I'm posting some old letters to the editor. This is so I can remember what I wrote, and to keep myself honest. I'm posting them in the order I wrote them so this goes back a couple of years.
The short version is longer periods of drought, less rain and moisture coming in a large event instead of a series of moderate events.
That means flash flooding in steams which cut deeper and allow little or no water to soak into the banks of a stream.
That translates into a loss of riparian areas. Restoration of stream beds which have cut below the banks is an extremely costly process.
The Colorado has been named America's most endangered River.
"The Law is an Ass." said Mr. Bumble. The awful truth is- you leave the water in the stream and someone else snatches it. Which one of our run-off Mayorial candidates has the stones to fight Denver and Colorado Water Law?
As long as we are hamstrung by Colorado Water Law we cannot allow rain gardens and rain harvesting where there is a municipal water plant. Think how much water could be left in the headwaters of the Colorado if the Front Range required rain harvesting. Think how much we could leave in Castle Creek and Maroon if we lead the way.
Yes, it's that time of year again. It's the mad Meeker dash with folding chairs for that coveted spot next to the handlers facing the pen. It's jostling mega millimeter lenses. It's 4 am freeze and 4 pm swelter. It's time for spinning wool and catching frogs in the irrigation ditch.
It's pancake breakfasts,
funnel cake, kettle corn, lemonade, custom Powder River cowboy hats and hand tooled leather.
This year it's a trifecta- Soldier's Hollow, Meeker and the National's at the Strang Ranch all in 3 weeks time. Well, a trifecta for some, I only got to Meeker and Strang's.
There are no "Have you seen Babe?" jokes here… oh no…. this is serious business… this is a tight knit caravan of sheepdog fanatics who follow the handlers and the dogs with an intensity matched only by the most fervent baseball statistician. I try and explain it like golf, you're either on the edge of your seat watching or bored to tears after one run.
This is Meeker (and that's Sky in the tub cooling off)
This is the view from the Strang Ranch with Mount Sopris in the background.
The culmination is the "International Double Lift" on the last day.
Handler and dog walk to the post.
That's Amanda Milliken and Dorey.
The dog is sent on the "outrun"and the 30 minute clock starts.
The dog runs full out toward the first group of 10 sheep. You lose points for "crossing center" (the imaginary line between the handler and the sheep) so the dogs run on a sweeping ellipsoidal arc away from the handler and away from center.
Those sheep are over 500 yards away from the post.
See that little dot of sheep way up in the left hand corner?
Next task is the "lift" when the dog gets the sheep to lift their heads.
Then the drive toward the first set of fetch panels. This should be as straight a line as possible between the "lift" and the handler.
Through the fetch panels and to the orange cone…
and then, perhaps the hardest thing for the dog, the "look back". The dog looks back, sees the second group of 10 sheep and is off like a shot to the second "lift" (hence "double lift"). I've seen lots of heartbreak at this point. The dog wants to drive those sheep straight to the handler. Leaving the first group of sheep takes a huge amount of trust and training.
The second "lift" is much like the first - run as straight as possible, through the "fetch" panels and group all 20 sheep into one bunch.
Then it's herd those 20 around the handler at the post. The tighter around the post the better.
Think Buzby Berkeley
Around the post and up to the first set of "drive" panels. This is a "left hand drive". Through the panels and drive those sheep across the field to the second set of drive panels. If the sheep stops to eat- you lose points. If the judge sees a sheep face instead of a sheep profile, you lose points.
The drive portion finishes with 20 sheep herded into the "shedding ring".
Now it's time for the handler to leave the post.
That's Ron Burkey and Sky (everybody look left)
See those sheep with orange scrunchies? Those 5 should be the only one's left inside the ring.
A very delicate dance starts between sheep dog and handler...
No not that dance...
The handler sorts out the 5 collared ones from a cluster of sheep, the dog applies pressure on the opposite side and the sheep mill.
It's very non-Euclidian.
If a collared sheep rejoins the non-collared you regroup and start over. So that's one thing both dog and handler try and stop.
Scott Glen and Don turning 2 collared sheep back.
It may be best to let your dog take a water break at this point. Remember, they've been running full out and fighting stubborn sheep for at least 20 minutes at high altitude and they're hot- very hot.
That's Gail cooling off and Alasdair keeping a sharp eye out.
These are top notch stock dogs pushing the limits of endurance and they need hydration just as much as any marathoner or triathlete.
If you manage to separate the 5 …
and run off the other 15 far enough away….
Then, and only then, do you "pen" the 5 collared sheep.
Remember, this whole time the handler can't touch the sheep with their crook, the gate or anything else. Likewise if the dog bites ("grips") the sheep it's a disqualification.
…and we're talking vicious mutton here… these are not Welsh Sheep with a Samsung contract.
These sheep have been on the range all summer and as far as they're concerned dog=coyote=death.
Prey animals fight back.
One, and only one, handler got a pen at this year's finals at Strang's… Alasdair MacRae and his young border collie Gail penned those sheep and won the Nationals.
Alasdair MacRae
Well done Gail!
Ron Enzeroth and Mick walking away with a win at Meeker.
Mick getting a well deserved dip in the tub.
I highly recommend the documentary "Away to Me" which follows handlers at the Soldier's Hollow competition.
…or you can just get the game…
Here are links to more pictures of sheep and dogs.
May 29, 2014 I went on a field trip to Coal Creek.
We have hundreds (if not thousands) of old mines here and this may well be a solution for returning those scarred slopes back to what they once were- alpine meadow and grassland.
Photo Brian McMullen
Soil Scientist- White River National Forest
No, you probably haven't heard of it but I hope a lot more people will hear about it and we can start this process throughout the Western US.
…. or as Scott Snelson calls it "the biochar grazing nexus". Scott was District Ranger of the White River National Forest at the start of this project.
Youtube is being uncooperative this morning- so you'll need to click. If you want to read the Aspen Times article on Scott without feeding the marketing machine then go to the link on a tablet or a smart phone. aspentimes.com/article
The group yesterday was impressive. We had representatives from Pitkin County, the Town of Carbondale, The National Forest, the Roaring Fork Conservancy, Roaring Fork Water Shed Plan and The Crystal River Cattlemen's Association to name a few. Soil Scientists and Geologists who have been monitoring the project were also there. The short version- this represented a lot of cooperation between Federal Government, County Governments (both Pitkin and Garfield), City Government, Private enterprise and non-profit Organizations. Cooperation and collaboration between agencies and individuals for mutual benefit - what a concept. That may well be the most heartening part of this story.
This was an area which was covered in mining "slag"
Photo Brian McMullen
Soil Scientist- White River National Forest
much like the Hope Mine on Castle Creek.
Unlike the Hope Mine this area had traditional grazing on it until about 30 years ago.
So what did the "Coal Basin Restoration Project" do? They used Cattle, Compost, Cattle Stomp and Biochar to restore something which used to look like this:
into something which looks like this
What you're looking at is an acre which has 2 different treatments. Both involve cattle and both involve "seed stomping" one has biochar the other does not.
On half the compost had an additional 5% biochar other than that the process was the same.
Then came the cattle.
Photo Brian McMullen
Soil Scientist- White River National Forest
The cattle "stomped" the White River National Forest seed mix in, ate the hay and left the straw for cover (aka "litter). The cattle also left behind fertilizer and hoof prints (I'll get back to that later)
Take a closer look….
You see the distinct change in color in the soil?
That's the biochar.
That's moisture retention.
That's gold.
Compost, Hay, Straw, Seeds and Cattle *without* biochar.
Compost, Hay, Straw, Seeds and Cattle *with* biochar.
Each hoof print creates a microclimate which provides shade and a place for water to pool.
Here's the microclimate without biochar.
Here's the microclimate with biochar.
Photo Brian McMullen
Soil Scientist- White River National Forest
Got it?
Okay…. up the road a bit… and this time take the cattle out of the process...
Start with what's left over from an avalanche on the road (shale washed down from the cliffs above)
The tubes go into the ground for control, non-biochar and biochar compost sections.
Soil moisture monitor at 2", 8" and 20" of depth.
Here's the data- the process doubles the moisture content
(or more- I'll give you exact figures as soon as I get them).
It's our choice, slag and erosion or
Grass.
Here's more information on the Cattle Stomp and using the Savory Method to reverse desertification in the links; and here's info on Biochar from Morgan Williams at the 2012 ACES talk (youtube- get your act together please….) click here for the video.
Thanks to Mark Lacy for letting me use these reports from the White River National Forest and The Roaring Fork Conservancy:
