Documenting positive range management

DOCUMENTING GOOD MANAGMENT

Using pictures over time to tell a story

by Glenn Nader, Ph.D., Retired UC Livestock Farm Advisor

Many ranches have a story to tell, but simply only using words to tell the story does not always do it justice. Photographs tell our own personal story for us. One can think of taking photos as capturing a timeline of our lives that we can then share with others. Not only can pictures preserve an important moment in time for us, but they can also act as a visual narrative, showing the conservation work ranchers are contributing to the land over time, which is a story worth sharing.

Stewardship of the land is often a story best told through pictures. Photographs can vividly document changes over time that ranchers may not realize, as we see the landscape evolve so slowly over time. We can even be caught off guard by “before” pictures that occurred prior to management actions being implemented.

My wife, Marie, and I traded a portion of the family ranch owned since 1872 for a ranch in Modoc county in 1999. In my previous life as a University of California Farm Livestock Advisor, I along with a group of other California Farm Livestock Advisors developed a rangeland monitoring publication. One of the points that was stressed was how to do photo monitoring (i.e., the taking of photographs from the same location over time) as a simple and powerful tool. We decided to take that advice when we traded into the new ranch and took baseline photographs at different locations on the ranch. We also developed a ranch plan that considered wildlife and recreation along with sustainable grass and cattle production.

We worked with our local Resource Conservation District (RCD) to secure grant funds to fence the stream and improve riparian areas on the ranch. We were fortunate to have Dick Mackey, a local rancher, serve as a mentor. He has been a corner stone of the local resources RCD and also has done much riparian improvement work on his ranch. Marie attended several tours of his ranch, which guided us during our efforts to restore the Witcher Ranch riparian areas.

Presented below are three restoration projects from our ranch where we used repeat photography to document change.

BRIDGE FIELD

This field got its name from the bridges that were constructed to cross the down cut portion of Witcher Creek. Given that every time we crossed one, we would pray to get across safely, we realized something needed to change. We fenced off the creek to make a riparian pasture that was intensively grazed in May and rested from grazing the rest of year to allow for grass and willow growth. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Partners program and Fish and Game’s Cantera grants funded the RCD to construct 13 rock stream grade control structures on every one foot of elevation drop in the one-quarter mile portion of the stream. What started as a suggestion by a Point Blue Biologist in 2018, turned into an effort that allowed beavers to establish in the creek as a cheaper method to repair streams. The beavers have built on many the rock structures and raised the water table in the meadow even higher, reducing the amount of irrigation needed. The pictures taken over time, tell the story of change that has occurred.

Bridge Field April 2002

Bridge Field November 2008

Bridge Field October 2017

Bridge Field August 2020, Beaver Dam

Another creek on the ranch, Dobe Swale Creek, had one and a half miles of stream with 80 acres of what once was a meadow and part of 1,180 acre juniper upland pasture. Since this creek was the main water source and only flat land, the cows would spend most of their time there and would rarely use the remaining pasture. Again, thanks to the RCD and other agencies, we were able to improve our management. First, the 80 acres of former meadow was fenced off with one and a half miles of fence funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Water was developed on the upland pasture. The riparian pasture was grazed once a year in May and rested for the remainder of the year to allow planted willows and perennial grasses grazing rest to reestablish. The RCD secured funding from Wildlife Conservation Board, Natural Resources Conservation Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to place grade control structures in the creek. There was about 90 feet of elevation fall in the 1.5 miles of stream, so it was not possible to put a structure at each foot of elevation. A combination of rock, juniper log weir and geotech fabric lined baskets were all used to raise the stream. The log weirs performed the best while also reducing the number of invasive junipers along the creek. Because of the large elevation difference between rock structures, some have had rocks slip downstream. The two photo locations in the pictures show the response to all the work.

Dobe Swale November 1999 Dobe Swale November 2019 The cat tails have moved in and are slowly raising the stream which will hopefully aid in re-establishing the meadow across the valley.

16-foot down cut portion of the stream

Dobe Swale November 1999

JACK’S SWAMP

It is a very flat swamp area that stores all the irrigation water for the lower portion of the ranch. As the water level recedes, the cattle can graze on the fine spikerush. After successive years of drought, a neighboring cattleman, Billy Flournoy, suggested that grazing rest would bring it back. In 2014, we started three years of grazing rest on this portion of the ranch. We also rebuilt 1.7 miles of fence to keep wild horses out. The pictures tell how Billy’s years of experience and advice paid off.

These photos are a testament to the storytelling power pictures hold. Just as photos can capture our family’s heritage and traditions, they can also capture the legacy we are leaving on our land with strategic ranching. With cell phone cameras, the process of taking pictures is much simpler and always available. Some ranchers have used old family pictures around the ranch as a baseline. The retake of the picture requires lining up on landmarks like trees, rocks, hills or mountains. Sometimes it is simpler to print out the prior pictures and take it out in the field to line up the photo. As cattle producers, we are always being asked about our impact on the environment. With photos, we can show proof of our positive environmental contributions, which is a story always worth telling. I hope that this article will instill in you the interest to go out and use photographs to further tell your story of cattlemen’s many benefits to the land.

If you are interested in more information, email us at naderranch44@gmail.com.

Dobe Swale August 2009

Jack’s Swamp October 2014, following years of drought

IN MEMORY

Al Burtis

Al Burtis was born in Modesto, on Aug. 8, 1931 and following complications from hip surgeries, he went to be with the Lord on Feb. 27.

Al worked close to 60 years in the animal husbandry pharmaceutical industry; employed by Cutting Veterinary Supply, Walco, Veterinary Service, Inc. and Multimin. Many of his customers became lifelong friends. He was a founding member of the California Cattlemen’s Association Allied Industry Council in the early 1980’s. He was awarded San Joaquin-Stanislaus Cattlemen’s Association Cattleman of the Year in 2000 and Contra Costa Alameda County Cattlemen’s Association Cattleman of the Year in 2020.

He enjoyed his annual horseback packing trip to the High Sierras in and near Yosemite National Park (Pleasant Valley, Wilmar Lake, Dorothy Lake and Vernon Lake) with the company of good friends and good food.

Al and Charlotte traveled to all 50 states – in a motorhome or flying to Hawaii and cruising to Alaska – with their best friends Bill and Veda McCay. The adventurous couple celebrated Al’s year of million-dollar sales with Multimin with a cruise through the Panama Canal.

Being a father, grandfather and great grandfather brought him the most pleasure and pride. He supported his kids in all their activities when they were growing up. Friday nights he went to high school football games to watch granddaughters cheer and sat through many dance recitals. He traveled to watch his grandsons play football and baseball. Great grandchildren played soccer and baseball, so he was on the sidelines of those games too.

Al leaves behind his wife of 70 years, Charlotte. Children Kay McCay (Michael), Connie Williams (Ken) and Randy Burtis. Grandchildren Ryan Bentz (Emily) and Mark Bentz and their father Dennis Bentz; Melissa Williams and Jessica Nicolodi (Dereck); Nicole Martin (Ryan), Shawnda Edwards (Chase) and Jacob Burtis (Carolyn) and their mother Ronda Burtis. Bonus grandchildren Kimberly Wintersteller (Jason) and Mike McCay (Jessica). Great grandchildren Cole and Cali Nicolodi, Mallory and Mitchell Martin, Tate and Tucker Edwards, Rory and Ynez Bentz. Bonus great grandchildren Emma and Drew Wintersteller, Emilee, Hayden, Alyssa, Callie and Paisley McCay.

Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 restrictions, services will be private. Family and friends have established the Al Burtis Memorial Scholarship Fund to support outstanding students who aspire to work in sales and marketing in the cattle industry. Remembrances may be sent via check made to California Cattlemen’s Association at 1221 H Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 or via credit card by calling (916) 444-0845.

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