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Mancos Watershed - 14080107 <br />Feral horses r~ul fl'Olll I_Tte land llp ~Ia11COs t:all~"Oll until 19S>. ~ herd Of set"ell llol'ses ~yere Seell <br />rululing along the shale dopes, on «-z11 established tl•ails. They- grazed on tha high tel7•ace, the <br />steep slopes, and in the canyon bottom in the parl.. Feral horses can be~conla yell adapted to <br />traversing this rllggecl terrain on the c~ulvon slopes anti they quicl~l~ nlal.e suitable trails. In <br />199 through 200(:) ~~°ill Stone, who made stagecoachs and horse buggies in Mancos, ran eight <br />to t«-elve head of horses oil the Bartel Subcliyisioll anti onto par1L land. In fact, during a t« o year <br />period I put the gate up tiye times bet«-aen the subdivision anti the BL1~I land ~ulcl ~~`ill tools it <br />do~yn tlu•ee times. This ~yent on sunuuer and ~yinter, indicating his determination tv elpancl his <br />grazing range. Finally Richard Morris torn out much of this fence ~~~hich vas not oil the enact <br />property- line and A-Iolris told the park that he wanted ~~-titer ti•ontage. The area is remote for the <br />par1L to watch o~-er but it is also re~nlote for priyata landowners. Nobody has stayed in lo~~-er <br />~~'eber Canyon rear around since ~'~~'alter Goff ~~°ho liyecl in a ~'~~'heeler cabin for four rears in <br />the late 1930's. `Falter hacl several horses quid he also ran them on the to«-er quarter mile of the <br />parllancl. <br />Other domestic liyestocl: in the M~ulcos Ric-e~r colridor ~~-ere hogs. Fred ~rnlstrong and Tim <br />Stevens both lept hogs and they tulYled the animals loosa to clean up and fields and root for <br />food in the late sununer and fall. Native plants such as «~ilci onions, sego lilies, funnel lilies, <br />biscuit roots, and grasses «-oulcl hay-a been eaten b~- the hogs. l~iany of these plants «-oulcl have <br />been clepletecl as hogs ate the lulderground parts. <br />Sheep were grazed in the Mancos River colridor b~T Phoebe Ste~ve~ns Auld Fr~ulces Crrinuile from <br />the early 1900's through 193,. Sheep ~voulcl have eaten glasses, sorbs, sagebrush, ~villo~~-s, <br />young cotton~voocl trees, seryieebelry, anti ~-oung pink-o11 anti •juuipers. Ho«-ever, this grazing <br />«as clone in the lower t«-o milts of the pal•1Llancl and these plants clo not appear to have sufferacl <br />long term impact. Based on park records the use of the R~Ianeos Canyon colridor by these t«-o <br />people was not for more than twent~T rears, and maybe less. Even the grazing by LTte shaep <br />apparentl` clicl not have long lasting effect. Parl: Naturalist..Ch~ls Quaint~iince, noted in 19-10 <br />that the L?te land ryas se~yarely denuded and the sageb111sh Auld rabbitbl-c~sh had been raduced to <br />Stllllllls. ~t tills tulle file ~-egetatloll 111 file sOUtllel•11 11011011 Of file parlti rl~"er bott0111 1S 111 tall' t0 <br />good condition. <br />herd of 60 ~ulgora goats belonging to Emanuel Eberlillg were hlliled loose on "'giber <br />~iOlllltalll in 19<2. Enlanual llerclecl them to some clagree for two years anti thin he gave up on <br />this enterprise anti returnacl to Arizona, having nlally of the goats to feud for thenlselyas. <br />Coyotes, mountain lions, anti maybe other predators eliminated the stragglers eZCept for one <br />large, horned billy gvat ~vho suryiyecl for sit or seven years anti finally wandered up on the <br />cuesta to Chapin 1\Iesa. [For more details see tn•azing History of I\Iesa ~'ercle National Park: <br />Colver, 200.] <br />Historic tilling of the land. Fred _-~rnlstrong plo~vecl incl. planted aliollt 1~(:) acrzs of land, in <br />Iiye tielcls, in the 1\-I~uzcos River colridor what «-as later to become park land. In fact he cle~uecl <br />anti plo~vecl all of the sageb111sh meaclo«-s ti•om one mile south of 1\Ilul Cree11 anti t«-o miles <br />clo~yn the canyon. Fred built a t~yelye mile long Glitch to irrigate these fields, inclluling malting <br />board tlunle~s across the nluly gullies that t1oEV to the riser ti•onl the East Escarpment. Small <br />24 <br />