Activity Report Explorer

Aldos Silver City • Entered by Marcia Stout on July 5, 2021

Riparian – Grazing Monitoring

June 1, 2021 – June 30, 2021

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

Measurable Outcomes

Outcome 1: Trail/land monitored (3 surveys)
Outcome 2: Hiked (16 miles)

Short Description of Activity

GOB riparian grazing team conducted three monitoring activities. On May 31st, 4 of the committee members met in Glenwood to spend the night and get started monitoring early on June 1st. We monitored along the San Francisco River down the hot springs trail to the junction of Big Dry Canyon – no fresh cattle sign observed. However, lots of ATV tracks were observed and reported. On June 24th, 2 of the group camped near Luna, NM near the NM / AZ border, monitoring along the San Francisco River on the evening of the 24th – 1 trespass cow was observed. On the morning of the 25th the team monitored along a tributary of the San Francisco River (Stone Creek) as far as the AZ boundary. 20 trespass cattle were observed along this cattle exclosure area on the 25th. Three survey reports were sent to the Forest Service during June.

Reflection/Evaluation

The Gila Forest Service is grateful for our help and provides suggestions on where to monitor. They requested that we monitor near Luna, NM because they had received reports of cattle in the San Francisco River but hadn’t had time to check it for themselves. We were able to provide them with a report that documented the trespass cattle. It proved to be a very worthwhile and enjoyable trip, not to mention a beautiful river canyon area.

Photos/Uploads

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Photo Captions

1. Monitoring along the San Francisco River from the hot springs trail to the junction with Big Dry Canyon on June 1st.
2. cattle observed while monitoring along Stone Creek near NM / AZ boundary on June 25th.