Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-09-20
WARNING AGAINST
VERGRAZING Of
RANGES ISSUED
Department of Agriculture
Tells How to Rer onize the
Evil in lis EARLY and
kHoW 10 Overcome

d
tspsrTAL eoaRtseosuvHeT ro So'NiSa JouN tA
Washington, Sept, 19.--Thc old say
ing ahcut u small amount Of preVeb-
ttou belng worth great DIAL of cnce
applies even to the manaaement Of
grazing lands. II is much better ard
even easier II care and ( rethoNsht
az" exercised 10 prevent '9uds frcm
being overgrazed than 10 bring them
back into good cordition &ter over.
grazing has hesn allowed. How 70
recognize overgra2ing in he begin
ming and how to prevent it are brouGht
out an recent publication of the De.
partr cut of agriculture, bulletin 7Sl
. Plant succession IN Rotation to
RInc" NanaF ement" by Arthur w
Samls, n. Fiant Ecologist the for
est serN ice.
Finer Discrimination Needed.
one of the most serious difficulties
in preventing overgrazing in the pos
has been the lack OF a means of re-
cognizing it in its early stages So long
as the cover was more or less intact
there was little indication that the
range was being SLOWLY hut certainly
depleted; and the depletion was not
IbllttN UllNll ltlt IlOIt Idlhtdblt anu
important forage species were serious
" injured Enterprising stockmen
and those concerned with the admin-
istration of grazing have come to re-
alize that the livestock industry has
now reached point where the inten-
ity of tho use of the forage crop must
be governed by a finer discrimination
than mere observation OF the density
" the plant cover and the condition
# the stock study has therefore
been made with the object of discov-
eriug a feasible method of detecting
overgrazlng before II has had serious
offoot on the forage or the condition
OF the stock. 1t has been found that
the most rational and reliable way is
20 recognize the replacement of one
type of plant cover by another, Ger
-" more or less temporary species
almost Invariably succeed the more
stable plants on lands that are being
)yergrazed.
Grouping of Vegetation.
A careful grouping Of the vegetation
M and down the scale Of delevopment
into divisions reveals four major
stages, These stages may be readily
recognized by certain 'earnlArks.
The highest and most staple type In
the locality studied is marked by the
predOminance of wheat grass in the
vegetation; the second by porcupine
grass and yellow brush; the third by
foXgloYe, sweet sage, and yarrow, anl
the fourth by annual plants like low
peavine and weeds Ike Douglas knot
weed and tarweed Whether the
range Is being ovcrgrazed or not NAV
be determined by noting what plants
are increasing in abundance. IL the
lower types are increasing the range Is
being utilized unwisely in some way
and Improvement in its management
is necessary, This may Involve the ap'
pllcation of the deferred and rotation
system Of grazing or other and more
strenuous measures, according to the
stage which the vegetation mas
reached.
Keep Two objects in Mind.
In ANY well planned method OF
grazing designated to handle lands as
permanent grazing areas, two objects
must he kept in mind one is the
cropping of the heritage at time
in the season when growth and repro
due ion will be lnterfered with as Ut
| t e as possible. The other is the utill-
cation of the forage crop when 1t Is
| most needed and when the herbage Is
palatable and nutritious. Grazing may
! cause either higher or lower stages
| of vegetation 10 take possession of the
range, depending chiefly upon the
! closeness wiki which the herbage Is
! grazed annually and the time when il
/ is cropped. If the forage is grazed
| closely before seed maturity eacf
year, the general trend will be toward
| the lower stages; If, on the Other
! hand, the crop is maintained in higf
| state of vlgor and protected IRON
| grazing until af,er seed maturity every
| third or fourth year, the higher types
OF vegetation will become predominant
and the carrying capacity of the range
! viii. increase.
The Investigations which brough
\ out the results given in this bulletlr
were conducted by The forest service
| in the vicinity of the Great Basin eX
! pertinent station, located in that par
! of the Wasatch mountains embraced
| by the Manti national forest in Titan
! The area studied lies between 9,OOl
! and II 900 feet in elevation, and Is ~
| pical summer range The species max
| ing up the permanent vege alton are
I similar to those on the summer ranges
within the national forests in north
! ern New Mexico. Utah, western Colo
rado and parts of Idaho and Nevada
! --