USDA-NRCS Wyoming Public Affairs Student Intern - Haley Lockwood: July 11 - July 13 Sommers Stewardship Tour/ SCEP Camp

There have been several chances where I have gone back to Sublette County for work. This has been a true blessing having ability to open my mind to more opinions and facts that are constantly changing what I have thought before. Not only about this area but also my opinions and views. These couple days were spent in the Lander area and in Sublette County where separate events were held. I attended both with several State Office employees, including Astrid Martinez, state conservationist.

SCEP Camp, held every year, was held in Lander, Wyoming. This area has a rich diversity and special needs that many agencies in the area must be aware of. Such things as tribal laws, cultural resources, and land ownership add to the challenges they face. This among other things must be kept in mind when creating any kind of plan for a landowner to improve their operation or habitat for wildlife.

Our first stop, we looked at a fish ladder that connected to an irrigation lateral, canal, and the use of this project for increasing fish population. The system that was put into place is one of the largest and multi-functional systems. It not only filters debris from the lateral but also places fish back into the creek. Increased temperatures through the lateral lead to fish death which became an issue.

Diagonal lateral screen - filters irrigation water from debris and directs fish back to creek.

State and Field office employees catch up while looking over a project in Fremont County.

Heritage was evident as we drove through Ethete, Wyoming.

Brenda Ling, public affairs specialists, and Astrid Martinez, state conservationist listen to a speaker during the tour.

We worked hard to stay on schedule as we traveled across the mountain to the Sommers Stewardship tour in Pinedale. The Sommers family has had a wonderful yet hectic summer with both the conservation and stewardship award that they deserve. We met early on July 12 where they did an introduction for themselves, the ranch, history, and the days events. The tour consisted of every aspect of the ranch from grazing rotations to agency employees they work with throughout the year. Six hours and a very long bus ride later we met for dinner at the Sommers ranch where we had a chance to catch up with people from across the state. Sublette County has had three Stewardship awards given in recent years; a true testament to our ties with the land.

Start of the tour looking down at the ranch.

Pat ..., from the Stockgrowers Land Trust and Albert Sommers

Looking at range conditions on the northern end of the Mesa allotment above the Hennick Draw.

Charles Price

Brenda Ling, public affairs specialist takes in the beauty of the Green River in Sublette County.

Albert Sommers talking about summer grazing allotments in the Upper Green River Valley.

Attendees listen and survey the area as speakers talked about the area and the problems they may face.

To finish the SCEP Tour we traveled east and headed to Farson and Lander. In Farson we met with NRCS employees there to talk about their salinity issues within the soil. The majority of the Eden Valley is comprised of irrigation pivots due to that fact. Flood irrigation makes the salt in the earth rise to the surface and therefore flowing into streams and rivers. The salinity needs to be kept at a minimum from the headwaters down to Mexico because of a treaty the United States has with Mexico. We looked at some areas of interest where they have filters to catch debris and create a better functioning irrigation system.

Map showing irrigation pivots in the area

SCEP Students looking over a filter system put in place to capture debris

Going across South Pass we stopped at South Pass City where we toured the old mining town, now a tourist destination. I have to admit that I have passed South Pass City probably close to a hundred times, and this was the first time I have ever visited this site. This mining town held some of the toughest people who crawled into a dark hole for the day just to find gold. We were shown the process, past and present, of drilling into rock and how to pan for gold. Several of us decided that it looked like a good opportunity to find precious gems that we can't afford regularly like ruby's or even gold. If we are lucky!

Our tour guide showing the process of panning for gold.

In this pan there were several gold flecks.

Our guide gave us the history of the area and gave us a glimpse to how life would have been at that time era. The highlight of this trip was watching a medium sized anvil fly 50-60 feet in the air. There are two anvils, bottom to bottom, with one set into the earth. A good amount of gun powder is set into a hole on the bottom of the anvil set into the ground complete with fuse. The other anvil is set on top, fuse lit, and with everyone out of the way, explodes up in the air with a cannon sound. Why would they do this? As Independence Day would roll around and settlers were traveling across the prairie they would do this to salute the flag since they didn't have a cannon. Needless to say my reaction was priceless and I will never forget it!