Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1911-03-24
GIVING NEW LIFE
TO WORKOUT RANGES
AN ADDRESS BY PROFESSOR
THoRNBER.
A Description of Experiments Conduct
e. by Him.

At the request of gentlemen inter
ested in the live stock industry in this
territory there is now reproduced the
address of Professor J. J. Thornber OF
the Arizona experiment station before
the meeting of the American Live Stock
association at Fort Worth, Texas, on
The Rehabilitation of Some Grazing
Lands in Arizona:
Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the
Convention:
/ deem it a great pleasure Z speak
to you this afternoon about the re-
storation of our depleted grazing
ranges l should like to tell sou what
we have done in Arizona in the way
of building up over graZed and de-
nuded ranges by means of fencing and
restricting the number Of animals on
them for a time. l am perfectly well
aware that TO some of you people in
Texas this is like carrying Goals to
Newcastle" since restoring grazing
ranges by means of fencing and leas-
ing began right here in Texas. You
deserve much credit for what you have
done in this way. Not alone have you
helped yourselves. but you have been
a splendid example to other western
states and territories.
Out in Arizona, which is true for ev
cry state and territory except Texas,
the public lands belong to the general
government, and under present condi-
tions we could not fence them If we
wanted to- and goodness knows we
would If we could. Now we are argu-
ing this question of fencing and leas-
ing the ranges in the whole southwest,
and what is more we are going to con-
tinue il until we get il settled. We
want to get congress to pass a prac
teal grazing bill so that stockmen may
fence these public grazing lands, either
individually or collectively, and be
guaranteed the use of them for grazing
purposes for a reasonably long number
of years by means of leasing, some
thing like what you have had in Texas
for nearly twenty five years, and such
as there is in operation in many parts
of Australia. In fact we should like
very much to try your grazing regula-
tions on our ranges, and l venture the
assertion that if once you loaned them
to us you wouldn't get them back
again. / believe that if your ranges
were leased to stOckmen on some such
basis as this. that these men would find
it to their advantage TO provide them
with more and better watering facili-
ties for stock on the ranges. to build
up the carrying capacity of these graz
ing lands by alternate grazing and rest
ing the areas, to improve their herds
by introducing better blood, and to es-
tablish permanent homes for them
selves on these very ranges, which is
the most important of all.
For ten years the Arizona Agricul-
tural Experiment station has been en-
gagged in various lines of range study
and now it has some important results
to give to the public. These will soon
appear i'm bulletin issued by this sta
ton. though on account of delay in
printing. l cannot present you with a
copy of this publication now. During
these years we have had good, bad and
Indifferent seasons. some wet ones and
some dry ones. some favorable to the
ranges and some very unfavOrable. N
this study we have tried to consider
everything affecting the growth of
forage plants on the ranges. rainfall.
drought. temperature, runoff, over
grazing, trampling by stock. poor range
managements-in fact everything that
influences plant growth on the grazing
ranges in any way. From comparisons
with past records / can say that these
ten years are no worse and no better
than the average run of years for this
southwestern country. SO far as
climate in Arizona is concerned, and
you know we have lots of it. the stock
can can expect nothing better in the
next few years than we have had in
the past.
] want to speak first of all about
some range land that has been under
protection for ten years. For want
of shorter name l have called this
the small range reserve" because it
includes only 1886 acres of land under
fence, while a larger range nearby has
fifty square miles of fenced country.
This latter is designated the large
range reserve" The small range re-
serve is typical creosote bush. cactus,
and scrub mesquite land lying at an
altitude of about 2500 feet 1t is char
acterfstic of large areas of arid lower
mesa land in our territory. and that is
exactly why il was chosen for study. |
DuALiS ldNOTdDle MlIlItF ana summer
seasons there are fair growths of win
ter and summer annual plants. Now. |
winter ANNALS are small, short lived
plants that grow during the winter and |
spring seasons; they supply good for
age while they last, but they soon die |
after the hot dry spring sets in. Like |
wise the summer ANIMALS grow about |
three months in the summer and fall, |
July to September inclusive. All these |
plants die out each year and come |
fresh from seed again with favorable |
rains. and If we don't have any rain |
these annual plants fail to make any |
growth. and if the rainfall is short, !
their growth. likewise, is short
during the ten years that this small |
range has been under fence, no stock |
have graZed upon it, so that it has had |
a good chance to recuperate, but ii has |
scarcely built up at all. In fact it |
doesn't appear to produce any more /
forage now than the adjoining areas |