During the months of June, July and August, 2000 I worked as a monitor for Idaho Watersheds Project on the Leadbelt, Antelope and Cherry Creek allotments located mainly in Antelope Valley, along with the Boone Creek Allotment mainly in Copper Basin. I was given copies of the Annual Operating Plans for each of these allotments and attempted to follow the cows as they moved through the allotments. Each AOP has a rotation sequence of how the cattle will be moved along with a map of the allotment.

I quickly discovered how difficult it was to figure out for sure where the cows would be located at any given time. All the AOPs had an order of use for each unit but only Boone Creek gave any dates (which were not followed exactly). I tried to take the length of time the cows were allowed on the allotment and divide it by the number of units in an attempt to determine where the cows would be. I was not successful. Apparently the ranchers leave the cattle in different units for varying amounts of time.

Even if I had exact dates, I still could not figure out for sure where the cows would be. Some of the maps were very difficult to read. The Antelope Allotment did not bother to draw in the units on the map of the allotment. Boone Creek Allotment is a bad copy of a bad map; it is almost incomprehensible. Not only could I not figure out where the cattle were, I doubt if the ranchers knew either! I never saw anyone out with the cows and keeping track of their movement. The units are usually quite large and so the cattle are widely spread out. The cattle tend to congregate in some areas more than others so that on any given unit there is a wide range of damage.

Although a majority of the cattle are moved from one unit to another, many stragglers are left behind. In addition, many of the fences are damaged or down. I came up with a theory that held almost completely true: if you come across a fence while hiking, you can walk in either direction and within 10 yards you will find an easy place to cross. None of the fences is marked on any of the maps and seem to be randomly placed, some ending in the middle of fields. In some cases, the fence surrounding an allotment was down so there was nothing preventing the cattle from wandering even further (Leadbelt Allotment, just a few yards off the main road). I was curious as to how wild animals got through the fences. Most of them were barbed wire but there were a few that were electrical such as that on the Richardson Canyon unit on the Cherry Creek Allotment. This means that even though a majority of the cows may be in one location there will still be a few sprinkled throughout the entire allotment.

I did notice that on every unit I went on, I found the bones of at least one cow. I do not know what killed them, but thought it was an interesting observation. I did not see much wildlife. In all my time on the allotments, I saw a few antelope on the Road Creek Unit in the Boone Creek Allotment, a fox on the Leadbelt Allotment, and birds. I did see signs of elk on a fair number of the units.

Some of the locations cattle managed to get to surprised me. There were always cattle in the high elevations even if there was heavy brush or debris. A few units were heavily damaged all along the stream. Mostly, there were places of very concentrated damage. This usually was the case along streams with lots of willows. The cattle tended to select a few locations where they would access the river. Even then, I could see signs of the cattle all along the stream. I noticed that often, though there may be many willows along the bank, they were often older ones that had been eaten around the base. The cattle ate all the younger ones. I saw many full­grown willows that were completely eaten and eroded around their base.

The cattle appeared to be very selective about what they ate. For example, they apparently avoided irises at all costs. It was common for me to see an entire field of iris with every thing else mowed to the ground. The cattle also avoided the sedges and rushes when possible. They would eat them if necessary but most often the sedges and rushes immediately along the bank were higher than the surrounding plant life.

Another common problem I noticed was hummocks. I saw many fields completely covered in hummocks. Most commonly, I saw this around wetter areas such as surrounding springs or in boggy areas. In some places, it was so bad that I had difficulty walking and was rather surprised that the cows could get through.

Never once did I see anyone attempting to monitor the cattle. It appeared to me that the ranchers essentially let the cows go on an allotment and then came back in three months to pick them up. If cattle continue to be allowed to graze on such lands, they must be closely monitored. Also, there must be fewer cattle and they cannot spend as much time in any given place. Finally, a personal note: beyond all the damage the cattle cause to the land and streams, they also destroy the experience for hikers and outdoor enthusiasts. It is very clear when cows have been there. It is a muddy, smelly mess that often times I did not want to take my dog through. A field of mowed grass covered in cow patties and hum­mocks destroys the surrounding view.

IWP summer intern Emily Howell of Ketchum, Idaho is a sophomore at Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA.