My father was a soils scienist and did soils/vegetation surveys all over
the world. Late in his career he was paid by Bonneville Power
Administration to survey streams in north central Oregon for salmonid
restoration. According to my father, many "intermittent" water courses on
the maps became permanent within a few years of excluding cattle. I believe
the primary limitation for Sharp-tailed Grouse is lack of riparian habitat
for winter survival. Lars
On Tue, Mar 8, 2016 at 10:19 AM, Craig Miller <gismiller@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi Matt and all,
Livestock grazing, especially in the arid Great Basin, has had a
devastating impact on streams and riparian vegetation. At Hart Mountain,
where I have conducted Breeding Bird Surveys since the early 90's, I have
seen dramatic recovery of hammered streams once livestock were removed in
1991. Guano Creek, in particular, was an intermittent stream in a deep
eroded gully surrounded by dry-land vegetation and no riparian. It is now a
beautiful year-round stream, even during drought, with thick riparian
vegetation. The stream bed has filled in (several feet high along some
sections) and water table has risen to the ground surface. I have seen the
dry-land vegetation die out, replaced with sedges, rushes, and marsh
vegetation. I encounter sage-grouse there on almost every survey -- never
did in the 90's.
A well-written article about Hart Mountain is at the following link:
http://www.springer.com/gp/about-springer/media/springer-select/cattle-damage-to-riverbanks-can-be-undone/49734
Cheers,
Craig Miller
On Mon, Mar 7, 2016 at 1:36 PM, Matthew G Hunter <matthewghunter@xxxxxxxxx
wrote:
One thing I remember learning about and discussing with people 20-30
years ago was the impact--real, I think--of stream erosion in some areas
(due to vegetation loss along streams from grazing overuse--not just from
grazing, but from 'over'grazing--I'm not opposed to cattle grazing done
right). The erosion, or removal of material from the stream bed (washing
downstream) lowered the stream bed and the water table (picture from
shallow bank to deep gully). The lowered water table meant that plants in
nearby areas (especially relatively level "meadows" adjacent to the
streams, even small ones) no longer had a relatively shallow source of
reliable water. Shallow-rooted and non-drought-tolerant plants now could
not survive. What was formerly a relatively lush streamside plant community
became inhabitable only by relatively woody, deep-rooted, or xeric adapted
plants, (e.g. like the rest of the upland desert). A diverse and rich
resource was lost.
These relatively lush streamside areas were thought to be great
brood-rearing areas because of all the insects and diversity of vegetation,
in addition to the availability of water, not to mention just great areas
for any sage grouse to visit.
In this case taking the cows off won't by itself reverse the damage done,
at least not for many decades; in some cases perhaps never. I imagined that
serious mechanical means would be necessary to try to bring back the former
water level (e.g., large boulders, sediment, etc.), but I haven't followed
it for many years. I don't really know how widespread this phenomenon
was/is. It seemed pretty impactful at the time. Hopefully some restoration
has been done in some areas and/or is ongoing....
When Leroy Fish and I did some Breeding Bird Atlas work down in far SE
Malheur County in ...whatever year that was...(1998?) we met a man, 80 or
so yrs old, still on his horse, who had buckaroo'd in the Battle Mountain
area when he was a kid. He talked about ... when needing a shade tree he
would ride (on his horse) over to a loan juniper (there weren't as many
back then) for some shade, and he would shoo off a dozen 'sage hens'. He
said he didn't see them near as often any more.
We want sage hens in our 'desert'.
Matt Hunter
Melrose, OR
West-central Douglas County
