Grubbin’

Burnt Well has teamed up with the Natural Resource Conservation Service on a project to promote wildlife habitat and implement range improvements.  This will be a five-year project, and the first phase is nearly completed.  Part of this project involves grubbing.  “Grubbing” is the highly official and proper term for removing invasive brush, or any plant for that matter, by the root.  Tye has grubbed about 130 acres so far.  By removing these invasive plants, it maximizes the amount of water the nutrient grasses receive, because they don’t have to share it.  These 200 acres will be monitored and cleared yearly to make sure there hasn’t been any new growth.

There are six 3×3 observation cages that will be dispersed around the ranch to monitor the undisturbed grass growth over the next five years, as well as, “resting” 30% of the pastures from grazing.  Stool samples (AKA cow patties) will also be collected, and tiny little ramps are being installed in the water troughs to allow the native birds to reach drinking water.  The drought has had serious and lasting effects on the land in our area, and hopefully the information the NRCS collects will give some direction in recovery.

Below are a few Before and After pictures from the grubbing project: