Field Day

[Brandon Martin]

On Thursday June 18 me and Dr. Kross evaluated two properties in Northern Weld County near the town of Grover, CO. The properties combined has a total of approximately 1100 acres that we photographed. Access to the properties was limited so we had to drive an ATV in order to take photographs from every corner. The weather recently has been very rainy as everyone probably has noticed and the land is very green. After speaking with a few ranchers in the local area, they are saying the crops (winter wheat, and summer fallow) is looking the best that is has been in 10 years. All of the pastures are very green, and there is a wide variety of vegetation that is blooming. An interesting task I must perform is to identify flowers, grass, weeds, and any type of vegetation I come across. I use a book primarily for all the different types. However, there was a white flower that is blossoming at a high rate that was not in my identifcation book. In order to identify it, i had to call FSA (Farm Service Agency) in Greeley and they told me due to the rain that this white flower was a White Prairie Primrose that only blossoms once every two years which I found interesting.

This photo just posted is an example of what type of photo that must be included in the Baseline Inventory Report.

The first property was full of pasture for cattle grazing, and some oil heads that had been there previously for the past 30 years. The oil heads were gone but the remains of the cement pads and other items used still remain. I will provide a photo of this in my next blog. Additionally we evaluate any signs of wildlife, and animals such as Antelope and Jack Rabbits are everywhere.

This is a photo of a buck Antelope which was very common in this area.

All of the information I gather in the field is very important because it provides a graphical description of the land and adds conservation value to it. I will have more information on other items of I identified in my next blog post after I got over everything.