A brief moment in time

As I come over the ridge, I see a familiar and spectacular view. The snowcapped Gallatin range, blooming wildflowers, vibrant green grass, and cattle off in the distance. I close my eyes and I feel the cool morning breeze blowing through the aspens. I hear horseshoes on rock and cows calling to their calves. I feel calm yet completely overwhelmed with how beautiful Tom Miner Basin really is. Of course, I already know this, but it’s like falling in love all over again. As I urge my horse forward, I find myself thinking about how much I love working in wild places. I never feel quite so content and at peace than in these moments. My mind wanders into introspection and I wonder “what exactly it was about this place that makes it so special?” What I land on is that being surrounded by raw, uninterrupted nature and sharing the landscape with wildlife that keep you on your toes forces you to remain present in the moment. This presence is what makes range riding so enjoyable, and successful. As I finish my thought and continue my ride, I see cattle lying in the shade, ruminating, happy as clams. All seems well, but I have a subconscious urge to check the back corner of this particular pasture, just in case. I see a cow off by herself standing in the shade. If there is one thing I have learned range riding, it is that cattle standing by themselves is worth checking out. As I approach, I see she has gone into labor and two little feet have begun to emerge. In really no time at all a beautiful new life is born, a true gift to witness. There is a duality in range riding; some days I witness new life, like today. Other times I am the one to find death. In both instances I feel the importance of this work and how understanding animal behavior and the landscape can shed light on what has been happening in the pasture since you were last there. You truly never know what you are going to find out there, and that is the magic of it--if you cannot tell, I am very happy to be back.

New life on the ranch and the view in question

Looking forward to the season ahead

Since I already have a season under my belt, I am looking forward to improving my range riding techniques. As I now know the landscape like the back of my hand, I believe this will help me do a better job knowing where and what to look for. I remember which pastures tend to have more bear sign, where cattle like to bed up in the shade, what to look for is something is out of the ordinary, and where all the gates are (heck, just where to go, period). While, some patterns remain across years, I have begun to see differences between now and last summer. It has been quite warm this year and there was minimal snowpack in the mountains. Last year at this time it was raining almost every single day and grass was never an issue. It will be interesting to see how this heat and lack of precipitation cascades down and affects the landscape, vegetation, wildlife, and cattle. My initial thought is that less vegetation will lead to greater ecological stress, and will thus increase the importance of range riding exponentially as natural food resources are less abundant. Also, since this appears to be a dryer year, cattle may play and even larger role in helping reduce fuel for wildfires and improving range health.

I stressed this last year, but I think it is worth saying again. When ranching in predator country it is essential to have a deep knowledge of the ecological and biological dynamics of the ecosystem. Not just as a producer, but as someone going out into the landscape alone. Having a profound understanding about where and when different species utilize the landscape can make all the difference in deciding how to best manage cattle. For example, it would be unwise to put cattle in a pasture brimming with ripening berry patches in the middle of hyperphagia, or repeatedly distrubing an elks calving grounds in an aspen grove in early summer. We cannot prevent every depredation event, however, if we are willing to pay attention and listen to the landscape, we can do our best to help predators and cattle coexist, while improving range health.

Some finds: birds nest, claw marks on a tree, badger hole, and an elk leg

My time in the basin this year will be relatively short, as I have to return to school mid-August. However, I look forward to continue gathering useful information that can be used for future insightful cattle and range management and reducing conflict with grizzly bears.

-Ellery Vincent

2023 ’24 Range Rider