The mountains are white this morning. We spent the last two days up there at our highest elevation pasture. We took the bulls out the first day and loosened fences the next. The bulls had been separated from the cows since August and with snow in the forecast, it was time to bring them home. This activity always brings to mind Gary’s funny about wishing he could deflate the bulls in the fall and put them on a shelf until they’re needed again in the spring.
There was a cold wind blowing all day. The quakie leaves, what’s left of them, made a crackly sound instead of the comforting flutter they make all summer. We saw seven lumbering sage grouse and about twenty mule deer. We said goodbye to the tiny cabin after we enjoyed one last cup of coffee on the porch.
The cow herd will stay in the mountains for a while yet if the weather allows. The calves are home so the mama cows climb high with a carefree attitude. We drove home through the herd and relished seeing them up high near the timber in deep yellow grass. Our range is superb for that, cured off native grasses that remain delicious and edible all year long. It’s what native grazers depended on throughout time, wild sheep, bison, elk and exotic megafauna of ages gone past. All cycling the rich growth of the summer’s short growing season.
I was disturbed to see the muddy off-roads traveled by hunters this past month on our state lease ground. They don’t know that these aren’t “established” roads by anyone’s definition, which is the state's way of describing roads that are open to travel. They were once (just a few short years ago) a quiet two track heading off into the sagebrush, worn in by a pickup placing a sheep camp, the living quarters for the sheepherders who need to be near their band of sheep. Or the odd cowboy delivering salt to his cattle or checking a watering trough. These trails were never meant for heavy recreational use by pickups or 4-wheelers or the now ubiquitous side-by-sides. Worse still, if it’s wet like this year, there’s a second set of tracks just off the first set to keep out of the mud!
I have thought that hunters and cowboys have a lot of the same goals and see eye to eye on most things. I’m starting to doubt this. More two-track "roads" mean more and more access by vehicles, less walking. More erosion into the creeks, more weeds, more gates left open, etc. I know we must share these lands. I know we must be allies. I just don’t know how to go about that.
Well, that’s not true. Actually, I DO know how to go about it. Talk to hunters. Talk to the men and women who work for the state land department, both locally and in Boise. Stick to facts, take a long term view, listen and learn. We - all of us - need to honestly consider what it means to have a land ethic. For ranchers and hunters alike. For fly fisherman and those who just want to buzz around in a side-by-side. And for our new ex-urban neighbors in the valley. This is our state, our land, our future.
As I write, I see Mark getting on his horse in his heavy coat with his wool cap and coveralls. He's been at this long enough to not mess around. He says he can always take clothes off later. He's a pragmatist. As we often say, “intelligence plays a role.”
There's really no other choice as we face the changes coming at us in this business. We'll face what has to be faced and do what needs to be done. We'll concentrate on keeping our relationships strong, consider our options without blaming others, and take the rest as it comes.
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| all quiet for another season |
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| steer calves at home |
