Double El Conservation District
Conserving Natural Resources
Co-authored by Retta Brugger, CSU Range Extension Specialist & Julie Elliott, CO NRCS Rangeland Management Specialist How can you make well-informed decisions for summer grazing? We all know that 2020 was a drought year in Colorado. Soils are dry and will need to be refilled. When do we need the moisture for summer grass? How […]
District Conservationist Paul Billig prepared an informational video clip for the Annual Meeting of the Double El Conservation, sharing ways to preserve, protect and assess rangeland health. “Think of the grassland as a checking account at your bank. If you continually take out of it (continuous grazing), you’re going to end up with nothing in […]
Introduction Maintaining healthy dryland small acreage pastures can be challenging in Colorado, but it is a realistic goal. This guide will help pasture managers assess pasture condition and offer suggestions for improvements. Key strategies, such as determining carrying capacity, implementing rotational grazing, using indicator grasses to monitor when to start and stop grazing and keeping […]
Plains prickly pear can be a troublesome plant on rangelands and overgrazed areas. Animals will not graze around cactus and much forage can be lost in a pasture that has a significant amount of prickly pear. Once established, it will continue to spread, particularly if overgrazing occurs. Within a couple years, cactus will be the […]
Thoughts in General The standard answer from NRCS for years has been, “More pastures adds up to better range health.” The size of the place didn’t figure into the answer. Lately, we in the Simla office have been thinking the one answer fits all may not be the best answer for small acreage landowners. […]
Recently a topic of conversation at work was how to reach out to small acreage producers. There are a lot of small acreage producers in our area, but sadly a lot of them are doing nothing to protect or conserve the land they own. Our team includes many small acreage producers, as well as the […]
Recently a topic of conversation at work was how to reach out to small acreage producers. There are a lot of small acreage producers in our area, but sadly a lot of them are doing nothing to protect or conserve the land they own. Our team includes many small acreage producers, as well as the […]
From time to time the question arises is this fence mine and who has responsibility for keeping it up? The following are some recommendations and law from Colorado. (See also: Fences: Can’t Live with “em or Without ‘Em – Part 1). Colorado law provides every property owner with the legal right but no obligation to […]
From time to time the question arises is this fence mine and who has responsibility for keeping it up? The following are some recommendations and law from Colorado. Colorado law provides every property owner with the legal right but no obligation to fence property. The state’s fencing statute dates to the early 1880s and is […]
Native Grasses Prairie Sandreed Soil: Light Sandy Plains Season: Warm Description: Tall with stout rhizomatous roots, sod-forming, drought resistant Switch grass Light Soil: Alkaline, sandy to loam Season: Warm Description: Tall with strong rhizomatous roots. Large amounts of early forage. Becomes tough when mature. Sand Bluestem Soil:Light/Sandy Season: Warm Description: Tall with creeping rhizomes. Differs from Big Bluestem in its roots, […]
