Grazing in Fox Creek, Boone Creek Allotment. East Central Idaho. Early August 2001.

Fox Creek is a tributary of the East Fork of the Big Lost River. It rises beneath the Big Black Dome (mountain - Pioneer Range). Fox Creek is the first drainage downstream from Copper Basin.

Length of the grass after the cows left. That is called 100% utilization.
No seed heads remain, so no seeds can sprout to yield new grass when
the overgrazed grass dies because it was grazed so hard the roots were
not nourished. Fifty per cent utilization is a common standard. PACfish
requires the grazed grass be at least 4 inches high on this allotment.

Photo by Ralph Maughan. Taken in the middle reach of Fox Creek Canyon. 
August 11, 2001.

 

Cattle hummocks (humps) in Fox Creek. These hummocks are the result of
intense trampling of wet ground. Continued grazing of cattle makes them
worse because the hooves fit between the hummocks, making them deeper.
Notice the white on top of the hummocks. This is salinization (deposit of
mineral salts). This may be due to oversalting the drainage with salt
blocks. The salt dissolves and moves downhill, or the remnants of intense
deposition of cattle urine.  At any rate, salinization kills many shrubs
and grasses.
Cattle humps don't go away for years after grazing ceases. They may become grassy,
but they are almost impossible walk over.

Photo by Ralph Maughan. August 11, 2001.