Central Oregon Bitterbrush Broads • Entered by Mary Fleischmann on June 4, 2024
Cowed- Grazing in Sagebrush Steppes.
May 24, 2024 – June 27, 2024
Participants and Hours
| Pre Planning hours | 6.75 |
| Post Admin hours | 2.75 |
| Activity Hours | 50.25 |
| Participants | 2 |
| Total Hours | 110 |
Key Issue: Livestock Grazing Management
Activity Type: Trainings (WALTS, CAREs/GLOWs, research, conferences, workshops, etc.)
Key Partners: Wild Sagebrush.org; western watershed; bitterbrush broads; Mary O’Brien
Short Description of Activity
Lots of hands on training/field study of the issue of poor grazing management along with lectures and Q & A.
Reflection/Evaluation
WOW, besides Mary O’Brien’s expertise there were three additonal presenters with 20 – 30 years a piece of their work on this issue, besides having PHD’s. My brain is pretty full and everyone left with two flash drives of all of Jonathan’s work. Discussions included concerns with how agencies collect or not data amongs other issues. One of the highlights I walked away with is “shaming agencies for not doing the work they are supposed to do, prior to threats of litigation. Presenting data you collect is a good way to shame agencies”. George Werther was there as well via Zoom and there was discussion regarding his bookd “Welfare Ranching” which has to do with all the subsidies that ranchers get for grazing on public lands, let alone how little they pay for their allotments. Another interesting point was that agriculture is exempt from the Clear Water Act- who knew? In the field we learned about biocrust the various kinds of lichen, mosses and how they hold the soil together. Again, this was one of the most comprehensive workshop I have ever been too. They plan to do it again next year. We were camped absolutly in the middle of nowhere outside a town called Contact Nevada which in it’s day was a mining town for copper but now consists of only 8 households and skeletons of buildings of what used to be there.