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~,~ Unites States <br />r Soil <br />ECE1V • ~- . <br />~~ <br /> Department or <br />~ conservation ,.,. <br />fi~lG 3 .: <br />1984 <br />; <br />April 2 <br /> AgncWtura <br />\J service , <br />, <br />, <br />Mr. Clem Parkin <br />Getty Mining Company <br />23385 Routt County Raad 33 <br />Oak Creek, Colorado 80467 <br />Subject: Pasture Management practices in the Twenty Mile Park area. <br />Dear Clem: <br />In response to your request to describe pasture size, plant communities and <br />management practices on pastureland in the area of your mine property, I have <br />prepared the following description. <br />In clarifying your questions about pasture sizes and plant comunities, <br />there may be any number of pastures within an operation varying in size from <br />under one hundred acres to several hundred acres. Twenty Mile Park has been <br />extensively fenced which facilitates the ability of land owners to intensively <br />manage the grazing on their property in relatively small pastures, usually under <br />1,000 acres in size. Because fences were primarily built to separate land <br />ownership along section lines and to fence out cropland and hay meadows which <br />are irregular in shape, the resulting mosaic of pasture boundaries include a <br />diversity of plant communities. It is not uncommon to have pastures which <br />contain a monoculture of smooth brome, a mixture of pasture species, <br />predominantly native plant communities, or a combination of all vegetation types <br />within the same pasture unit: This may not necessarily be the most ideal <br />practice from a resource basis, but much of the land has been historically <br />fenced and managed that way. As you are aware, the most ideal management of a <br />given resource, far example a hay field, would be to fence it and manage it <br />separately. However, this is not usually practical or economical for operators <br />to do. <br />Thcr2 dre d idr g2 niimbcr of iand Oiiner'S In t+iE Twenty ~.iiE Pdrk drew wiiG <br />have entered into Resource Managment Plans with our office. The management <br />plans are similar to each other in that they are based an our Standards and <br />Specifications for Deferred Grazing guidelines which we have adapted to the <br />conditions prevailing in Routt County. Deferment periods are based on <br />physiological requirements, phenology, vigor of the plant community, the number <br />of pastures in the operating unit, and the climate. The system is designed to <br />prevent overuse which would adversely impact the resource. <br />Local operators usually graze their land year long even though some have <br />Forest Service permits which they graze during the summer. Under either system, <br />except for early spring or fall grazing, their management plans require that <br />they defer grazing in each pasture at least once in a three year rotation. This <br />• allows periodic rest for the key species during their critical growth period. <br />The degree of use following deferment is the same as that on the other pastures. <br />"dithin those areas where hay is cut on a regular basis, fertilization is <br />recommended to meet the objectives of the operator and the long term maintenance <br />O <br />