Page 8-MSWCD Supplemental to the Heppner Gazette-Times, February 26,1997
Rietmanns, leaders in water quality stewardship
calving, branding, doctoring and
feeding livestock.
Cattle herds were once driven
to summer grazing in the
mountains, where they were only
occasionally checked before
being gathered again in the fall.
Today, due to updated range
management policies, permittees
using Forest Service land must
spend two person-days for each
day of cattle grazing. This labor-
intensive strategy allows these
two ranching families, the Clarks
and the Rietmanns, to continue to
graze cattle for about three and a
half months a year on the Hard
man Forest Service allotment.
Out of their herds, these two
ranches are permitted to run 322
head of cows, with calves at side,
on about 22,000 forest acres
overlooking the North Fork John
Day River. Within this allotment
run small streams that contribute
to the river's headwaters. Per
mittees have developed off-
stream watering places, while
part of Wilson Creek has been
permanently fenced and en
hanced with fish weirs.
To lessen the impact of cattle
on the Hardman allotment, the
area has been divided into units,
and cattle are moved in a rotation
system. To better utilize forage,
riders make sure that cows are
distributed.
In a cooperative effort, the
U.S. Forest Service provides
fencing materials, while the
permittees furnish labor Portable
electric fencing is used to protect
sensitive areas.
Permittees move the electric
fence in conjunction with cattle
rotation.
Barbed wire fencing costs
about $5,000 per mile, while
solar-powered electric fencing is
estimated at $600 per mile.
"These permittees are very
forward-thinking," says Heppner
District Ranger Delanne Fer
guson. "They have learned the
science and are willing to adapt
to new technology ."
Extensive monitoring and
record keeping are paying off,
according to Mike Borman,
Oregon State Range Land
Resources Extension specialist.
Editor's Note: This article is
reprinted and updated with author
Merlyn Robinson's permission
The hardships endured by pio
neers within Morrow County's
rugged area have bred a tenacity
inherited by some of today’s
ranching families.
In 1853, the Albert Wnght
family trekked westward from
Illinois by wagon train. They
settled near Oregon City. The
family moved to the Hardman
area m 1872, when the Willa
mette Valley became crowded. A
son, Anson, was 12 years old at
the time.
Through determination, hard
work and the purchase of other
homesteads, Anson Wnght's
holdings eventually encompassed
the area from below Ruggs to
beyond Rock Creek. Before his
death m 1936, he deeded separate
parcels of his vast spread to
seven of his children.
Today, two ranches survive
from the sales and consolidations
of those seven legacies. Mc
Kinney Creek is the home base
for these ranches, now century
farms owned by Anson's descen
dants.
On one ranch are Pat Ander
son-daughter of Walter Wnght,
one of Anson's sons-and her
husband, Don. Their daughter.
Tami, her husband, Mark Riet-
mann, and their daughters,
Shelley and Shanna, also live
there.
Close by, on the Horseshoe
Hereford Ranch, live Beth Clark-
daughter of Raymond Wnght,
another of Anson's sons-her
husband. Barton, their son, Ned,
his wife, Kathy, and their
children. Matt, James and Sarah.
Great changes have impacted
each
generation-the
Great
Depression of the 1930's, cattle
replacing sheep when the wool
market crashed, improved roads
and vehicles replacing horses for
transportation and farm power
In spite of the conveniences of
modem technology, cattle ranch
ing still requires hard, year-round
labor. As stewards of the land,
ranchers must focus on protect
ing the environment, along with
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He claims that under the new
policies there has been an
increase in forage, which benefits
wildlife as well as cattle.
However changes are not just
happening on the summer ranges
of the Forest Service lands. In
1993, the Oregon State Legisla
ture passed Senate Bill 1010, that
requires the Oregon Department
of Agriculture to help reduce
water pollution from agricultural
sources and to improve overall
conditions in a watershed. Senate
Bill 1010 targets streams that are
designated
"water
quality
limited" by the Oregon Depart
ment of Environmental Quality.
This list contains over 900 of
Oregon’s waterways, some of
which flow through Morrow
County.
In response to this Senate Bill,
and some of the recent ballot
measures-such as Measure 38,
the Rietmanns have taken a
proactive approach on their
private lands. With the same
energy and "forward thinking”
that they have addressed
concerns on the Forest Service
lands, they are addressing those
concerns on their private lands.
They learned that a rancher, by
developing a Water Quality
Management Plan, can become
in compliance with the rules of
Senate Bill 1010. But, with
further research, they found that
no one has ever developed a
Watershed Water Quality Man
agement Plan to comply with
Senate Bill 1010. Just because it
hasn't been done before never
discouraged this pioneer family.
They asked the help of the
Morrow Soil and Water Conser
vation District, Morrow County
Extension Service and the local
Natural Resources Conservation
have just received an Environ
Service to work with them and mental Stewardship award from
the Oregon Department of Agri the Oregon Cattlemen Associa
culture to develop the first tion for 1996. The award recog
Watershed Water Quality Man nizes the Rietmanns for both
and
community
agement Plan in Oregon. This individual
plan is now in the works and stewardship and environmental
most likely will be the example leadership. The future looks
for most future Water Quality bright with people like the
Rietmanns who are willing to
Management Plans in Oregon.
take
on the challenges before
For their leadership in conser
vation efforts, the Rietmanns them.
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