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Chilcotin Meadowlands: Livestock Range and Culture

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Chilcotin Meadowlands: Livestock Range and Culture Rangelandsl(5),October 1979 -. 183 Chilcotin Meadowlands: Livestock Range and Culture James William Morton The Chilcotin region has no precise geographical boundaries creasingly difficult to find reliable help to campwith the cattle. and even old-timers can quarrel about its meaning. It is a Some operators have retained a modified version of winter sub-region of a larger and even more indefinably definedarea rustling but begin feeding much earlier than was common in called the Cariboo. The Chilcotin is generally considered as years gone by. occupyingthe entire Chilcotin River watershed plus the upper Range Use portions of the Dean, Kleena Kleene and Homathko River The of meadow in the Chilcotin is watershedsand the northern half ofthe Churn Creek watershed. great majority rangeland under Crown Government) control in a nonleased It is bounded on the southand west by the CoastMountains and (Provincial tenure. Administration of these untenured Crown lands is by the on the east by the Fraser River. The northern boundary is RangeDivision of the British Columbia Forest Service by way of indistinctly expressed but roughly coincides with the height of grazing permits. Permitshave been historically on ayearly basis land separating the Blackwater River and Narcosli Creek although 5-year will to be in 1978. watersheds. The southernportion of the NazkoRiver watershed, permits begin implemented Grazingpermits regulateanimal numbers, seasons of use, and although part ofthe Blackwatersystem is also considered part of occasionally class of stockor other stipulations in a area, the Chilcotin country. given usually by range unit. A total of 135 range unitsfurther subdivide In total area this region occupies an area of approximately the region. These units have beendetermined by a combination 15,000 square miles of which approximately 600,000 acres of natural barriers, fencing and historic use by early ranches. (243,000 ha) are native meadow. Units vary greatly in size but an average one would be approxi- settlementof this region occurred in the late nineteenth Early mately60,000 acres (24,000 ha) ofwhich a highportion would be and early twentiethcenturies. Early settlers were predominantly unproductiveforest or mountain. As opposed tomuch of the rest ranchers who established here as a result of the abundant of the provinceChilcotin range unitsare oftengrazed by a single occurrence of native meadows suitable for hay and range and user although some ranches range in several units and some sporadic occurrence of lush bunch-grass. units are ranged by several ranches. The Chilcotin can be considered as being the largest dry In 1977 110 ranches used Crown controlled meadow range- portionof the Caribooregion. Precipitation ranges froma mean lands in the Chilcotin. Estimating only meadow range used and of approximately 15 inches (38 cm) on the plateau to less than 9 removing other types of Crown or private rangeland, approxi- inches in of the Chilcotin River (23 cm) parts valley. 18,000 head of cattle and 900 head of horses were two of occur:that mately Broadly speaking types ranching enterprise on Crown meadows this on and an grazed during year. Approximately predominantly dependent bunch-grass range irrigated 72,000 animalunit months of were obtained fromthese base and that on native meadow- grazing hay completely dependent Crown controlled meadowlands in 1977. lands for and A third contain- hay grazing. hybridized enterprise, The Anahim Lake and Chezacut areas contain some of this elements of the two abovetypes, also occurs. ing region's largest meadows supporting completely meadow de- most of to south central B.C. Although types range typical Individual meadow occur in the Chilcotin—timbered pendent ranching operations. complexes pinegrass range, alpine here somtimes exceed 10,000 acres and in- and meadow (4,000 ha) support grass-forb range, bunch-grass range ran9e— dividual operationsup to 1,500 head. meadow range is predominant for muchof this region. Muchof the timbered area of the because of cli- Chilcotin, droughty The Nature of Chilcotin Meadows mate and coarse soils, is relatively unproductive rangeland as The estimated 600,000 acres of Chilcotin comparedto the more productive forests found eastof the Fraser (243,000 ha) meadow 6% of the total areaof the region. Its River.Bunch-grass range in this region is generally concentrated representroughly occurrence to a surface or a near-surface into pockets and excepting the largeacreages in the southeast corresponds of a water table. Variations of this water portion of the region is generally limited in area and reserved expression fluctuating table are reflected in the nature of the organiccontent, dryness, almost exclusively for spring and fall range and as the core area and soil reaction of the meadow and determine its of ranch development. salinity, individual Periodic and All broad ranching enterprisetypes found in this region rely vegetative type. flooding periodic water saturation rise to or soils on meadowland for summerand fall grazing. In the past complete give organic gleysolic heavily with individual on the above interrelated manyranches practiced "winterrustling" (grazing the frozen wet properties dependent variables. meadow)but this practiceis presently on the declineas animal all Chilcotin meadows occur above a basement of nutritional deficiencies are recognized and as it becomes in- Essentially brokenbasaltic rock. This local strata of flat-lyingbasaltic rocks no doubt a role in determing the locations ofsurface The author is range agrologist. British Columbia Forest Service. Alexis Creek, plays major BritishColumbia, or near surface water tables. _________________ Rangelands 1(5), October1979 BRITISH COLUMBIA THE CHlLCOTlN DRAWNBY GRBO'I'O C-. Virtually all meadows occur as concentric zones of different vegetativecommunities beginning ata dryer edge and becoming wetter towards the center. Many of the dryer meadows are alkaline and someare also saline. Alkalineand salinemeadows are not typical by Canadian standards where meadows are more typically acidic. Probably the combination of a fluctuating water table, youthful basaltic bedrock, and usual summerwater deficit is responsible for these conditions. Chilcotinmeadows can be broadly classified according to five interrelated properties: (a) relative wetness (b) proportion and degree of decomposition of organicmatter (c) soil reaction and degree of salinity (d) depth of material to bedrock (e) proportion of grass and sedgeto woody brush Twenty-onetypes of meadows are recognized to date but for the purposeof this article only the more common and important This is a dry type meadowmade up primarily with muhienbergid, types are listed. western wheatgrass with some saltgrass (Distichlis), and Carex. This meadow type has a mineralsoil base that is somewhatalkaline and CommonWet Meadow Predominant Use Types saline, typically wet early in the season but then drying out for the Not useable remainder of the season. This meadow is locally called A-I West Sedge-Bullrush (Carexaquatilis, Meadow and is Scirpetum species) located about 10 miles north of Alexis Creek. Sedge-Spruce (Carex aquatilis) Notnormally used, (minor edgeuseable for summer range) Sedge-Willow (Carexrostrata, Carex Summer range aquatilis) SugarCane (Carex rostrata Summer, fall, and wintergrazing, native hay. Sedge-Reedgrass (Carex species, Summer, fall, and Ca/amagrostis inexpansia) wintergrazing, native hay. Tufted Hairgrass (Deschampsia Late spring, summer, species) and fall grazing, native hay. Comm adowTypes - Predominant Use Bogbirch-wheatgrass-sedge Late spring, summer, (Agropyron species, Carex and earlyfall grazing rostrata) Wheatgrass-Muhly (Agropyron Spring and fall grazing species, Muhienbergia richardsonis) Redtop-Rush-Sedge (Agrostis species, Summer and tall Juncusbalticus, Carex species) grazing Tnis meacow is a wer a Carex rostrata Muhly-Bogbirch (Mulenbergia Late and fall type—primarily (sugarcane) spring type. Itis primarilya hay meadow with water controlby an openditch richardsonis) grazing system. Afterhaying it is used forfall grazing. This meadow belongs to Muhly-Saltgrass (Munlenbergia Spring and fallgrazing Tatla Lake Ranches and is located at Tat/a Lake. The fence in the richardsonis, Distichlisstricta) foregroundis called a "snake" fence. Rangelands1(5), October 1979 185 Hay Production It is no surpise that the dryer meadow types provide the earliest range. Typically, cattle are moved ontothese sites about The majority of Chilcotin meadow hay production is from mid May unless bunch-grass range is locally available, in which deeded or leased ranchlands with minortonnages obtained from case they would move onto these sites aboutthe first week of untenured lands by authorization of Forest Service administered June. As the wetter types begin to dry out around the edges, Hay Cutting Permits. cattle moveor are moved onto them. The date at which cattle are Many of the best meadows of the region have provided the essentiallyoff the dryer meadows is dependent on the specific nucleus of development of present day plateau ranches. year's climate and water table. Typically, they would be es- Meadow haylandsare usually much more intensively managed sentially off the dryer types about the first of July. My own than the surrounding rangeland meadows. In a high state of observations conclude that cattle do not relishthe early Muhly or management water is controlled by an open ditch system with Saltgrass. Once on the wetter meadow types, cattle relish the head
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