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Show spring; Lambs "Lontuiue ' 4 ' r x- " - " , i - - ! " r "- r' ; , j: , By Nan Chalat "I'd guess our family has been here as long as any," says Jeff Bitner of his local heritage. Jeffs grandfather, Milton 0. Bitner and Milton's Mil-ton's brother, Hoffman, arrived arri-ved in Summit County in 1908. They were among the first ranchers to bring sheep into this country, explains Milton's son, Willis, who runs 2,200 sheep across the same land his father did. Willis Bitner and his son Jeff admit that ranching has changed since Milton's day but they are hard put to say whether it's easier or harder. It is a fact that it took Milton and Hoffman three weeks to trail the herd through Salt Lake to their winter grazing grounds in the West Desert. The Bitners' sheep still winter on the BLM administered adminis-tered West Desert but come Thanksgiving, it takes the family only one day to truck them out. It's easier on the stock and the hands. On the other side of the coin, ranchers now have to deal with development, with more people, with stiff grazing and predator control regulations. Even on the opposite side of Interstate 80, the Bitners feel the pressure of Park City's growth. Neighbor's dogs now cause as much trouble as coyotes used to, and during the summer dirt bikers in their quest for off-road terrain scatter the herd. 'Coyotes are still a problem partly because the Federal government has outlawed the use of poison. According to Bitner, 10-80 (a highly controversial, extremely ex-tremely potent monofluoro-acetate monofluoro-acetate poison banned in 1972) is safe and effective when used wisely. He is supported on this point by almost every sheep rancher in Utah. By far though the greatest concern on the Bitners' horizon is the MX. Willis is not certain whether the 'race track' system will directly threaten his grazing permits, but indirectly it is bound to. Recent MX policy statements assure ranchers that grazing will be permitted on most MX property after initial construction is completed. Considering the MX construction cons-truction phase is scheduled on an eight year plan, ranchers from all over the state, who winter their stock on the West Desert, are justifiably concerned. Still Willis explains, a man can earn a good living raising sheep, and he enjoys it. For 72 years, sheep have done well by the Bitner family and though Jeff works construction construc-tion in Salt Lake, he is unwilling to relinquish the family's sheep ranching tradition. tra-dition. Among Willis's seven children and his brother's family, there is sure to be a strong flow of ranching blood. The ranch's headquarters is located in and around the old stage station. The stone building was built in 1892 and is listed on the National Register of historic places. It served as a rest stophotel for the main stage coach route from back East and it Just in from the West Desert freshly sheared sheep are returning to their summer grazing grounds. n . i k frn ' f J -777 . m .Q, The original Winnebago: sheep camps are a familiar unchanging sight in the Summit County hills. ). I t J " ' ' 'r:-' V . - -v.. ; - '. '-..-: " S " ' J I" - I ; ' (,. .... : '. 1 '' . .... . ... Id stage station on the north side of 1-80 was built in 1892. It is said that Mark Twain and 'Vhitman rested there before heading Fast. Jeff Hitner the Bitner Tr aditiom sheep are browsing contentedly conten-tedly on the damp spring greenery. The shearing, which lasted for three long days in between rainstorms, is finished and lambing is in full swing. The next project will include docking and marking the new lambs after which they will move up into the hills to fatten up. In the fall, many of the lambs will be sold for meat. Raised for wool and for meat, Bitner explains that sheep are a renewable resource. Synthetic fabrics we are reminded are made with petroleum products, which is one reason wool, aside from its intrinsic insulating properties, has enjoyed a steadily increasing market. Thinking of his wooly charges in terms of warm plaid shirts, bulky sweaters and heavy blankets, blan-kets, we are inclined to hope the Bitner tradition continues. has been documented that both Mark Twain and Walt Whitcman stayed there. Bitner would like to see it restored one day but in the meantime it remains surrounded sur-rounded by the spare parts of : generations of ranching. The Bitners' purebred Suffolk and Columbia rams are inseparable in-separable from the building spending both the summers and the winters right in the backyard. Willis lives in the white house just behind the stage station and just across from the main barn, where assorted assor-ted orphans are fed by hand and adopted as pets. Like a doting grandfather, Willis lifts a newborn lamb from a pile of warm hay and puts it into a stall with a dairy goat who seems to have no complaints about nursing an extra curiously wooly kid. With a look of concentration and concern, he takes in the lambing reports from his hands. Jack and Bill. Jack Jarman, who has been with the Bitners for eight years, has just returned from the hills with a first-hand snow report and six identical Border Collies on his heels. Bill Mitteer has been closely watching out - for a set of quadruplets and explains to Willis that the mother seems to be taking adequate care of all of them. For the time being at least the hills are quiet. All 75 of the markers (the black sheep) are accounted for so'it can be safely assumed that none of the herd has drifted off. The black sheep are used for a fast count. Bill explains. Unlike cattle, which are apt to drift off one at a time, sheep move in, groups. If one marker is missing from 20 to 200 white sheep are certain to be with it. The - i ;Jr,V. v - - :- . v'.-1t - If . , . - .. ..... " ' 1 if ' . . " - w v " . I , " 1 ' ' I . f I ' V I "-. ' ' . ' V-v- Ranch hand Bill Mitteer gives Willis Bitner a progress report on the new lambs. W hat kind of man does it take to spend 18 hours a day in the saddle, to tend a herd of sheep, break horses, train dogs and watch for coyotes? According to Jack Jarman, who has been ranching for 40 years, it takes "Someone who likes animals, takes his work seriously and knows something about horses." 5iW..-.i-V. - , . - . : - - - - - ' . . ... ;,.....;vw s.. & ' . -. . .. .. . . . .-4 i ij .. - , . ' - J. --'!! ' . . J . r . . . j r , . wv.,.-, .... : - ' -:.ft i J' ' ' . , . . I r. : V ...... i ; v ' " : "' . " ? . , ' :. : 773 i WliMi - H-rf fc- ii,- ----- - , j, . nn,- M-i-m MirMTIMi-ff -r- fl fr rtf f "-"-'"- flfli ft K1 A black-faced Suffolk Iamb peers over the manger. |