on the plains of Nebraska and contiguous States, and up to an ele- 

 vation of 10,000 feet in Colorado and the southern Sierras of Cali- 

 fornia. Nebraska sedge is found in favorable locations throughout 

 the sagebrush and piiion belts but is, perhaps, most common in the 

 ponderosa pine belt in mountainous regions. It is apparently not 

 common in the coastal mountains of the Pacific States. 



Throughout its range this sedge occurs exclusively in such wet 

 sites as along slow streams, near springs, in shallow, swampy areas, 

 and wet meadows. In the wet sedge meadows of the mountains 

 it is frequently one of the dominant plants. After midsummer it is 

 sometimes seen in places that are apparently dry, although invari- 

 ably these locations are wet in the spring 1 and early summer and 

 probably are subirrigated during the rest of the season. It some- 

 times grows in wet gravelly soils, but generally inhabits water- 

 deposited loams or highly organic, often peatlike, marshy soils. 



The palatability of Nebraska sedge varies with the amount and 

 distribution of palatable grasses and other plants associated with it, 

 with the season of the year, and with the amount of moisture in 

 the soil. As a rule, it is poor to fair forage for sheep and fairly 

 good to good or occasionally very good for cattle. In general, the 

 absolute palatability is perhaps greatest in the spring and early 

 summer when the foliage and stems are tender, but this is affected 

 by the factors mentioned above. Sheep sometimes make heavy use 

 of the green foliage when it is readily available. Generally, how- 

 ever, the sites where this sedge grows are too wet for sheep until 

 fall, when the mature foliage is coarse and of low palatability. 

 Unless the soil is too boggy, cattle readily graze the moist areas where 

 Nebraska sedge grows. However, if sufficient palatable grass and 

 weeds are available, cattle often will avoid extensive wet sedge 

 meadows containing Nebraska sedge and related species until after 

 midsummer. In such cases, and on properly stocked range, the sub- 

 sequent late summer and fall use of Nebraska sedge by cattle is usu- 

 ally such that satisfactory utilization is secured. A very different 

 condition frequently obtains on cattle ranges and even sheep ranges, 

 where sedge meadows provide but a small percentage of the forage. 

 On such ranges livestock will often concentrate on the Nebraska 

 sedge areas and utilize them so closely that the leaves are grazed 

 almost to the ground and the production of stems and flowers is 

 prevented. Despite such close use, this species, because of its strong 

 root system and the prerequisite favorable moisture conditions, con- 

 tinues to send out new growth throughout the growing season. Its 

 strongly developed rootstocks, from which new plants arise, make it 

 particularly well adapted to withstand abusive grazing. 



Nebraska sedge is commonly an important component of native meadow 

 hay, particularly in the lower mountain valleys, where a large volume of natural 

 and irrigated meadow hay for winter livestock feeding is harvested annually. 

 In some sections, overirrigation has suppressed the grasses and greatly en- 

 couraged this and other sedges. Nebraska sedge hay cures well, but is not 

 easily handled, being bulky and difficult to fork. Chemical analyses furnish 

 evidence that, although this hay contains less than half as much crude pro- 

 tein as alfalfa, it yet ranks high in potential nutritive properties. 1 



1 Knight, H. G., Hepner, F. E., and Nelson, A. WYOMING FORAGE PLANTS AND THEIR 

 CHEMICAL COMPOSITION STUDIES NO. 2. Wyo. Agr. Expt. Sta. Bull. 70, 75 pp., illus. 1906. 



