Open Upland Units - These units are mostly located adjacent to the 

 Flathead River and in the foothills of the mountains. Season of use is 

 usually six months. Present vegetation is cheatqrass with residual stands 

 of bunch grasses. The decline of the climax vegetation has brought an 

 increase in sagebrush, fringed sagewart and other shrubs and an invasion 

 of undesirable species such as red three awn, broom snakeweed, gumweed, 

 goatweed, leafy spurge, dalmation toadflax, and other unpalatable weeds. 



A range improvement program financed from grazing fees initiated 

 in these units has promise of benefits to the land and to the users. Range 

 seeding, stockwater development, cross fencing, and deferment practices can 

 benefit the range only when the permittees and stock associations want to 

 do something to improve the range. 



Lowland Grazing Units - These units are located in the Mission Valley 

 and are mostly adjacent to irrigation storage facilities. They include 

 wet meadow and sub-irrigated grazing and differ from the upland arazinq 

 units mainly in greater forage production, excellent stockwater, and their 

 proximity to a laraer number of operators. Present stocking rates are quite 

 nood but could be improved by three or four hundred percent by better grass 

 species, and in some cases, the use of an irrigation system. 



Each grazing unit is different. The same management practices may 

 apply to all of them but the way they are applied differs from unit to unit. 

 Also, management practices generally should be applied as a "package". Cross 

 fences are of no value unless stockwater is developed. Putting in a spring 

 development just to give a cow a drink does no good. If by developing this 

 spring, more forage is made available and thereby the pressure on previously 

 overgrazed areas is reduced, then it is of value. All of the practices 



(4) 



