Intermountain forest and range experiment station 



0£den,Utah 



No. 12 September 1954 



GRASS - CAFETERIA STYLE IN SOUTHWESTERN MONTANA 



Jack E„ Schmautz 

 Division of Range Management Research 



In artificial seeding one must know whether a species is adapted to 

 the site s and something about its growth habits and form,, He should also 

 know which species are palatable to stock and to what extent they are pre- 

 ferred over existing native forage . This paper provides some information 

 on the relative palatabilit ies to cattle of seeded grasses when available 

 on a free-choice basis. It is derived from a cooperative seeding project 

 established in 1951 by the Beaverhead National Forest and the Northern 

 Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station.—' 



The study area is located on Dry Fawn Bench in the upper Ruby River 

 Valley on the Beaverhead National Forest at an elevation of approximately 

 7,000 feet, Slopes are generally 8 to 10 percent and mostly east-northeast. 

 Approximately 539 acres of grass, sagebrush, and timberlands lying at the 

 heads of Dry Fawn and Wet Fawn Creeks were fenced to control livestock use, 

 The fenced area was typical of much of the upper Ruby spring cattle range. 

 Within this exclosure 47,8 acres were disked once in 1951 with a heavy off- 

 set disk harrow to eliminate sagebrush and 118 acres were cleared the next 

 year with an Olson rotobeater. The disked range was broadcast with a mix- 

 ture of several grasses but the rotobeaten area was not seeded.. Thirteen 

 grasses were broadcast in 79 plots of varying shape and size (from 360 to 

 870 square feet) located on the lower edge of the disked area c Grasses 

 planted were hard fescue, Russian wildrye, crested, intermediates pubes- 

 cent, slender, and western wheat, meadow brome , smooth brome (Lincoln 

 strain), big blue, green needle, orchard,, and tall oat.—' Plantings of 

 hard fescue were replicated in seven plots and the other grasses in six.. 



1/ Consolidated in 1954 with the Int ermountain Forest and Range Experiment 



Station with headquarters at Ogden, Utah* 

 2/ Common and technical names of grasses mentioned are listed at the end 



of this report. 



