Reading the Range a labor of love

Cassie Lyman bent down to gently move plant leaves overshadowing the ground. “See, here’s a filaree sprout,” she said as she uncovered two tiny sprouts. Lyman made a note on her computer tablet as she marked every plant and blade of grass growing in a foot-wide PVC pipe box. Her fingertips brushed the tip of the filaree, with exquisite tenderness. One of the most prized forage crops for cattle, filaree has signaled healthy rangeland for a century. Filaree and other range forage have helped to sustain the Lymans even through a fierce drought. No wonder she loves it. Nearby, her husband, Jared, exhaustively documented the plants in his square-foot sample of rangeland. Down the slope, Ashley Hall, a University of Arizona Extension area assistant agent in agriculture and natural resources and Dustin Curly, a seasonal range specialist, had their own tablets and PVC pipe contraptions. “We have four rows of 50 measurements each,” said Cassie, with each sample about “two big steps” down the slope from the last one. The three adults and the Lyman’s oldest son collected the data, while the three youngest boys chased horny toads, lizards and grasshoppers. “I’m going to bring them home,” said Haskin, as he carefully placed two lizards in a plastic bottle. His brothers crowded around to see the catch...Turns out, cows don’t necessarily know how to thrive on the Arizona range. “You have to show them where water is and move them to better pasture land,” said Cassie.So, how does a rancher successfully navigate the challenges? “Range management ... is a very dynamic process,” said Hall. “I remember several of my professors at the U of A saying rangeland management is both an art and science. Everything’s connected — wildlife, precipitation, topography, soils, grazing by domesticated animals, vegetation, natural or even altered fire regimes, temperature.”The drought threw ranchers a wicked curve ball...MORE