Figure 4.--A good stand of 

 crested wheatgrass sup- 

 presses and replaces 

 halogeton except in the 



. drill "skip." Cassia 

 County. 



CONSIDERATIONS PRELIMINARY TO SEEDING 



To be a sound investment, seeding should be done only where the anticipated returns would 

 justify the expense. Usually, returns are measured in forage quantity or quality, or in livestock 

 products. Sometimes the benefit may be control of poisonous or otherwise undesirable plants, 

 improvement of watershed or of wildlife habitat, or a reduction of fire hazard. The decision to 

 seed a range should be made only after considering the questions that follow: 



1. Is seeding needed for improvement?- -The major consideration in deciding whether to 

 seed is current production in comparison to the estimated potential of the range. On poor- 

 condition ranges where some desirable perennials remain, reducing the grazing pressure or 

 changing the season of use may permit native plants to increase and revegetate the range at only 

 a fraction of the cost of seeding. Burning, spraying with herbicides, or mechanically destroying 

 sagebrush, juniper, wyethia, or other undesirable plants may release desirable plants from 

 competition and increase range productivity without seeding (Mueggler and Blaisdell 1951; 

 Pechanec, Stewart, and Blaisdell 1954; Pechanec et al. 1964). 



2. Can the site be worked ?- -Steep slopes and presence of rocks increase costs and limit 

 the effectiveness of machinery used in seedbed preparation and planting. Unstable soils, broken 

 up for seeding, may blow or wash; this could result in a seeding failure and create an erosion 

 problem. Sands, rocks, or steep slopes may entirely preclude artificial revegetation. 



3 



