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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 20, 1981)
SPILYAY TYM OO PAGE 8 AUGUST 20,1981 Range conservation being taken seriously by Martha Shewczyk In 1926, 6,000 sheep grazed the Warm Springs reservation. A total of 174 head belonged to Indians. It did not occur to residents at that time to be concerned about overgrazing the land. Overgrazing could quickly deplete the land of its forage. N o w , in 1 9 8 1 , ra n g e management has become a concern to all. With land being such a valuable resource and the ec o n o m y d em an d in g stretching the dollar every square inch of land must produce to its fullest. Unfortunately the condition of the Warm Springs range is nothing to boast about. In almost any direction Medussa Head and Cheat Grass cover the ground. These are annual plants producing seeds which germinate yearly. These annuals are dependent on surface moisture and are quick to dry up when the summer temperatures rise.In a drought year a small number of seeds may germinate. Possibly no new growth will occur. Livestock will eat these plants enjoying them in the spring when they are green and tasty. They will also ea t C h e a t Grass and Medussa Head after they dry up if there is nothing else, but the plant is not very p a la ta b le or n u tr itio u s . Livestock begin looking pretty thin if they are dependent on th e a n n u a ls f o r f o o d throughout the fall and the winter months. moisture. They are green much longer than the annuals. Those that remain in this area are still green where annuals have already dried, up. Overgrazing continues to keep these perennials from establishing themselves on the range, according to range conservationist Brian Spears. He says,“It’s too late for a lot of these areas.” Medussa head and cheat grass is everywhere. Attempts have been made to see how some non-native perennials will take root. An experimental plot put in by Oregon State extension agent C lin t J a c k s a n d s o i l conservationist Dean Elliott give evidence that perennials will take root. The experi mental area, however, is fenced to keep livestock out. The same plants cultivated on the opposite side of this fence where livestock are free to graze at will are nowhere to be seen. Efforts have been made to control grazing in the past. Ordinance 15, adopted in 1945, and Ordinance 37, adopted in 1962, sought to establish range units where grazing could be controlled. There was little group interest at that time. Ordinance 48, adopted June o f 1971, encouraged formation o f range units and the rmation of groups which use the areas for grazing to form grazing associations in an effort to rejuvenate the range. The advantage of these range units and associations, says range conservationist Spears, is At one time the range in this “making a plan to utilize area was covered with native forage” to its utmost. The p e r e n n ia l b u n c h g r a s s e s people involved though, “have including blue bunchgrass, to decide what they want to do w heatgrass, Idaho fescue, with their units,” Spears says. sq uirrel ta il, w ith som e “My job is to follow through S andberg’s bluegrass and and get the units going, needle grasses also growing. providing assistance in range These perenials which came up development and improve each year from deeply-planted ments.” -T w o -range units have roots had a high carbohydrate level and much nutritive value. already been formed, the 4-H Perennials are found to be a unit located on Highway 26 at better quality of forage and S id w a lter F la t and The sustain yield on a more W a p in itia u n it on th e con stant basis. They are McQuinn Strip, Miller Flat, deeper-rooted than annuals Dry Creek, Webster Flat, using soil moisture to a greater Boulder Creek unit and depth along with stored Sidwalter have a grazing plant Range conservationist Brian Spears poin ts out a bunch o f Medussa Head, an annual that covers much o f the ground in and around Warm Springs. Spifyay Tym oo p h oto by Shewczyk but it has not yet been be charged for the grazing of approved by Tribal Council, livestock on Tribal land. Fees are a u th o r iz e d u n d er according to Spears. Ordinance 48. Grazing plans in a range unit The hold-up on approval of these units results from getting might include cross fencing ownership records of the land. providing a summer and a fall People owning the land used pasture, reversing them every for livestock must be paid a fee. year. This would give plants, The Tribe, according the particularly perennials, the Spears, has been picking up the chance to grow. Another plan might allow bill so far. It is up to Tribal Council whether or not fees will livestock to graze on cheat grass while it is fresh and then close the area off allowing perennials to grow. Spears says, “A pasture doesn’t have to rest all year, just long enough for the plants to develop leaf tissue.” He also says, “There are a lot of areas where there are just too many stock.” When all the leaves of the plants are eaten there is not enough leaf tissue to start them growing again in the spring. After two or three years of this the plant will die. This is the reason most of the native perennials have virtually disappeared. These grasses do remain in areas with a steep incline or in places, livestock cannot get to easily. Reseeding in some areas is essential to return perennials to the range. Native grasses would, of course, reseed best. Seed of this type is generally unavailable. Some of the other types of range grasses have been tried that have proved to adapt well which is a possibility in further developing the range. Spears says he is looking into reseeding some areas and the grazing asso cia tio n w ould have this as one of their concerns. At least 80% of the Warm Springs reservation is range land. With an estimated 1,549 head of cattle and well over 3,000 horses having grazed the land in the recent past, it is necessary to look at range management in every aspect. The program developed for ridding the reservation of Equine Infectious Anemia has provided the opportunity to greatly reduce the number of stock dependent on the range through culling. Spears says with the reduced number of horses the range is in better shape than it has been for a long time. With proper management, modern techniques and a concern by everyone for their land, the range may someday be replenished. Getting is in good condition “is up to the people who use the range,” says S p ea rs. “ It they a re n ’t interested it will stay like it is. If they are, “it will take a lot of work.” K N T Employee of the m onth-------------------------------------------------------- ---------- ----------- — Hidden talent promotes him from kitchen to malntenence Kah-Nee-Ta has recently reinstated its Employee of the Month program. The selection of Employee of the Month is made by department managers as an incentive for staff members to continue doing a good job. A $50 cash award is presented to each winning employee. According to Kah-Nee-Ta’s executive assistant manager, Jerry Schaeffer, the Employee of the Month program was restored after being discussed at one of the staff meetings. He said, “It’s always been done before but evidently it was let slide for a while.” The first Employee of the Month selected after reinstkt- ment of the program was Georgia Duncan who works in the V illage h ousekeeping department. She was selected for the m onth o f June. J u ly ’s recently selected X employee of the month is Manuel Banda who is a m e m b e r o f t h e lo d g e m a in ten a n ce d ep a rtm en t. Manuel came from Chihua hua, Mexico to Kah-Nee-Ta in 1979. He joined some of his friends who already worked there. Beginning as a dishwasher, Manuel became a part of the m a in te n a n c e d e p a r tm e n t when it was time to paint the lodge in 1980 during its two m o n th w in te r c l o s u r e . Manuel’s talent for woodwork and carp en try rem ained undiscovered until some of his friends saw some of his work. A number of his woodcravings were circulated aorund Kah- Nee-Ta. He says he has none of his own» wood sculptures because .he’s always giving friends. M an u el’s proficiency in woodwork developed while he was still in Mexico, he says. Carpentry was his occupation. Working a t’ Kah-Nee-Ta is enjoyable for Manuel. He says, “I would like to stay here for a long time. It’s a pretty good place.” He also enjoys the remote location of the resort, he says. Until he was 18 years old Manuel lived on a ranch. He comments, “There is not much n o is e or tr a ffic h e r e .” Manuel says he has learned much while in the maintenance department at Kah-Nee-Ta. Some things he is unfamiliar with, such as elevators, they are apparently scarce where he comes Yromf But Manuel says he. is willing to try to fix anything he is asked to. His speciality is working with wood, however, and he most enjoys doing that.
