Activity Report Explorer

Aldos Silver City • Entered by Mary Lynne Newell on October 4, 2020

Grazing committee

September 20, 2020

Key Issue: Livestock Grazing Management
Activity Type: Stewardship (monitoring, sampling, planting, etc.)
Landscape/area: Gila National Forest (2658321 acres)

Short Description of Activity

The Grazing Monitoring Committee is continuing to work with the Regional Forest Service Office in Silver City, NM and the 5 Ranger Districts to monitor areas where cattle are not allowed. Seasonal workers have been doing the monitoring, but their contracts ended at the end of September. The FS downloaded their new monitoring program onto a member’s ipad for use in the field, and a paper copy of the same monitoring questions are being provided to the team who aren’t using the ipad. The team members will provide the paper copies to Denise to input into the computer program. The FS also provided large paper maps of each of the Ranger Districts where all the priority streams that need monitoring are marked. The first practice field trip took place on Saturday September 20th near the San Francisco Hotsprings with 4 team participants and a “real” session will take place on Saturday September 3rd at the Gila Bird Area.

Reflection/Evaluation

Periodically we will go to the FS so they can download our information into their greater system. We will work with the District Rangers concerning access to some of the really remote areas that need monitoring, which still could be difficult or impossible for us to get to, especially before winter sets in.