2 CIRCULAR bb_U U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



Others support denser stands of perennial grasses and forbs or weeds and 

 have per acre grazing capacities as great as two or more animal-unit 

 months. Pocket gopher numbers on these mountain meadows vary from a 

 few widely scattered individuals to dense populations. The presence of a 

 few scattered gophers is not always apparent to a casual observer, but 

 dense populations can be easilv recognized by the numerous soil mounds 



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Figure 1. — Part of a mountain meadow in eastern Oregon, showing Dalles pocket 

 gopher soil mounds. Pocket gophers are active all year, but their presence is usually 

 more noticeable in the fall when herbage has been o-razed and the soil is moist. 



Many range technicians, stockmen, and others concerned with range 

 management have long advocated the control of pocket gophers, because 

 they believe that the gophers cause poor forage condition on meadows. 

 Some believe that pocket gophers become more abundant as a range 

 deteriorates from good condition and the perennial grasses are replaced 

 by annual weeds and perennial forbs. 



Other observations also point to the need for gopher control. As it is 

 known that gophers eat both the tops and the roots of many plants, it 

 may be concluded that on a heavily grazed meadow they consume forage 

 needed by livestock. Greater net returns from hay fields, orchards, 

 gardens, or fields of row crops where gophers have been controlled 

 strengthen this conclusion. Soil mounds of the gopher cover up forage 

 that could be used by livestock and big-game animals, and cause some 



