AUGUST 2017 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC


Partnership creates forage


possibilities Ranchers, government, forest companies collaborate on plots


Stories by TOM WALKER MALAKWA – Werner


Stump’s family have been ranching in the Malakwa Valley 20 kilometres east of Sicamous on the way to Revelstoke for more than 40 years. Yet the steep hillsides that surround Crystal Lake Ranch seem to be more suited to growing trees than cattle. “We are at the upper edge of what can be viable range land,” admits Stump.


But the family has made it


work, driving their 250 Simmental/Angus mother cows up the mountains to graze in cut blocks created by the forest companies on Crown land. The animals follow grass up the hillsides till they reach the alpine. They graze the open slopes at 2,000 meters then turn and follow the regrown grass back down in the fall. But forest practices have changed and modern cut blocks produce less forage. “We were up against a wall


wondering about our future,” says Stump. “A huge chunk of our grass is on Crown range. It’s a key component to our operation.” Registered professional


foresters with their own consulting company and a woodlot, Stump and his wife


Jody respect the strides forest companies have made taking care of their resource. But he’s critical of what it’s meant for the forage he depends on. “The forest companies


have gotten really good at managing the forest for regrowth,” says Stump. “Trouble is, that’s only one resource and the public isn’t really getting a full return on the land. … They could be managing it for a second resource in cattle and even a third, the wildlife, by doing something just a little bit different.”


Stump explains that under the old clearcut and broadcast burn system, there was space on a block and disturbed soil for grass seed to take hold. Additionally, the province formerly aerial seeded blocks ranchers needed, something the BC Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations (FLNRO) no longer does.


Changing practices New logging practices


have developed a softer footprint, partly in response to environmental pressures, and there is less mineral soil exposed. These have given grass less chance to grow. “When they log in the winter now, you can hardly see where the machines have


23


Rancher and professional forester Werner Stump points to a tree seedling deliberately planted near a stump for protection from grazing cattle. TOM WALKER PHOTOS


been after the snow melts in the spring,” Stump says. Modern machines strip the


trees right where they are cut and limbs drop to the ground beside the stumps. Forest companies are reluctant to pile and burn unless the site is impassable or there is a fire hazard (partly because it is not considered environmentally friendly). Nor is there any legal requirement to do so. “As the companies have gotten better at planting and growing seedlings, they have backed away from site prep,” says Stump. “It’s a cost they are hoping to avoid and it is not necessary to grow good trees.”


While it’s difficult for a planter to move through, they


www.bclivestock.bc.ca Visit


SEPT. 5, 12, 19, 26 1500-2000 Head


WILLIAMS LAKE SEPT. 14, 21, 27,28 1500-2000 Head


VANDERHOOF SEPT. 15, 22, 29 1500-2000 Head


BC LIVESTOCK PRODUCERS for detailed sale listings.


Top Quality Early Yearling and Calf Sales in BC. KAMLOOPS


OKANAGAN FALLS SEPTEMBER 11th 300 Head


Provincial Livestock Fencing Program


NOW accepting applications for the Provincial Livestock Fencing Program along travel corridors


Eligibility Requirements


• Schedule 2 Highways, Schedule 1 Highways, and Railway Corridors. Secondary (sideroad) paved routes may also be considered.


• Must be a livestock producer. • Fence must be part of an existing fencing system to contain livestock.


Application forms available at: http://www.cattlemen.bc.ca/fencing.htm Call TOLL FREE 1.866.398.2848 to have an application mailed to you.


If you didn't submit an application prior to the 2016 deadline, please feel free to submit an application for future fencing programs.


A Sincere Thank You to All Our Professional Cattle Buyers. Your Buying Power is Appreciated.


y g pp BC Livestock Producers, Proud Supporters of B.C. Ranching Since 1943.


take a few more cents a tree and the seedlings do go in. “The block can be really


rough,” says Stump. “There is no place for grass to grow and there is not even room for wildlife to walk through.” Cattle can’t range through the cut blocks, either, meaning ranchers have had to give forage options a hard look. “We were starting to run


out of forage on the range,” says Stump. “We had seen the proposed plans for harvest in our area and could see there was opportunity to create


some forage but, of course, the logging companies rightly don’t want to incur extra costs.”


Stump offered to plant both the trees and grass, taking control over the whole process so that both forest operations and his own would benefit.


Proposal “We proposed that we


would take over the obligation to replant four cut blocks,” says Stump. “We


See TREE on next page o


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44