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The Rimrock Report
The University of Arizona,
School of Natural Resources and the Environment
Volume 3, Issue 3
Welcome to this special edition of the Rimrock Report. If you are a regular reader of the report,
you will have heard about Range Rocks!, our extension youth program. This edition is a result of
Range Rocks! in that all the articles are written by students from Northpoint Expeditionary
Learning Academy in Prescott Arizona. These students spent a week at the V Bar V Ranch in May ,
participating in such activities as: collecting rangeland monitoring data, working calves, and
evaluating riparian areas. This newsletter was one of their final assignments. I hope you enjoy
reading it as much as the students enjoyed their week at the ranch, and as much as we enjoyed
having them there. Another one of their assignments is in the form of video. Click here for a link to
the videos. Doug
Jul 1, 2010
Inside this issue:
Ranchland and Rangeland 1
Cole’s Plant of the “week”
3
The View From The Rim
6
Just Me Talking
6
Rangeland and Ranchland
Many people get Ranch and Range confused. Both are important but
different. Over the years the focus has changed from Ranch to Range. Early
research was focused for only grazing purposes. In 1934 that started to change,
the Taylor Grazing Act brought together Ranch and Range managers to
communicate. This improved water development, brush control, seeding, stocking,
and grazing period adjustments. Due to the act, public ranges have multiple uses
including grazing, timber, wildlife, and recreation. The V Bar V Ranch has been
focused on both during the entire
duration of the University of
Arizona’s ownership and the
health of the range continues to
improve.
Rangeland
The Rangeland on the
V Bar V Ranch is diverse. There
are many animals and plants; the
land is made up of desert shrub
lands, savannah woodlands,
ponderosa pine forests, and riparian areas. There are many people working on
keeping the land as healthy as possible. John Kava is the research specialist and
Dr. Doug Tolleson is the rangeland specialist for the V Bar V Ranch. We spent one
day focusing on riparian areas with Al Medina, a riparian specialist. He works for
“Ranch Management
more than just feeding
cattle. It is dealing
with long days, hard
work, and making
quick decisions when
needed. “
The Rimrock Report
Rangeland and Ranchland… continued
the Rocky Mountain Research Station. He took us to Russell Spring in East Russell pasture and taught us
about that specific seasonal creek. He told us that our eyes would deceive us and they indeed did. When we
first entered the creek, it looked green and pretty. In reality it is not a healthy creek.
We took different types of data from the creek to determine the health of the creek. We used an
infrared laser to measure the landscape of the creek bed and map out the exact contours. Then with that
data we could determine whether it was healthy. There were many factors that were not how they should be.
The creek should have bigger flood banks in some parts, a series of riffles and pools in their correct
historical spot, healthy chemical levels, and it should
meander. We also took data on the trees around the creek;
how wide and tall they are and how many there are in each
transect. Data was collected on the stream itself, about the
soil, litter (leaves and sticks, etc.), gravel, rocks, cryptogam,
and plants. The data collected reveals that work needs to be
done to create a healthy creek.
To fix the creek, it must be a collaborative effort. Mr
Medina says that if they could start fixing the creek now,
some of it would take less than a week and would be affected
immediately. Reducing the amount of trees would take a bit
longer and would be harder to achieve. People do not believe
cutting trees is beneficial, even though it would improve the health of the trees left behind. Trees are fighting
for water; reducing the amount of trees will increase the amount of room and water for the trees left. If they
did have permission to cut down trees, there might be people chained to the trees. You would not think that
changing a creek would be such a controversial issue. Even though John Kava, Dr. Doug Tolleson, and Al
Medina have yet to take action and help the creek, they are still making a difference. They are making a
difference by educating people like they educated us. We greatly appreciate Mr. Medina, the Rocky
Mountain Research Station, John Kava, Dr. Doug Tolleson, and the V Bar V Ranch for trying to help, and for
teaching us.
Written by- Paige Mecham
Ranchland
Ranch Management is the key to having a successful ranch and healthy cattle. Managing a ranch
like the V Bar V requires constant hard work, not to mention skill for work such as building fences, the
upkeep of the ranch vehicles, feeding the cattle in the corrals, maintaining water lines, sewers, and other
building issues, birthing calves, artificially inseminating heifers, and any possible medical treatment needed.
Since the V Bar V Ranch is an active research ranch with the University of Arizona, skills of dealing with the
never-ending flow of paperwork, data collection, and grant management is also a necessity.
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The Rimrock Report
Rangeland and Ranchland...continued
Managing a ranch takes a lot of
time, money, and a high stress tolerance.
One of the other aspects of ranch
management is the up keep of tools,
fences, chutes, and equipment that
manage the cattle. The cattle are used as
a living tool to graze the forage, while the
ranchers’ monitor the amount of
utilization in each pasture so they know
when to move the cattle to prevent over
grazing an area. The animals dispose of
their waste on the ground; the waste
decomposed by weather, microorganisms, and bugs add nitrogen and
carbon back into the soil. The
decomposition of cattle’s waste provides
nutrients for the soil, which helps create a
good variety of plants for the cattle in the future. Other important tools on the ranch are transportation
vehicles. The ranch vehicles are in almost constant need of repair- the ranch trucks that they use to get
out into the land are battered by the rocks and sharp dips in the road as are the ATV’s after a long day of
herding the cattle and moving them from pasture to pasture.
Chores are an important part of the ranch as well. The cattle in the corrals are fed twice a day with
high quality hay, once in the morning, then once in the afternoon. At different times of year, some of the
heifers, cows, and calves are kept in the corrals on the V Bar V Ranch Headquarters. They are also
supplied with an adequate amount of water. Sometimes the hay is supplemented in calving season with
nutrient rich oats for the heifers that need a bit more help in the baby-making process. In the winter,
supplemental nutrition blocks are brought out to the cattle.
All of the calves are given proper vaccinations to protect them from serious illnesses and infections
that they could encounter while being out in the range. Calves are also branded, tattooed, de-horned (if
needed), and castrated when they reach the proper age. All this is done under the careful watch of the
caring staff. Ranch Management is more than just feeding cattle. It is dealing with long days, hard work,
and making quick decisions when needed. It definitely takes a willingness to devote your time to the whole
operation in order to keep a well run ranch.
Written by- Jessica Woolever
Page 3
Volume 3, Issue 3
Cole’s Plant of the “week” by Cole McDuff
Blue Grama
Blue Grama grass is a great cattle feed as well as good
for erosion control, and decorative planting in dry areas. It is a
warm season perennial grass native to short and tall grass
prairies. This wonderful grass makes up 75-90% of the grasses
found on the prairies in central North America. Blue Grama is
known as a bunch grass. It is a very important grass to the prairie
because its dense, shallow root mass holds down the soil and
keeps it from blowing away. Because the root system is so
shallow it can quickly absorb any rain that might fall.
Blue Grama grass has flat leaves that come to a point, the
leaves can grow from 1-10 inches long and 1/8 inch wide. The
flower stems grow 7-18 inches tall and they look like crescent
moons bearded on the end of the stem. It flowers from June to
August depending on where it grows and how much moisture it
gets. This grass is well suited for fall and winter grazing, but
produces very little forage in the spring and early summer.
When it is plowed under or otherwise disturbed it can take as long as 50 years to re-establish
itself depending on the extent of the damage. Although it is a good drought resistant grass,
prolonged drought leads to reduction in the root number and extent. They employ an opportunistic
water-use strategy, rapidly using water when available, becoming dormant when conditions are less
favorable. It is rated as a choice forage for all classes of livestock.
Kingdom
Plantae
Phylum
Magnollophyta
Class
Liliesida
Order
Cyperales
Family
Poaceae
Grass Family
Genus
Species
Bouteloua Lag
Bouteloua Gracilis
Grama
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The Rimrock Report
Barestem Larkspur
The beautiful yet poisonous Barestem Larkspur is a
perennial forb that can grow approximately 30 inches tall. The
flowers are dark blue with a white petal projecting upward out of
the center. The flower is up to 1 inch wide with 4 petals, 5
sepals, and a purplish backwards projecting spur. Multiple
flowers come out a long tall, leafless stem. Leaves are basal,
simple, and palmately-lobed. Flowers bloom from March to
May. Other common names are tall mountain larkspur and
naked delphinium. This toxic beauty is native to Arizona, it
grows in the mountain foothills and on rocky hillsides in the
desert.
Larkspur is toxic to humans and cattle. Alkaloids give
Larkspur its toxicity. Alkaloids are nitrogen-based compounds
with potent pharmacological effects. Toxic larkspur species
produce more than 18 different toxic alkaloids, which can be
classified into 2 types: the MSAL-type and the MDL-type
alkaloids. Typical clinical signs of larkspur poisoning in cattle are: muscle weakness and
trembling, rapid heart rate, failure of voluntary muscle coordination, unable to defecate, sternal
recumbency (i.e. lying on brisket and unable to stand), followed by lateral recumbency ( i.e.
unable to keep an upright posture even when lying down), bloating, and death. Recent research
at PPRL has shown that neostigmine can be used as a drug rescue for poisoned cattle,
however, this is not very practical because most cases of larkspur poisoning in cattle are found
after the cow has died out on the range. (Rangelands Volume 31 No. 1, Feb 2009 p 22-27)
Kingdom
Plantae
Phylum
Magnoliophyla
Class
Order
Magnoliopsida
Ranunculales
dicotyledons
Family
Ranunculaceae
Buttercup family
Genus
Delphinium L.
Larkspur
Species
Delphinium Scaposum
Page 5
The view from the Rim
Who was the first guy that looked at a cow and said,
"I think that I'll drink whatever comes out of those
things when I squeeze them?" ~Bill Watterson
The University of Arizona
School of Natural Resources and the Environment
V Bar V Ranch
2657 S Village Dr
Cottonwood, AZ 86326
Phone: 928-646-9113 x18
Fax: 928-646-9108
Cell: 928-821-3222
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: http://cals.arizona.edu/aes/vbarv/
Note: Please email me if you would like to be added
to the “mailing” list for this newsletter.
Just me talking...
Hello everybody, my name is Mia Stone and I attend Northpoint Expeditionary
Learning Academy. I was lucky enough to be one of 14 students to spend a total of
7 days and 5 nights at the V Bar V Ranch during our “Cowboy, Baby” Intensive, an
elective credit at Northpoint. While we were at the Ranch we met many interesting
and remarkable people. Spending time and learning from these incredible people
was an experience that most of us will never forget. They taught us many things
that never even occurred to me, such as the difference between Range
Management and Ranch Management and how they are related.
During our first day at the ranch we got to experience activities such as branding,
tattooing, castrating, immunizing and dehorning calves. It was a very out of the
ordinary experience for us city slickers to
encounter and take part in. In the days that
followed we did things such as plant transects, riparian area work,
horseback riding, chores, made butter, milked a cow, and worked the
calves. After a days’ work was done, we would get to relax and play hide
and seek in the tall grasses. We worked hard, but we played even harder. It
was all fun, but we learned the pure applied sciences behind range
management. For example, if a pasture is overgrazed it affects the plants
ability to grow back, and soil stability. This intensive was so fun filled and
knowledgeable, we are all so glad that Ms. Shepherd chose to do this.
Thanks to everyone who helped and taught us during our intensive. Special
thanks Mr. Kava, Dr. Tolleson, Bopper, Tyler DalMolin, Dr. Schafer, Al
Medina, Peggy Ingham and Maggie Woodbury for teaching us and letting us
invade their space.
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