An Anthology of the Sampson-Ellison Photo Plots (1913 to 2003) and a Short History of the Great Basin Experiment Station
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United States Department Beginnings of Range of Agriculture Forest Service Management: An Anthology of the Rocky Mountain Research Station Sampson-Ellison Photo Plots General Technical (1913 to 2003) and a Short History Report RMRS-GTR-154 July 2005 of the Great Basin Experiment Station David A. Prevedel E. Durant McArthur Curtis M. Johnson Abstract ______________________________________ Prevedel, David A.; McArthur, E. Durant; Johnson, Curtis M. 2005. Beginnings of range management: an anthology of the Sampson-Ellison photo plots (1913 to 2003) and a short history of the Great Basin Experiment Station. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-154. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 60 p. High-elevation watersheds on the Wasatch Plateau in central Utah were severely overgrazed in the late 1800s, resulting in catastrophic flooding and mudflows through adjacent communities. Affected citizens petitioned the Federal government to estab- lish a Forest Reserve (1902), and the Manti National Forest was established by the Transfer Act of 1905. The Great Basin Station, a forerunner of the Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, was created in 1911 within this area to study the influence of rangeland vegetation on erosion and floods. This publication contains a collection of 12 recurring sets of photographs that started in 1913 on these depleted high-elevation rangelands. The sites were repho- tographed in the 1940s, 1972, 1990, and 2003. It is also a tribute to two men who pioneered the science of range management—Arthur W. Sampson and Lincoln Ellison. As Directors of the Experiment Station, they initiated and maintained the early photo sites and study plots. It was with these photograph records and study plots that many of the interpretations and guidelines for the management of high-elevation watersheds were developed. After 90 years, plant community changes on these high-elevation watersheds has led to a vegetation composition significantly different than the original condition. New plant communities have reached thresholds where yearly vegetative composition appears to be climate driven. Many of the higher elevation areas remain in unsatis- factory watershed health with active erosion. _______________ Keywords: rangeland photos, repeat photography, secondary succession, watershed health, high elevation watersheds, tall forb, Great Basin Experiment Station, Arthur Sampson, Lincoln Ellison Cover Photo: Sheep grazing on Wagon Road Ridge, 2004 (photo by Curt Johnson) The Authors ___________________________________ David A. Prevedel is Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing Program Coordinator for the Intermountain Region of the USDA Forest Service in Ogden, UT. He holds a B.S. degree in range science from Utah State University. He was Range Conservationist on the Ferron Ranger District, Manti-LaSal National Forest, 1971 to 1976. E. Durant McArthur is Project Leader and Research Geneticist, Shrub Sciences Laboratory, and Scientist-in-Charge, Great Basin Experimental Range, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Provo, UT. He holds an A.S. degree from Dixie College and B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Utah. Curtis M. Johnson is Regional Rangeland Ecosystem Specialist for the Intermoun- tain Region of the USDA Forest Service in Ogden, UT. He holds a B.S. degree in forest management from Humboldt State University and an M.S. degree in watershed management from the University of Arizona. Acknowledgments _____________________________ We gratefully acknowledge the cooperation between the Rocky Mountain Re- search Station and the Intermountain Region of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, in making this reference possible. We thank the following individuals for their indepth review and input, and for providing invaluable personal knowledge and suggestions on climate, disturbances, grazing effects, and vegetation and soils: Richard A. Gill, Assistant Professor of Environmental Science and Regional Planning at Washington State University, Pullman; Kimball T. Harper, Emeritus Professor, Department of Integrative Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT; Gary Jorgensen, Range Technician, Great Basin Field Unit, Shrub Sciences Laboratory, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Ephraim, UT; Stephen Monsen, Research Botanist, Shrub Sciences Laboratory, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Provo, UT (retired); Robert M. Thompson, Range Conservationist, Manti-LaSal National Forest, Price, UT; David Tart, Regional Plant Ecologist, USDA Forest Service, Intermountain Region, Ogden, UT. And we especially thank Liane Ellison Norman, daughter of Lincoln Ellison, for her contributions to the biography of her father and for her remembrances of life at the Great Basin Station. Contents_____________________________________________________ Page Overview ..................................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction: The Beginnings of Range Management ................................................................................. 2 Origin of Photographs ................................................................................................................................. 2 The Wasatch Plateau: Physical Characteristics.......................................................................................... 4 Terrain and Geology ................................................................................................................................ 4 Soils ......................................................................................................................................................... 4 Existing Vegetation .................................................................................................................................. 6 Climate ..................................................................................................................................................... 7 Area Grazing and Management (Administrative) History ............................................................................ 7 Sampson-Ellison Ecological Interpretations ................................................................................................ 10 Interpretation of the Photo Record .............................................................................................................. 14 Site A: Head of Big Bear Creek Looking East at Danish Knoll ................................................................ 14 Site B: Head of Big Bear Creek Looking West ........................................................................................ 16 Site C: Danish Knoll Enclosure ................................................................................................................ 18 Site D: South Side of Danish Knoll Enclosure ......................................................................................... 20 Site E: Area Between Danish Knoll and Cox’s Knoll on Wagon Ridge Road .......................................... 22 Site F: Cox’s Knoll Snowbank .................................................................................................................. 24 Site G: Wagon Road Ridge East of Cox’s Knoll ...................................................................................... 28 Site H: Wagon Road Ridge Near White Knoll, Five and One-Half Miles East of the Plateau Crest ........ 30 Site I: Wagon Road Ridge Near White Knoll, 100 Yards East of Photo Site H ....................................... 32 Site J: Looking Northeast From the North Side of Danish Knoll .............................................................. 34 Site K: One-Half Mile North of Danish Knoll, Looking North Into Little Pete’s Hole ................................. 36 Site L: Tom’s Ridge ................................................................................................................................. 39 Observations ............................................................................................................................................... 42 Conclusions................................................................................................................................................. 44 Recommendations ...................................................................................................................................... 46 References .................................................................................................................................................. 47 Appendix A: Plant Species Cited ................................................................................................................ 48 Appendix B: Current Plant Species on Protected Areas and Photo Points ................................................ 48 Alpine Cattle Pasture Enclosure, West Side (Protected) ......................................................................... 48 Elks Knoll RNA, West Side (Protected) ................................................................................................... 48 Photo Site A ............................................................................................................................................. 48 Photo Site B ............................................................................................................................................