The land needs to rest from cattle grazing for several seasons after a range fire, but here they are on the tablelands above Jackpot, Nevada, grazing part of the Murphy burn.
The sagebrush area is unburned, the rest is obviously burned. Grazing a burn weakens the newly sprouted perennial grasses — the good grasses — in favor of the fire prone annuals. I did notice the cows left the lupines and death camas completely untouched. I had to wonder if the future of this draw will be pretty poisonous flowers?
Grazing the Murphy burn the very next year. Photo Ralph Maughan. June 16, 2008
I saw quite a few pronghorn in the general area, and it is also obviously important deer and elk transitional and maybe winter range, but cows seem to come before everything else.
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Update. June 24. The BLM is going up to the area to get the cattle off the burn. They are not supposed to be there.
Comments
3 responses to “Photo of cattle on the Murphy burn”
it’s shameful that they’re stocking that burn.
Just more proof that they don’t give a damn.
a state legislator – burt brackett (appointed to state legislature by Otter), whose daughter was a staffer for larry craig grazes out there. simplot cattle run in the area as well. that district has been under a lot of political pressure not to do its job