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Diablo Trust Finds Alternatives Through Collaboration
by Norm Lowe, Diablo Trust President
Flagstaff Tea Party
December 2001
Eight years ago an unlikely assemblage of several dozen Northern Arizonans, including some ranchers and enviros rearing to fight, met in a Flagstaff conference room to confront land issues including grazing, wildlife, water, trees and recreation. It was agreed that something was very wrong with our current system which increases tension between parties and doesn't produce the desired healthy land resource conditions which we all want. Through a process of effective facilitation it was decided to form a group to use a collaborative process.
Retired Arizona Game and Fish Regional Director Tom Britt says he agreed to participate because, "Diablo Trust affords a unique opportunity to deal with wildlife issues on a collaborative, landscape scale — a welcome departure from the micro/independent [management] approach of the past."
"My experience with the Diablo Trust has convinced me that family ranching is the best hope for the rangeland of the Southwest," says Norm Wallen, former Flagstaff City Councilman and Sierra Club activist. "If they are driven out, I believe much of this land, which I love, will be either allowed to deteriorate through erosion and other symptoms of death, or turned into senseless subdivisions."
NAU Conservationist Biologist Tom Sisk adds, "My cooperative efforts with Diablo Trust, on long-term research focusing on the effects of grazing, have demonstrated to me the Trust's interest in science, and it's willingness to adapt land management in the face of new information."
Just what is the Diablo Trust? Based on 426,000 acres of private, state, and Forest Service land, located between Mormon Lake and Winslow (southeast of Flagstaff), the Diablo Trust is a collaborative land management team. Initiated in 1993 by the Metzgers of the Flying M Ranch and Prossers of the Bar T Bar Ranch, the Trust strives to keep the land in open space, while undertaking projects to benefit the land's watershed and wildlife.
The Trust is a dynamic collaborative which provides a forum for members of the community (local, regional, national) to actively participate in the land stewardship process. The term "Diablo" comes from Diablo Canyon that runs between the two ranches. "Trust" represents the bedrock effort of this group in sharing honest views to find creative and common-sense solutions to land management issues.
Since 1993 the Diablo Trust has held monthly meetings attended by an inclusive group of environmentalists, state and federal range and wildlife scientists, ranchers, artists, college faculty and students, recreationists, and other people who care for the land. At these meetings, we hear educational presentations and work on projects. Some projects include:
Restoration of several thousand acres of watershed - through removal of heavy invasive juniper - to improve forage and wildlife habitat conditions.
Replacement of old fence with fence that antelope can get under.Development of a comprehensive management plan which is unique in its inclusive management of all forest, state and private lands, and inclusion of six vegetative management zones. [The Forest Service portion is still under NEPA review.]A comprehensive survey of riparian areas and their condition, to guide wetlands management.NAU and Prescott College long-term studies to see the effects of different grazing methods, as well as rest, on different soils, vegetation, and animals.An indoor-outdoor classroom environmental education field trip, for over 200 area students, plus a three-part educational video series to encapsulate the field trip and ecological concepts - for use by schools (grades 6-12) and area service clubs.A map data base for the land - showing land ownership, topography, water and roads.An art exhibition ("Reflections on the Land) produced by the participation of over 50 artists.
People participate in the Trust for different reasons. For me the Diablo Trust is a way of looking at the bigger picture in understanding Flagstaff's environmental issues. I feel we can best protect healthy, unfragmented landscapes through working together, because nature is just too complex and our problems are just too big to expect a reductionist approach to get balanced results on the land through competing focus groups.
I invite anyone is interested in this land to participate in the Diablo Trust. Everyone's opinion matters! We have accomplished many things, but want to do even more. For example, in cooperation with the Hopi ranch to the north, we hope to restore several historic springs. We are in the middle antelope herd research, as well as designing and implementing projects to increase their viability. We are involved in long-term rangeland monitoring studies, designed to give feedback to guide future management. We are working on our second art show, Reflections on the Land 2002. We have lots of ideas and energy. Please come join us!
Diablo Trust Acts on Anderson Mesa Antelope Issues.
Readers of the local papers are aware of the plight of pronghorn antelope on Anderson Mesa. Historically the antelope population on the mesa has changed from high numbers before settlement, which then declined in the early 1900's, then increased between 1930 and 1950 with a high of 2300 animals, then slowly declined until the devastating winter of 1967-8 which reduced numbers to 153 animals. A slow recovery through 1990 built the population back up to around 1200 animals; since then a decline has brought the present number back down to about 500 animals.
A key concern now is that only about 20% of fawns are surviving each year when at least 35% survival is needed to sustain herd numbers. Though the Arizona Game and Fish has not been able to identify a sure cause of the population decline, identified impacts include: impeded movement from fenced highways, some pasture fences and pinyon-juniper tree encroachment; predation from coyotes; changes in forage quality and hiding cover from tree encroachment and cattle and elk grazing; increased numbers of elk; and increased herd disturbance from greater recreational activity, more roads, and some land subdivision. Game and Fish has initiated several research projects to study nutrition and disease.
The Diablo Trust began actively addressing the issue six years ago when the group began writing its comprehensive management plan for the Trust's 426,000 federal, state and privately owned acres. With lots of participation we hammered out the details of the document at monthly meetings attended by Game and Fish and Forest Service employees, ranchers, and environmentalists.
We believe this comprehensive approach is required to effectively deal with antelope problems, as the herds spend as much time on state and private lands as they do on public lands. Livestock grazing is controlled so that cattle herds graze short periods on pastures to allow full vegetative regrowth. Grazing of livestock and elk will continue to be actively monitored to adjust management as needed to benefit antelope.
To restore a mosaic of grasslands and open up dense juniper stands, 63,000 acres of vegetation manipulation is planned; over 3,000 acres have recently been treated on private lands. Fire will continue to be used to maintain many of the grasslands. Over 45,000 acres of restoration is proposed on federal lands. Since the 1980's, many miles of fencing have been modified to accommodate antelope need for movement and migration, and additional work occurs every year. Several dozen critical watering locations have been improved or are slated for improvement. Key roads will be maintained while many wildcat roads may be closed or erased. Recreation sites are being monitored, and off-road driving documented. Diablo Trust is actively involved with the Arizona Game and Fish in their current process of writing a comprehensive antelope plan.
The Anderson Mesa antelope need help now. The collaborative process used by the diverse makeup of Diablo Trust participants is part of a new environmentalism aimed at preventing land fragmentation and actually producing clean water, stable soils and healthy habitat. Anyone interested in the Anderson Mesa antelope is welcome to participate with Diablo Trust in producing creative solutions.
Learning from the land and sharing our knowledge...
So there will always be a West.