for the camera fan. 



Yes indeed, we have the manpower, the knowledge and equipment to make 

 and keep Montana's Rangelands the showcase of the world. I hope for the sake 

 of all mankind and future generations we meet o\ir obligations and achieve 

 this goal. 



Thank you very much. 



Dave Smith (Panel Moderator). I do know one thing about Frank. He has 

 often times said, "I'm not much of a guy, I've only got an eighth grade ed- 

 ucation." I would say to Frank, I wish I had that good of an eighth grade 

 education. I will field two questions. 



Question: Why have you gone to the agronomic development of your range 

 rather than the ecological development? 



Answer: You will do quite a few things before you starve to death. 

 That probably answers it. I would refer to Bob Ross who has seen the work, 

 so he probably can answer the question better than I. Ross: I'd say that 

 he is using agronomic practices as a tool to achieve ecologic means and if 

 you see it on the ground, he is getting an ecological response more so than 

 it seems. Because of the response you noticed in the native vegetation. 



Smith: We will take Dr. Dyksterhuis' s question and then you may storm 

 the panelists. 



Dyksterhuis: This is not a question. We use many agronomic practices 

 to hasten natural succession. I mean when you take an old field that is 

 seeded to a mixture of the local strains of native grasses, this is using 

 agronomic know-how for ecologic purposes. From a lot of research in Wyoming, 

 the response from furrowing is mostly through an increase in rhizominous 

 species. Frank mentioned western wheatgrass several times. Soils become 

 compacted and he was dealing with clay soil where the western wheatgrass 

 came back. Contour furrowing hasn't done much in other kinds of places but 

 clay's with some western wheatgrass, it has. His replacement of crested 

 wheatgrass with the natives is going toward range management. His soils, 

 most of them didn't look suitable for tame pasture and I gathered that fer- 

 tilization wasn't paying off. He was hastening succession, which is a stan- 

 dard practice in Range Improvement. 



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