Utah—Where the Society for Range Management Was Organized Item Type text; Article Authors Jacobs, James L. Citation Jacobs, J. L. (1984). Utah—where the Society for Range Management was organized. Rangelands, 6(5), 214-216. Publisher Society for Range Management Journal Rangelands Rights Copyright © Society for Range Management. Download date 27/09/2021 15:01:19 Item License http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ Version Final published version Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/638531 214 Rangelands 6(5), October 1984 Utah—Where the Society for Range Management Was Organized James L. Jacobs Utah was chosen as the site for the first meeting of the horses,and a cat. This was the first sale of livestock in Utah. Society for Range Management,which was organized with Miles Goodyear wentto California wherehorses were sel- Joseph Pechanec as the first president, at the Newhouse ling for from $2 to $4 per head. He purchased a band of Hotel in Salt Lake City in January, 1948. The 192 charter horses in 1848 and trailed them 2,000 miles to Ft. Leaven- members who were in attendance brought forth a lusty, worth, Kans., and St. Joseph, Mo. The horse market there vibrant organization that has grown and prospered over the turned bad, so instead of selling them as he intended, he years. It was born after a gestation period of many years, wintered them on the Missouri River bottoms. Discovery of during which replies to a questionnaire showed that 495 of gold in California improvedthe demandfor horsesthere, so the 505 rangemenquestioned favored formation of such an next spring he drovethe horsesback to California, where he organization. It was named the American Society of Range sold them at a good profit aftertrailing them 4,000miles. He Managementand became the Society for Range Manage- trailed the horses from Independence,Mo., to Sutters Fort, ment in 1970. Calif., in 54 days. Utahwas also chosen as the location for the 14th annual • Thefirst substantial amount of livestock thatcame to Utah meeting of the Society, which was held in the same New- was brought by the second company of Mormon pioneers house Hotel in February, 1961. It was here the Range Con- who left Winter Quarters,6 miles fromOmaha, Neb., on July servation postage stamp was issued in connection with this 4, 1847, with556 wagons inthe company.They brought with meeting. Stamp Artist Rudolph Wendelin participated in the them 358 sheep, 887cattle, 2,213 oxen, 35 hogs, 124 horses, meeting and signed his autograph on hundreds of first day and 716 chickens. The company was led by Parley P. Pratt, Issued stamps and Society banquet programs which were whoorganized the company into unitsfor grazing and herd- decorated with the range conservation stamp. Severalcow- ing purposes. They encountered extreme difficulties on the boy television celebrities provided entertainment, one of trip to Salt Lake City, where they arrived on September 19, whichwas Sheb Woolley, who rode into the crowded hotel 1847. ballroom on the horse that Bill Hurst had led up the marble • Brigham Young, President of the Mormon Church, took steps into the lobbyof the hotel. possessionof Antelope Island in Great Salt Lake soon after And now—the nextannual meeting ofthe Society returns the Utah pioneers arrived in Utah, to be used as a herd to Salt Lake City next February. This time we'll meet at the ground for the livestock owned by the church. Bryant famous Hotel Utah. Theold Newhousewas brought down by Stringham, who was in charge of the island, insisted that a demolition blast last year. every horse becorralled at least once each year. They were It is fitting that the Society's first meeting was in Utah, lookedafter, handled,and broken bya topcrew of horsemen. which has a rich background in livestock and grazing his- There were upwards of a thousand horses on the island, tory. Theeconomy of early Utah was basedon the livestock the finesthorses in the West. The high point ofthe year was industry, and it is still of major importance inthe wealth and the horse roundup time. In 1860President Brigham Young well-being ofthe state. Cattle and sheepcontinue tocontrib- visited the islandand brought allof his clerks and someother ute much to the people, and the managementof the ranges guests for a three-day outing. He invited some of the most on which they graze is of great importance. noted horsemen in the territory to participate. They came The livestock grazing history of Utah has somefascinating mounted on the best horsesto take part in the roundup. The episodes. Some ofthe nuggets of Utah'sgrazing historyare show at roundup time was the occasion for a celebration. as follows: The and bunches of • hazing racing large horses into the Miles Goodyear built Fort Buenaventuranear the pres- corral required skilled horsemanship. There the roping, entcity of Ogden prior tothe time the Mormons first came to branding, and treatment of the wild bunch required the Utah in July, 1847. On one ofthe tripsto Santa Fe he brought assistance of expert horsemenand provided excitement to back livestock, which he grazed near his fort. He was not thevisitors. Therewas also feasting, and musicfor theenter- happy when the large number of Mormons settled near his tainment of the guests. fort, so he sold the fort and most of his livestock to Captain Antelope Island became overstocked with grazing ani- James Brown on November 25, 1847, for $1,950 in gold. mals, so Brigham Young sent large numbers of horses and Included in the sale were 75 cattle, 75 goats, 12 sheep, 6 cattlesouth to new range nearthe SevierRiver. The Mormon Rangelands6(5), October 1984 215 Bishop at Holden was put in charge of them.The areawhere they were grazed is still called theChurch Hills, partof which is on the Fishlake National Forest. In 1855 Brigham Young called on a number of families to movetheir livestock outto new ranges,so the Bennion fami- lies movedtheir cattleto RushValley. The range in thesouth end of Rush Valley was considered to be of top quality, so it was loaded up with cattle, sheep,and horses. By 1875 this range was so badly depleted that cows were calving only every other year, and both cattle and sheep were being moved in the fall to winter in the lower valleys farther west. Hyrum Bennion reportedthat RushValley was considered to be the best range in Utah as they could stay in one place all theyear round, but, by 1875it was all "et out' and they had to movetheir cattle to Castle Valley. • When the Mormon pioneers arrived in Utah, theforage for their livestock appearedto be almost inexhaustable.But the Sheep trailingfrom summer range on meir way to tne desertlur principles of good range managementhad not been learned winter. the settlers,and abused the range.Grazing problems by they fornia. The Powell traded some of their flour to these became acute. Elder Orson Hyde, one of the leaders of the party the in thesemi-annual cattlemen for fresh beef. church, gave following report general • The Deseret Livestock is an outfit conference of the Mormon Church in Salt Lake City on Company outstanding which was in 1889 a of who October 7, 1865, 18 after the first settlers arrived: organized by group sheepmen years believedthey could operate their businessbest on a I find the longer we live in these valleys that the range is grazing becoming more and more destituteof grass; the grass isnot only cooperative basis. None of the stockholders owned their eaten up by the great amount ofstock that feed upon it, but they grazing land, butthey felt theyshould do soto insure proper tramp it out by the very roots, andwhere grass once grew luxur- managementof their operations. They incorporated in 1891 iantly,there is now nothing but the desert weed, and hardly a with John H. James I. vice of is here and the mouth of Moss, president, Atinson, presi- spear grass to be seen. Between and Orrin P. Hatch as and direc- EmigrationKanyon, when our brethren,the pioneersfirst landed dent, secretary, a group of in '47, there was an abundance of grass over all those benches; tors. All of the officers but one worked for the company. theywere coveredwith it like ameadow. There isnow nothing but Therewere ninety-five stockholdersat the time of incorpora- the desertweed, the sage,the rabbitbrush, and such like plants tion, and this grew to 250 in 1928, when the company had a in that makevery poor feed for stock. Beingcut shortof our range national reputation as a good outfit. It has survived95 years the way we have been, and accumulating as we are, we have nothing tofeed them with in the winter and they perish.There is in the business. not profit in this . Hence in my labors I have exerted an The name'Deseret' comes from the Book of Mormon and influence, as far as I have beenable, to cultivate less land in grain signifies industry. Early church influence was shown by the and secureto ourselvesmeadows that we mighthave our hay in practice of the company to pay ten percent of the profits to and in . in the condition of the time the seasonthereof. present the Mormon Church as before the dividends were the range we cannot indulge in the hope of raising such large tithing herds of stockas we have done heretofore; but we have to keep distributed to the stockholders. about what will serveup and take care of them well. In 42 years the company bought 235,740 acres of land in six counties and twostates, Utah and Wyoming. Many ofthe • Texas longhorn cattle were brought to Utah in sizeable stockholders filed on homesteads,and when they gottitle to numbers in the 1860's and 1870's.