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Good tour yesterday, and I appreciate the invite from the Diablo Trust along with you and Tom taking us to see the effects of the "Lizard Fire." Don Johnson and I saw and learned much. It is too bad that the USFS doesn't go on more of these things.
Looking at things first hand is always beneficial as is listening to the input of the various folks present. I especially appreciated Jack Metzger's comments as he and his
sister have such a long term institutional perspective when it comes to evaluating changing conditions on the Mesa. I also enjoyed the drive to and around the buffalo ranch, partially because
it brought back so many memories, but also because it confirmed some opinions from last year's visit.
Although the massive effects of drought and bark beetle infestations make any evaluation of the various causes effecting present conditions difficult to evaluate, I did come away with some definate
impressions, and some ideas as to how we might proceed.
Despite the drought, I think that conditions are gradually improving on the buffalo ranch (the new water development was also an improvement on some of the older designs). Less is definately better
than more, and it may be desirable to return to the original purpose of managing Raymond Ranch as winter pronghorn range, and maintain the bison herd at about 25 to 30 head to serve as a public showplace rather
than as a producer of "red meat." You might even want to consider returning prairie dogs to Koger pasture and managing the ranch as a grassland showplace, charging admission to visit there. The
range conditions on the ranches east and north of the buffalo ranch looked about as I had remembered them in the 1970s and 80s.
I also feel that progress is being made on Anderson Mesa proper despite the drought. The variety of forbs appears to have improved over last year and one can actually see some progress in the
juniper removal effort. Much, much more is of course needed, but I felt hopeful since all of the problems up there are being addressed other than those attributable to long term drought.
I was of course appalled by the condition of the cliff rose off of the mesa and appreciate Jack sharing his concerns. Drought is obviously a principal factor at work here, but I thought the
amount of elk sign in this area was also excessive given the condition of the browse. What was also discouraging, and difficult to evaluate, was the condition of the p-j community between the rim and the buffalo
ranch. I had always remembered this area (Flying M) as being in better condition than the buffalo ranch, but the grass and other vegetative cover in this area now appeared in poorer condition. Drought is undoubtedly
at work here, and I wonder if past HRM a pplications in this area may have been less than successful. I took Alan Savory's course myself, and I was so impressed with his confidence that I went to Africa to
see some of the applications there first hand. What I found out was that "short-duration grazing," as they originally called it, worked rather well in areas of South Africa where they had a mean annual
rainfall of 15-16 inches and not a lot of competition from game. When applied in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) it was less successful, and Savory himself went broke trying to make it work during a drought period.
The problem with SGM or HRM was periodic drought, and according to the local range conservationists and ranchers who I talked to, "high-intensity" or "short-duration" grazing can
be disasterous during drought periods, unless one has large reserves of ungrazed or lightly grazed pastures. This, as you know, also appears to have been the case in Arizona and New Mexico (Red Hill e.g.). I
don't know if this is actually the case below Anderson Mesa, but hopefully, improved precipitation and adjustments in grazing schedules will reverse what appears to be a downward trend in
this area.
The Lizard fire was also extremely interesting as it demonstrated that old growth p-j can and will burn during the spring and early summer. I don't know if I would have believed it if I had not
seen it. Such fires are very difficult to replicate of course in that they require drought conditions, high winds, a fairly herbaceous ground cover (the cliff rose and grasses in the unburned areas were much more
robust than on the Flying M). We need to consider this burn as a research area and evaluate it condition annually for the next several years. My guess, is that it will be recieving heavy game use within shortly
after the next rainy season. We now need to somehow initiate a spring burn on the Mesa proper so that we can evaluate the effects of fire on a high elevation grassland site.
All in all, a very productive day.
David Brown
Footnote…following the Lizard Fire, the AAF allocated $4000 in tag fund money to help reseed the burned prairie
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