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Show Wednesday, Miunra My 2d, 1374 Page 13 FISHING Overgrazing & Trout Waters by Dave Mueller As the land use of much of Park Citys surrounding real estate changes from agricultural to recreational, many forms of environmental pressure are brought to bear upon our trout waters. One of these pressures which has affected our trout fishing in recent years is a direct result of a change in the use of pastureland. Historically, much of our meadowland was used for raising cattle or for the cultivation of crops of hay. Each year a greater percentage of the same land is being used for the pasturing of horses as the popularity of horseback riding grows in this locale. Some of the most productive and fertile trout waters in Summit and Wasatch counties run through these pas tur elands. The affects your fishing when you begin to see caved-i- n and streambanks along certain sections of the water where horses are being kept. Too many animals in a g pasture have the potential of destroying trout habitat within a period of weeks. This is not to say that a cow has never caved in a stream bank. But most catg tle ranchers know that a pasture leads to stringy beef and lessened grass productivity. Cows are rotated in and out of pastures as the grass is eaten and then grows back. Stream edge grasses get a chance to reestablish their root structures when the animals are out of the pasture, and banks remain stable. Horses are seldom rotated in this fashion, and usually remain in one pasture throughout the summer must resort to growing season. As grass is eaten, many horse-keepefeeding their animals hay during the summer. This may be okay for the horses, but it does little to alleviate constant damage to the stream-ban- k as the animals cross the water or descend to drink. Banks are continually broken down and cut. When the spring floodwaters d streambanks are cut unmercifully by the come, the turbulent waters. Overhanging banks, favorite places for trout, wash away, and the streambed widens and the water becomes shallow where once was good cover for the trout. Close by, certain sections of Kimball Creek have bordering pastureland which has recently been exclusively used to board horses; Livestock damage has occurred on some of these parts where horses have remained constantly. A comparison of the fish populations in use-chan- ge nibbled-to-the-qui- ck stream-borderin- over-grazin- rs already-weakene- these sections to the numbers of fish which remain in the water directly above and below them (on cattle ranch sections) is quite dramatic. It borders on the ridiculous. Why on earth would a man pay a significant sum of money to have a pasture with a good trout stream running and then abuse it until the water was reduced to a fracthrough it tion of its trout carrying capacity ? There is an option : put fewer animals into the pasture. And if there is no way of reducing the number of horses you have for one reason or another, you still have a choice: keep the stock away from the water, providing only limited access for the animals to cross the stream or drink. But the only way to accomplish this is through additional fencing, an expensive option, indeed. But what price a good trout stream? Especially if youve paid for it in the original purchase price of your land. Once again it all boils down to quality versus quantity. If you want eight horses on your land instead of four, then expect the stream running through your property to deteriorate somewhat. Then be prepared to watch the trout population dwindle as the fish leave to find more suitable habitat (the big ones go first). Finally, watch as the chute, suckers, and shiners come in and take over where the trout once kept them out. Before you make that call to the Fish and Game to demand stocking of hatchery catchables, think a little about reassigning the values of your land, and the value of the stream that runs through it. As a landowner you can do that. If you dont own property, try to convince a landowner of his mistake if he doesnt realize what his stock are doing to the quality of the stream. The expansion in the population of our resort area is applying every conceivable ecological pressure to our local trout water. We are in serious danger of losing every bit of the good fishing that remains close to Park City. Livestock damage to a watercourse is only one factor which accounts for the deterioration of our fishing, but it can be included with the resort backhoe, the Army Corp dam, and the waterusers dredge as a major one. More and more pressure will be forthcoming as pastureland is converted from working ranches to recreational acreage. G?) HORSES Dont Ride With Bud & Annie by Linda Offret After reading the casualty report in last weeks Coalition, I decided this subject should be covered . Annie Green Springs, as she is formally known, comes in two varieties, Country Cherry and Berry Frost. For one dollar, you can buy one fifth of Annie (either kind), and if you combine it with a horseback ride, you might get a few extras, such as a sprained ankle, broken neck, or a skull fracture. Of course, its possible you might just vault over your horse, miss the horse, and get the ground instead. Annies partner Bud (Budweiser) can get you quite a bit too. He can cause you to lose your $30 glasses trying to keep you $17 boots from getting wet. In the end, the boots get wet, the glasses were lost, and it cost $80 to replace them in 1974. The horsey set in this area really likes to ride. Kind of like the Post Office - neither rain nor sleet nor snow nor hail nor dark of night will, keep them from their daily or nightly rides. Its very good for the horses to be ridden alot. However, the riders dont always fare so well. For instance, on one of the last evening rides, three people ended up going for an overnight. Seems they were only about three miles from home, but it was dark and they werent sure where to find the safest trail out. So, minus sleeping bags, ground cloth, food and jackets, they Somehow roughed it. . Then theres the story about going to the ranch to put your horse in the stall for the night; this person had been friendly with Annies partner, Bud, and feeling quite good, walked out to the pasture to get his horse. Grain bucket in one hand and halter in the other, he came upon his horse - calmly putting the halter on her, he began to lead his horse toward the barn. As he he passed the other horses grazing in the field, SURPRISE! Here stood his horse in amazement, wondering why her owner had thrown her for another one! Whats that they say, alls well that ends well? At least the right horse did get put in her own stall that night. I remember last summer I was riding home with a friend. We were talking, riding alongside one another, when I turned to look at my friend 1 had a riderless horse next to me! We were just walking and he fell off! The poor horse felt terrible. She couldnt figure out what she had done! Speaking about the recent disastrous ride, I heard the head of the night riders say - the way they were dropping off those horses, I thought someone was shooting them. I kept looking for the guy with the -- gun! waiting room, the lady from Emergency apSitting in the proached me and said, The Park City Ambulance just came down with a girl who fell off her horse. Maybe you know her? So I went over to Emergency to see. It was one of our friends who was on the same ride with us! Unfortunately, she was not in as good shape as the one in All she could remember was her name. The doctors asked me to talk to her since I knew her, but it was not very successful that night. As I left her, the doctors took me aside and said, What kind of horses do you kids ride in Park City?! I replied, At least they are not swaybacked! - The best thing about the whole incident was that there was a good ending to an unfortunate story. The point I am trying to make is that it is great to have a drink or two, but not to the point where safety is forgotten. A broken neck is not funny; it could have caused death or paralysis. It is not unusual for a skull fracture to be fatal. All of us who have horses should learn from this experience and be very thankful that it wasnt worse. If you want to tangle with Annie or Bud, dont try to tackle your horse, too. X-R- ay X-Ra- y. |