CHAPTER IV 



NATURAL RESEEDING AND MAINTENANCE OF NATIVE 

 WESTERN PASTURE LANDS 



Inasmuch as only a slight improvement in grazing capacity 

 may be expected, in the light of present researches, from seeding 

 native western ranges to cultivated forage plants, it is very clear 

 that a broad and fundamentally sound plan of revegetation is 

 necessary. Hitherto the grazier has simply taken what nature 

 offered him. This generous offering, however, has been over- 

 used to such an extent that nature has been put to a disad- 

 vantage. The yield of plants that propagate by seed, as do 

 most of the native herbaceous plants in the West, is not main- 

 tained when the leaf blades or seed stalks are eaten down about 

 as soon as they afford a good bite. 



The control of the number of stock in accordance with the 

 carrying capacity of the lands will do much to check the evils 

 of overgrazing, but this in itself does not bring about marked 

 forage increment. If, however, the determination of the proper 

 grazing capacity is accompanied by a foraging plan based upon 

 the growth and reproduction requirements of the important 

 forage vegetation, lands with ample seed plants are soon re vege- 

 tated and restored to their pristine condition. With such a 

 basic, common-sense grazing plan the results appear to be uni- 

 formly good on native pasture lands throughout the West. 

 Moreover, it is reasonable to expect good results, for the very 

 presence of native vegetation indicates that it is adapted to the 

 soil and is capable of being sustained by a minimum amount of 

 moisture. Even after the perennial grasses have dried up, as 

 they do in protracted periods of drought, many are capable 

 of quickly resuming growth and succulence. 



The maintenance of a maximum forage yield would not be 

 difficult if grazing could be delayed each year until the seed crop 

 had ripened. Since, however, a considerable proportion of the 



60 



