Trespass Grazing

The 2012 grazing season was cut short by the Cascade Creek Fire. Inspections by FOMA in August 2013 has found the fence in the Gotchen meadows area is up and in relatively good condition. However, trespass cattle were observed on the Yakama Nation Mirror Lake area with quick action by YN staff and permittee Kayser to remove those trespass cattle. FOMA’s Jurgen Hess did an inspection of the Gotchen meadows in middle August and observed that the meadows were in very good condition with profuse wildflowers and native grasses coming back into the meadows. The abundance of wildflowers in the meadows is likely due to keeping cows out of the meadows due to vigilance and work of FOMA in cooperation with the GPTF and FS and the permittee. FS employees have told FOMA that its work on protecting the meadows through volunteer monitoring and inspection is making a big difference.