their food comes from, or their clothing. They get up in arms if anybody tries to do anything in the way of g development. I think that to maintain national parks in their pristine form is really good but people have to have a means for their livelihood, too. Some people have the idea that any change that man makes in the face of the earth has to be a particularly ugly thing, and I dont feel that way at all. . |