Activity Report Explorer

Aldos Silver City • Entered by Marcia Stout on April 4, 2022

Riparian – Grazing Monitoring

March 1, 2022 – March 31, 2022

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 (11.5 miles)

Short Description of Activity

The Aldo’s Broadband Riparian Monitoring Team conducted two monitoring field trips in March, with 3 surveys conducted. On March 7, four members surveyed the San Francisco River upstream from Cosmic Campground. We reported one cow, plenty of sign, and downed fences. On March 30, four of us monitored the San Francisco River downstream from Alma Bridge, in an area where we had reported a downed fence and much cattle sign in November 2021. This time, the fence was repaired and there was no fresh sign!

Reflection/Evaluation

Cosmic campground area of the San Francisco River – The ranger district range tech told us that others had also reported cows in this area, and that the Forest Service and the rancher would be fixing the fences. In a later conversation, we discovered that monitors from the SW Center for Biological Diversity had reported problems in this area; we believe that our combined reports caused changes. Also, our reports of a downed fence and cattle sign near Alma bridge from last November presumably made a difference in that this time there was no fresh sign and fence repairs were made. GOB continues to monitor areas that were a part of the lawsuit settlement with the Center for Biological Diversity and the FS. Our efforts seem to be bearing fruit.

Photos/Uploads

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Photo Captions

1. Taking a break while monitoring along the San Francisco River near Cosmic Campground on March 7th. (Sharing the break spot with cattle sign front and center!)
2. Monitoring along the San Francisco River off of Alma Bridge on March 30th.