Ranchers say water test results look encouraging

A water quality study conducted by University of California, Davis, researchers shows mostly low levels of bacteria in Stanislaus National Forest streams. Ranchers who graze cattle on the national forest lands welcomed the scientific data, saying they count on good water quality to maintain healthy livestock and a productive environment.

Livestock producers who hold grazing permits on the Stanislaus National Forest in the central Sierra have been collaborating on the pilot water quality testing program. During a public meeting last week in Sonora, researchers announced the program will be expanded this summer to other national forests in California.

Results of last summer's pilot testing program at more than 40 different locations on three grazing allotments in the forest showed mostly low, safe bacteria levels in streams. The bacteria standard set by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board is 200 fecal coliform units or less per 100 milliliters of water. For the most part, streams tested were below 100 units, with many registering bacteria levels of zero.

UC researchers said management practices including fencing in sensitive riparian areas, shortened calving seasons and grassland buffers can help lower the presence of bacteria in streams flowing through allotments.

"People want to know what's going on scientifically in the forest," said cattle rancher Sherri Brennan, who helped organize the Sonora briefing. "Ranchers don't want to work with 'what if' information. They want to know the facts and adapt best range management solutions for the grazing activities on their specific allotment."

Brennan, who chairs the California Farm Bureau Federation Public Lands Advisory Committee, said she's encouraged by the first year's water quality test results. Data collected by researchers showed results that were virtually the same for an allotment with no grazing on it compared to an allotment with grazing.

"That suggests we need to start looking at other factors influencing water quality," said Brennan, who also works as a project manager for the Tuolumne County Resource Conservation District. Those other factors include uses such as recreation and wildlife, she said.

"All of these factors need to be looked at collectively and we need more information in order to make good range management decisions," she said.

On 36 grazing allotments in the Stanislaus National Forest in Tuolumne County, ranchers run about 2,000 head of cattle in an area that covers about a half million acres. Most of the grazing occurs in high altitude meadows, with ranchers spreading the cattle into higher elevations as seasonal forage dries up.

"Where the rubber meets the road in terms of the actual research is on these grazing allotments," said Ken Tate, rangeland watershed specialist and plant sciences professor at UC Davis. "We're doing source-search monitoring for fecal indicator bacteria—coliform and E. coli—and pathogens that could be transmitted to humans, as well as checking for nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorous and ammonia."

The data, however, need to be correlated to livestock management techniques and other sources of bacteria that occur on the allotment, Tate said.

"If we find problems, we need to understand them and make the information available, so decisions can be made about best management practices and discussions can be conducted about modifications," he said.

For livestock, that means understanding cattle location, measuring how much grass the livestock eat, determining fecal loading per acre, evaluating timing of the grazing, and adjusting. The same is true for other associated activities such as camping, hiking and off-road vehicle use.

Researchers said results also showed a few areas of concern. Study results found higher than desired coliform bacteria levels below a public campground and in water beside a lower elevation meadow used for a couple of weeks to gather cattle for transport at the end of the grazing season. The bacteria levels had dropped back to negligible at a sample site one mile downstream.

With plans to expand the testing program to grazing allotments on other national forests in California, Tate said the first-year project on the Stanislaus will help in the design of testing programs on 12 to 15 allotments spread from the Oregon border along the coast and south through the Sierra Nevada. National forests that have expressed interest in establishing a testing program this summer include the Tahoe, Plumas, Klamath and Shasta-Trinity.

"That will give us a good cross section of topography and hydrology to understand the complexity of factors affecting water quality in the forests," Tate said.

Timberland manager and apple farmer Sasha Farkas said there's a great deal of interdependence between private and public lands. Forestry, raising livestock and recreation are an integral part of how the local environment and the economy work.

"Maintaining access to public lands and ensuring the link between private lands is one way we can help ensure a healthy environment," said Farkas, who is Tuolumne County Farm Bureau president. "And rotating livestock onto public lands helps reduce fuel loads in our forests, as well as helping control invasive plant species."

At the same time, allowing lands to rest, whether public or private, permits habitat to remain healthy, which supports a variety of wildlife, he said, describing the region's system of forest and land management that also allows for food production.

"In California, ranchers depend on public lands grazing to economically sustain their operations. In the summer, when feed is no longer available on the valley floor, the mountains are full of available forage for livestock," said Elisa Noble, California Farm Bureau Federation natural resources and public lands director.

And, Noble said, research indicates that following best management practices for grazing brings a variety of benefits to the landscape.

Lands administered by the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management are intended for multiple uses, including grazing, she said.

(Kate Campbell is an assistant editor of Ag Alert. She may be contacted at kcampbell@cfbf.com.)