Smithsfork Allotment, Kemmerer Field Office, BLM, Wyoming -- Photo Essay by Mike Hudak

Smithsfork Allotment
Managed by Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
Kemmerer Field Office, WY

September 2001

Photo essay by Mike Hudak, author of
Western Turf Wars: The Politics of Public Lands Ranching

The Smithsfork Allotment (alternatively written “Smiths Fork Allotment”) is a 90,937 acre cattle and sheep allotment located in southwestern Wyoming northeast of Cokeville. Smithsfork includes a wilderness study area as well as streams that are home to the Bonneville cutthroat trout, a fish that had been proposed for protection under the Endangered Species Act. In what some people have characterized as a “politically motivated decision” the fish was denied such listing in October 2001.

When the BLM developed its resource management plan for Smithsfork in 1986 it identified the allotment as its number one priority out of thirty-nine allotments in declining health with unsatisfactory management. The BLM noted that the allotment was being overgrazed in riparian and wetland areas, that livestock were poorly distributed, that conflicts were occurring between livestock and wildlife and that soils were being excessively eroded.

Fifteen years later the situation had not improved. Of fifty-eight miles of streams on the allotment, only nine miles were in proper functioning condition, with seven miles completely non-functional. Of the six miles of Raymond Creek that are home to the Bonneville cutthroat trout, only one-third mile was in proper functioning condition. BLM also admitted that the allotment’s rangelands were currently incapable of sustaining viable populations of native plant and animal species appropriate to the habitat.

In May 2001 BLM issued to all the Smithsfork permittees new four-year permits that allow grazing at higher levels than in 2000, the worst season of livestock rangeland damage in five years. That same month the Wyoming Outdoor Council, a local environmental organization, filed a complaint alleging that the BLM had failed to comply with its federal mandate in 2000 to develop a final management plan prior to the start of the 2001 grazing season that would make significant progress in restoring rangeland health. The Outdoor Council also filed a motion with the U.S. District Court in Cheyenne for a temporary restraining order to prevent increased stocking on the allotment.

After a two-day hearing, the District Court denied the Outdoor Council’s motion, finding that the threat of continued livestock grazing was not “immediate.” Evidence showed that due to high livestock numbers and mismanagement, the Smithsfork Allotment had been in a state of “urgency” for proper management for at least five years. Hence, the court reasoned, that if the BLM’s mismanagement had made the threat “immediate” five or more years earlier, not much more resource damage could occur during the 2001 grazing season.

On the cloudy day of September 17, 2001, I was given a tour through part of the Smithsfork Allotment by Darrel Short, a retired range conservationist with thirty-five years of service with the BLM. The following photos, taken at that time, give a small indication of the damage that livestock have inflicted on the region.

Beaver pond, North Corral Creek, Smithsfork Allotment, Wyoming. Photo by Mike Hudak.

This beaver pond and surrounding terrain in the North Corral Creek region of the allotment are a sorry sight. Cattle have so closely cropped the vegetation that large areas of the meadow have eroded leaving bare ground. In an undisturbed meadow there would also typically be willows that provide bird habitat. If willows are present, they’ve been trampled or grazed into invisibility. Photo at UTM coordinates 0504524/4670631.

Trampled wet soil at beaver pond, Smithsfork Allotment, Wyoming. Photo by Mike Hudak.

Cattle can’t easily graze near the beaver pond because their hooves sink into the wet soil. Consequently, vegetation nearer the pond (on the left side of the photo) is three to four times higher than the grazed vegetation on the right. Photo at UTM coordinates 0504524/4670631.

Cattle hoof prints in wet soil, Smithsfork Allotment, Wyoming. Photo by Mike Hudak.

One ambitious bovine that attempted to reach the lush grass near the pond left behind deep hoof prints in the wet soil. It’s trampling of this sort that leads to formation of hummocks during dry periods. An explanation of why hummocks are bad can be found on my web pages dealing with the Green Mountain Common Allotment and Granite Mountain Common Allotment in 2001 and 2002. Photo at UTM coordinates 0504524/4670631.

Grazed sedges, Smithsfork Allotment, Wyoming. Photo by Mike Hudak.

Darrel Short demonstrates that the grazed sedges in the vicinity of the beaver pond are no higher than a finger length—approximately 3". If ungrazed by livestock they’d be at least 9" to 12" high. The more forage consumed by cattle is simply that much less available for native wildlife such as deer and elk. Photo at UTM coordinates 0504524/ 4670631.

A short distance from the beaver pond the BLM has provided a more scientific method for comparing the percentage of vegetation consumed by livestock. This exclosure shows the height vegetation will reach without being grazed. Outside the exclosure there’s 75% to 80% utilization by livestock. Photo location: Township 25 N, Range 119 W, Section 2 (NW quarter).

Cattle impacts on Mill Creek, Smithsfork Allotment, Wyoming. Photo by Mike Hudak.

Mill Creek, just below the confluence with its south fork, dramatically exhibits the major characteristics of long-term cattle impacts: banks downcut, widely spaced and devoid of lush vegetation. Photo at UTM coordinates 0505289/4672323.

Wilderness Study Area, Smithsfork Allotment, Wyoming. Photo by Mike Hudak.

The South Fork of Mill Creek lies within a wilderness study area. Yet contrary to the popular view of “wilderness” the creek is anything but pristine. The Wilderness Act of 1964 excludes livestock grazing as a human impact that disqualifies a region for wilderness designation. Oh, if there’s a road that reduces the region to less than 5,000 acres or if the area’s timber has been cut, wilderness designation is out of the question, but no amount of environmental degradation by livestock will stand in the way. And, of course, livestock grazing is allowed to continue after a region has been designated as wilderness. Photo at UTM coordinates 0505289/4672323.

Livestock exclosure, Pine Hollow Creek, Cumberland/Uinta Allotment, Wyoming. Photo by Mike Hudak.

This livestock exclosure on Pine Hollow Creek in the neighboring Cumberland/Uinta Allotment shows how a more healthy stream in this region should look: narrow, deep, meandering, and sheltered by lush vegetation. The creek has been protected from livestock only since 1994, though, so its recovery may not be complete. Willows may yet return. For more information about this region, please see my photo essay about the Cumberland/Uinta Allotment. Photo at UTM coordinates 0522886/4608705.

Epilogue

What does the future hold for the Smithsfork Allotment? Early in 2000 biologists from the BLM’s Kemmerer office, after an allotment review, recommended an immediate 42% reduction in livestock grazing to begin recovering overgrazed vegetation. The BLM responded with a proposal that would reduce livestock use by 30%, but not until 2004. The Wyoming Outdoor Council in its Summer 2001 newsletter characterized the proposed plan as one that “... flies in the face of proper multiple-use land management, and is an insult to citizens who value this area for its streams, stunning views, hiking and camping and remaining undisturbed landscapes.” The Outdoor Council further remarked that “The proposed plan appears to be written by and for the Smithsfork Allotment’s grazing permittees.”

Critics of the BLM have long given the agency many nicknames including “Bureau of Livestock and Mining,” and “Bureau of Livestock Mismanagement.” The BLM’s actions and the court’s subsequent ruling regarding the Smithsfork’s management provide vivid insight into the basis of these epithets.

These are your public lands. How well do you think those responsible for managing livestock grazing on the Smithsfork Allotment are doing at protecting the region for wildlife? Please convey your thoughts to officials at

BLM
Kemmerer Field Office
430 North Highway 189
Kemmerer, WY 83101

Phone: (307) 828-4500
Fax: (307) 828-4539
https://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/field_offices/Kemmerer.html

Letters to newspapers are also an effective way to express your views to resource managers:

Riverton Ranger
P.O. Box 993
421 E Main St
Riverton, WY 82501

Phone: (307) 856-2244
Details of letter submission: http://dailyranger.com/

Uinta County Herald
849 Front Street, Suite 101
Evanston, WY 83930

Phone: (307) 789-6560
Fax: (307) 789-2700
Submit your letter online: Uinta County Herald