Beaverhead Sustained Productivity, Dillon, MT
N 45° 22.480 W 112° 27.709
12T E 385539 N 5025611
The State of Montana has placed 4 signs at this overlook/highway pull-off. This one provides information and education on the grassland and ecology.
Waymark Code: WM9ZVW
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 10/23/2010
Views: 3
The text on the sign reads:
"Naturally Sustained Productivity
Past Present and Future
Rangeland vegetaton developed and thrived for thousands of years with seasonal yet heavy grazing by wild animals being central to the process. Today, wildlife remain in abundant numbers, and livestock grazing helps the rangeland sustain itself. With careful management, the Beaverhead Gateway Ranch deliberately creates environmenttal benefits to waterfowl and wildlife, while also producing superior beef. The ranch controls where, when and for how long grazing takes place, and gives each pasture periods of rest. Just as trimming houseplants stimulates their growth, when cattle eat vegetation at the right time and to the right extent, the grazing creates hardier plants and increases plant growth. When livestock graze late in the year, after plants have formed seeds, their hooves help drive seeds into the sod. This increases the successful planting of new vegetation that sustains the environment. Even along creeks, rivers and edges of wetland areas, grazing can help maintain natural productivity. Without grazing in riparian areas, vegetation eventually can choke off waterways. Too much grazing in these areas can foster erorsion that reduces plant healt and hurts water quality. Careful monitoring and livestock management are the keys to success.
Wetlands here were drained to allow increased hay production in the 1960s. Since then, the Beaverhead Gateway Ranch came under new ownership, and in 1997, the Montana Department of Transportation restored the wetlands as a way of mitigating impacts of highway construction elsewhere. The restoration project created a wetland ecosystem larger and richer than before. The result has ben a huge increase in wildlife-from white-tailed and mule deer, antelope, and even moose, to waterfowl, shorebirds, songbirds, swallows and upland game birds in great numbers."
Visit Instructions:
Take a photo of yourself (and others) at the waymark and feel free to share any additional information or that is not contained on the sign or your experience generally.