Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutRESPONSE - RFP - P774 MEADOWSPRINGS RANCH GRAZING LEASEHI Meadow Springs Ranch Grazing Proposal submitted by Natural Fort Grazing Association RE: City of Fort Collins Proposal NO. P-7741 October 17, 2000 Naturg Fort Grazing Associcoon, LTD Member Directory October 2000 Jim Bradley 2127 WCR 80 Wellington, Colorado 80549 (970) 568-7328 John G Dilka 30368 WCR 74 Galeton, Colorado 80622 (970) 454-2260 Mike Freeman, Secretary 41818 WCR 25 Ault, Colorado 80670 (970) 834-2140 Glenn Hutchison, Treasurer Rick Hutchison 10334 WCR 110 Carr, Colorado 80612 (970) 897-2208 Dale Jordan 20212 NCR 5 Carr, Colorado 80612 (970) 568-3975 Delores Leaf Rob Leaf 40471 WCR 33 Ault, Colorado 80510 (970) 834-2560 Larry Stewart, Vice President 39797 WCR 23 Ault, Colorado 80610 (970) 686-6068 Patrick Stratton, President 9631 NCR 15 Fort Collins, Colorado 80524 (970) 568-9245 Larry Thomas 8470 WCR 126 Carr, Colorado 80612 (970) 897-2251 John Tuttle 12735 WCR 34 Platteville, CO 80651 (a70) 70s-20n,7 The Natural Fort Grazing Association is responding to a call for Proposal No P-774, Natural Fort grazing Lease, as requested by the City of Fort Collins Introduction / Record of Performance Natural Fort Grazing Association is a wholly owned association, owned by prior Meadow Springs Grazing Association members and new members who have purchased an interest from retiring past members A list of all current members their addresses, phone members and officer titles are attached There are currently 11 members, representing ownership of 1100 grazing units Members own individual cattle and farm operations located from Platteville to Carr, Colorado All members are personally involved in Agriculture with some large full time operations to smaller part time operations Ownership represents over 170 years combined involvement in the ownership and management of cattle operations Numerous members and/or their families have operated successful ranches and farms for over 40 years In addition, the membership owned and successfully managed the Meadow Springs Ranch for 30 years prior to the sale to the City of Fort Collins Select members also bnng a high level of business and outside expertise to the Association, Association officers are local, accessible and competent Over the past ten years the Association has demonstrated a high level of cooperation with the City and all responsible personnel The Association successfully completed, with the help of the city, a workable and proven cell -grazing program, Pasture rotations, fencing projects and water development are all endeavors the Association and City can be very proud of over the past ten years The rotational grazing approach has been very successful in terms of range improvement Cattle performance has also been enhanced over this time frame The Association has cooperated with numerous ranch tours, workshops and other ranch related activities We look forward to continuing with these programs and on -going ranch improvements Our flexibility was recently demonstrated in the summer of 2000 Working with the City we agreed that drought conditions were severe enough to cut the grazing season from 6 months to 3 months All Association members grazed their cattle only 90 days to ensure the ranch was not harmed The association has employed a full time range specialist and will continue to do so Roy Roath, CSU Range Science Specialist will continue to advise the Association Annual reports of range conditions, improvements and other technical information have been furnished to the City Frequent tours involving both Association and City personal have been conducted to assess ranch conditions, areas of improvement and other areas that need addressed regularly We welcome this continued level of oversight and mutual discussion The Association also employs a full time ranch manager Delbert Taylor has lived on and managed this property for the past 11 years Delbert is hard working, honest, clean living and an excellent care taker for both the Association and the City Natural Fort Grazing has fulfilled all of its financial obligations with out delay over the past ten years The group is financially viable The diversity of the group allows a measure of financial stability not found in a single lessor The ranch serves as a very important part of each members livestock operations and we look forward to continuing this relationship for generations to come Proposed Management Plan Management Team, The management over the past decade has been a shared responsibility between the personnel of the City of Fort Collins and the Natural Fort Grazing Association This mechanism has worked quite well and is proposed as a good process to continue in a renewed lease This allows for coordination of concurrent management activities and establishes a process to reduce the probability of conflicting actions and/or viewpoints relating to the on -the -ground implementation The continued incorporation of a range management specialist as a technical advisor is desired and proposed by the Association. The proposed mechanism for this is a team of representatives of each entity and the range specialist meeting at least four times annually and additionally, as needed. Included in this schedule would be two in -the -field meetings per year, one in the late spring and one in the early fail The other two may be held at venues appropriate to the issues being considered One of these should be midwinter to review upcoming field season activities Since the biosolid applications will begin on an operational scale, increased coordination may be necessary to minimize conflicts The ever-increasing demand on the land base for a variety of activities will also create the need for more consistent coordination Grazing Management A rotational grazing management program has been developed and implemented by the technical advisor in every quarter of the Ranch except the North Lewis pasture The comprehensive monitoring record clearly indicates that the land resources have improved and that the ecosystem is functioning more appropriately than ever It is proposed that the current twice through rotational approach to grazing management be continued The North Lewis pasture needs to have rotation implemented in it Some pasture rotations may need to be modified somewhat to address changes in management conditions, such as biosolid application, or to modify the relative responses of the vegetation to the grazing Annual operating plans are set in the early spring using the previous year's pasture response and addresses needed adjustments in the grazing management The adjustments needed now are adding additional fences in the North Lewis pasture so that an effective rotation can be implemented The Meadow pasture also needs an additional fence to allow for more deferment and recovery in a critical riparian habitat The remaining rotations are working well but must be coordinated between the technical advisor and the livestock manager(s) to sustain the appropriate rotations and produce the desired response. Dependable water is required to maintain the grazing rotations In some pastures there is less than dependable water and this should be an important consideration in reinvestment of the grazing fees received by the City In some pastures, there is also need of additional sources for water Meeting the needs of threatened and/or endangered species or potential candidate species on the Ranch is a concern to the City of Fort Collins and also of the Natural Fort Grazing Association The management team will try to adjust the management program in localities of in manners to meet the needs of these species This has been the approach in the past with a grazed area in the Middle Lewis to meet the needs of mountain plovers The butterfly weed in the Meadow has been an issue of awareness The current management seems to sustain the plants Perhaps the change in livestock density suggested will create an expansion of the population A recent tour for Colorado Division of Wildlife personnel, lead by the technical advisor, identified several northern leopard frogs which are uncommon if not rare Obviously, the current and past management strategies that have fostered increased stream flow and perenniality has favored the reappearance of uncommon species, while also favoring the production of ducks and water loving species These species were virtually absent on a sustained basis, in 1990 Monitoring of the ranch operations is a critical part of the management program The Association proposes that the current monitoring program continue This includes 1) photo records, 2) vegetation trend measured every three years, 3) annual assessment of the Grazing Response Index, 4) semiannual tours of the Ranch and 5) assessment of changes in vegetation community areas The result of the monitoring will be reported annually in writing to the City and the Association, by the range specialist The grazing periods and /or livestock numbers will be adjusted up to 20% based on inspection tours and joint agreement of the Management Team Greater changes may be implemented, as they were in 2000, by majority consent of the Association members and the City of Fort Collins representatives, considering the advice of the range specialist When adjustments of time or numbers occur, a similar proportionate reduction in the lease fee will be made The assessment of the impact of biosolid application is the responsibility of the City of Fort Collins and should be negotiated with a technical specialist in a separate agreement Poisonous Plants The Meadow Spring Ranch has a number of poisonous plants in the native plant communities The plants of greatest concern are loco and larkspur Loco has not been a major issue on the Ranch Livestock losses associated with loco have been minimal Larkspur management is suggested to be primarily an issue of timing of grazing use in a pasture It is clear that the time of maximum livestock exposure to death from larkspur poisoning can be related to a specific period just before the plants bloom. Avoiding a pasture with high larkspur densities during that time is perhaps the best mechanism to avoid livestock losses It does appear that grazing pastures earlier or after that period, especially with relatively high livestock densities, does not constitute extraordinary livestock risk of poisoning. Perhaps, there will in the duration of the lease be new breakthroughs in poisonous plant management The Association would like the opportunity to test these advances in knowledge, should they occur Weeds Invasive weeds are always a concern of land managers The Ranch has several weeds of concern and must be vigilant to monitor the occurrence of new invasive species Dalmatian toadflax is currently increasing in the Ranch Its management is paramount to prevent this plant from dominating areas of the ranch The Association proposes a written plan focused on the management of dalmatian toadflax. The focus of the plan would be mapping of current population, control and management mechanisms, implementation strategies, and agreement as to proportionate responsibilities Other weed issues will be dealt with as appropriate. Outdoor Classroom The Meadow Springs Ranch has, by agreement, been a high profile demonstration and teaching area It has served as a teaching/learning outdoor classroom for several classes from Colorado State University. These classes include Beef Management, Principles of Range Management, and Range Monitoring The Range Management Club has also toured the ranch Several professional groups including the Division of Wildlife, Wyoming Game and Fish, the US Forest Service and several visiting scientists have also been given guided tours of the Ranch highlighting the progressive management and the outstanding responses derived The Ranch has been used as a positive object of comparison in setting management criteria for adjacent land areas The Association proposes that the range specialist continue to coordinate educational use of the Ranch as an outdoor classroom for diverse clientele groups ranging form grade schools to neighboring ranchers It is also proposed that Association members be included in the educational presentations Wildlife - Wildlife management on the Ranch has been one where hunting has been used to place pressure on the big game population The population that generally is of concern is pronghorn antelope Outdoor Buddies organization has been used to reduce the antelope numbers on the Ranch. This mechanism has been both a positive and negative relationship. The disabled hunters have been able to hunt and harvest animals This arrangement has, at times, fostered excessive driving across the Ranch and resource damage. Recent hunts seem to be better managed. The Association proposes continue relationship with the Outdoor Buddies. They do recommend continued negotiation with the group to assure consideration for the Ranch and its resources Elk numbers are increasing in neighboring ranches and are seem more frequently on the Ranch The Association recommends a pro -active plan to manage numbers of elk on the ranch. Waterfowl and other wildlife are increasing found on the Ranch Most of these do not represent hunting opportunities However, predator management is an important issue E to the livestock owners on the Ranch and those immediately adjacent to the Ranch it is proposed that limited management of predators including hunting be included in the Ranch' management structure Special Projects The Ranch is an extraordinary area for demonstration and special projects because that management is a known quantity and intensive monitoring is present The Association welcomes the opportunity to participate in selected special projects They would like to reserve the right to have input on protects selected and would like the opportunity to negotiate to what extent they would be involved in the activities and /or financially Grazing Fees and other Consideration Over the past ten years the Association has demonstrated that it can work effectively with the City of Fort Collins. Flexibility, open communication and a genuine care of the range, wildlife etc have been the benchmarks of this relationship We look forward to continuing this relationship for the next 10 years However, the ranch does not come without its challenges In the future we will have to manage and coordinate around the sludge applications, continued outdoor classrooms, hunting activities, wildlife concerns, water issues to name a few This can become more expensive and time consuming for the Association As such, the Association is proposing a continuation of the existing fee arrangement of $12.50 per AUM per month, for the first 5 years Total of 6600 AUM for the season In addition, the Association will pay up to $2000 per year towards the expenses of the range specialist If the Association and the City agree on the need for any special projects, beyond normal range assessments, the Association will pay up to an additional $1000 per year for those efforts The accrued benefits of good management fall, not only to the Association but also to the city The Association would encourage the City to continue with aggressive water improvements, fence improvements and facilities improvements Ongoing maintenance is essential to the overall success of the ranch. The Association will cooperate in any way to facilitate maintenance and improvements to the buildings, roads, culverts, bridges, fences, tanks, etc Natural Fort Grazing Association, Ltd. Schedule of References Mr. John Worthington 4600 Co Rd 92 Carr, Colo 80612 970-568-9105 Dr Larry Goettsch 206 2nd Ault, Colo 970-834-1313 Rob Price / CPA 37353 US Hwy 85 Eaton, Colo 80615 970-454-3495