Mar 23, 2005 - 23:16:23 CST
SOUTH BELFIELD -- Scant spring snow seeps into the ground out west.It's a bare drip when a flood is needed. It's certainly not yet enough to undo a heap of dry years, and ranchers -- at least those who graze on the Little Missouri National Grasslands -- will suffer the consequences.
Both the number and amount of time cattle can be out on the grasslands' pastures will be reduced this year.
The plan is to give the range room to recover, something it does best in wet years, not dry. In dry years, like the one forecast, the goal is damage control.
The dry years have been more or less continual since 1998 and this past February was the driest ever recorded.
It means the approximately 460 ranchers who lease grasslands owned by the U.S. Forest Service will have to reduce their overall cattle count numbering in the thousands for the second year in a row.
The reduced cattle numbers translates into around a $14 million loss -- more when the need to buy additional hay or rent more expensive pastures someplace else gets factored in.
For ranchers like Kevin and Cindy Fugere, who ranch southwest of Belfield, it means a second year when a strong market fails to go home in their pockets.
The couple raises cattle along the south fork of the Heart River, and up north on land northwest of Medora.
Kevin Fugere said he spent some $50,000 more on hay last year than normal, canceling the effect of good cattle prices and putting off the opportunity to replace equipment and fix up buildings for yet another year.
The Fugeres rent pasture in the Medora District of the Little Missouri National Grasslands.
Their grazing association -- the Medora Grazing Association -- has already been told to expect a 20 percent reduction in cattle numbers again this year and a later turnout on native prairie.
Kevin Fugere said he's got some carryover hay to last awhile. His goal is to maintain his base herd, so he doesn't get caught trying to build up numbers when prices are high.
"We're all concerned," he said, after dishing up a noon lunch of pork chops and pie after coming in from checking pregnant cows. "It's not critical yet, but when the frost comes up, we need moisture."
Brian Kempenich, range manager for the Medora District, said the initial cutbacks are only a starting point.
If neither April nor May bring spring showers, they'll go down from there.
"We'll go as much as it takes to get the range in good condition," he said.
The Medora district oversees about half, or 500,000 acres of the Little Missouri National Grasslands.
The McKenzie district oversees the other half.
There, range manager Gary Petik said cattle numbers will be reduced an average of 20 percent and could go deeper, depending on the moisture.
Like his Medora district counterpart, Petik said the current reductions are only a starting point.
"It's understood if there's a dry April and May we'll make more adjustments," he said.
The Medora district permits about 30,000 cattle maximum. The McKenzie district permits about 23,000 head maximum.
The reduction in both districts adds up to approximately 10,000 fewer animals on federal leases.
Petik said the public wants more management and overall better range conditions on the grasslands.
He said drought strategies would continue to evolve into more accuracy on numbers of animals and how long each year they can stay on the grass.
(Reach reporter Lauren Donovan at 888-303-5511 or lauren@westriv.com.)
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