Aldos Silver City • Entered by Marcia Stout on June 30, 2023
Riparian – Grazing Monitoring
June 1, 2023 – June 30, 2023
Participants and Hours
| Pre Planning hours | 1 |
| Post Admin hours | 1.5 |
| Activity Hours | 9.25 |
| Participants | 4 |
| Total Hours | 39.5 |
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 (14 miles)
Short Description of Activity
On June 1 after camping overnight, two members of our broadband team monitored upstream along Stone Creek to the AZ border and then back downstream including along the San Francisco River for a short distance, close to where we monitored upstream the previous day. (No fresh cattle sign observed.) On June 14 two team members monitored along the San Francisco River downstream from Alma Bridge to within about ¼ mile of Harve Gulch. (No fresh cattle sign observed.) On the summer solstice two of us monitored the Gila River Birding Area. One cow was observed in one of the “trap” enclosures, presumably separated from her calf. District Range staff will contact the rancher to remove the cow.
Reflection/Evaluation
Rivers were at a good level for stream crossing while monitoring this month. After observing cattle sign and impact in the San Francisco River downstream of Stone Creek confluence last June, it was good to observe no recent cattle sign this year, which has received more precipitation. We were heartened to observe only one cow in the Gila River birding area, as compared with a dozen + trespass cattle the last several months. We will continue to aim for monthly monitoring of this problem area.
Photos/Uploads
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Photo Captions
1. Monitoring an exclosure along Stone Creek on June 1.
2. Observing the interesting juxtaposition of elk “sign” decorating old cow “sign”, while monitoring the Stone Creek area. (performance art?)
3. Our newest Broadband team member monitoring along the San Francisco River downstream of Alma Bridge (June 14).