Page 6
October 18, 2012
Beef Talk
By Kris Ringv, all.
Beef Specialist NDSU Extension Service
BLM
timb
BELLE FOU'RCHE, S.D. - A
BLM timber sale west of Deadwood
near a partially developed subdivi-
sion is going smoothly, according to
the South Dakota Field Office head-
quartered in Belle Fourche.
The Sugarloaf Mountain timber
sale area encompasses scattered pri-
vate land, culturally significant
structures and part of the George S.
Mickleson National Recreation
Trail. The harvest objective is to
remove ponderosa pine trees that
are ird'ested with mountain pine bee-
tle; the tiny insect responsible for
massive tree die-offs in conifer
stands across the west
The BLM operation is part of a
wider eftbrt to thwart the beetle epi-
demic in the Black Hills, the results
of which are increasingly evident by
the growing numbers of dead, rust-
colored trees that stand in contrast
among live pondemsas.
B[:M staffers Biologist Chuck
Berdan and Outdoor Recreation
Plalmer Bitsy Stiller first made the
determination to treat the Sugarloaf
area in 2011. According to Stiller,
,- DI ~a' ;wrea~ ~e appeare~l
to have last' seen timber cutting
activity l0 to 20 years ago,
Subsequent to "the initial inspection,
the BLM determined that timing
was critical to treat the area before
the beetles flew again in the late
sunamer of 2012.
"'In addition to dense stands of
pondd'osa pine there were areas of
pine regeneration under the large
over story, as well as pine within
predominately aspen and birch
stands,"' said Stiller. "'All areas had
groups of green mountain pine bee-
tle hit trees."
Lawrence County crews were
used to inventory and mark the
green infested trees last winter uti-
lizing invasive species funding to
cover the costs. Approximately
2,800 trees were recorded via GPS
and identified for removal.
Due to the stand conditions, the
BLM determined that the removal
of additional live trees would help
reduce stress, open the stands and
inhibit beetle infestation in remain-
ing trees. Spacing and size goals for
the stands were calculated and the
cruise was completed in less than
two geeks using BLM firefighters
from Belle Fourche, Ekalaka and
Camp Crook.
"The timber was offered forpub-
lic sale on June 4, 20127" said
Stiller. "One bid was received and
accepted and the first tree was felled
June 12, 2012."
As of Sept. 21 Neiman Timber
Company fi'om Hulett, Wyo. has cut
harvest going well
A tracked feller-buncher grips a fresh cut tree as it moves it
away from the harvest zone toward a staging area. Later, a skid-
der will move the stacked trees to a location where they will be
de-limbed in preparation for transport. The BLM Sugarloaf
Mountain timber sale objective is to harvest ponderosa pine to
control the spread of mountain pine beetles. (Courtesy Photo)
approximately 80 percent of the 433
acres and removed over 12,000 tons
of timber.
The mountain pine beetle was
originally discovered in the Black
Hills early in the 20th century and
was given the moniker "Black Hills
Beetle." Afterwards, when it was
determined that the insect was-
prevalent across the mountain west
and one of a multitude of similar
tree beetle types, it was given its
present name. High-density tree
stands with trees that are predomi-
nantly the same age with about 8
inch diameter or larger trunks seem
to be the prefen'ed hosts.
Beetles will typically attack in
overwhelming numbers and the tree
will futilely try to defend itself by
over-producing resin. Once a tree
has been infested it's all over. The
best recourse to stop the unwelcome
residents from spreading is to
remove the infected tree for pro-
cessing or at least "chunking" into
two-foot sectiong before the beetles
take flight in late July or early
August. Spraying uninfected trees
and pheromone traps are chemical
options that appear to have met with
some success in other areas.
MuJti-aged stands are less attrac-
tive tO the beetles and therefore one
of the side benefits of ::he Sugarloaf
sale The Black Hills is a combina-
tion of federal, state and private
land; more than 500,000 acres have
been impacted by pine beetles since
1997, according to the Black Hills
Regional Mountain Pine Beetle
Strategy, .dated May 21,2012.
State parks continue to
Through the third quarter of
2012, North Dakota State. Parks
came up just short of a million visi-
tors, but will exceed the million vis- :
itor mark for the fourth consecutive
year by the end of 2012.
Through September, there were
good visitation
999,573 visitors to North Dakota's
state parks, up 13 percent fl'om last
year. A continued mild fall and early
winter could see up to 100,000 more
visitors by the year's end.
North Dakota State Parks have
reduced some services with the end
of the regular camping seasoll, but
the parks, campsites and year round
cabins remain available to the pub-
lic throughout the winter. During
the off-season those phmning a visit
should call the park directly to find
out what is available.
Board accepting township energy impact requests.
The State Land Board encour-
ages townships in oil and gas deveF
opment areas to apply for'grant
funds, available to address trans-
portation improvements on local
roads and infrastructure.
Organized townships that have
experienced impacts as a direct
result ot" oil and gas activity and
traffic are eligible for funds.
Applications will be accepted until
Oct. 31, 2012, by the Energy
Infrastructure and Impact Office,
which operates the grant program
on behalf of the Land Board.
Grant requests lk)l" one-time proj-
ects related to building or improving
physical assets will receive top-pri-
ority consideration. An advisory
committee nmde up of city, county
and other local governmen~ officials
will make recommendations for the
allocation of grant ftmds.
The Land Board, made up of
Gov. Jack Dalrymple, Secretary of
Wayne Stenehjem, State Treasurer
Kelly Schmidt and Superintendent
of Public Instruction Wayne
Sanstead, will award energy impact
grants in December 2012 for this
grant round. Nearly $125 million of
oil and gas development impact
grant funds have been @proved
during the 2011-2013 biennium.
Applicati'ons and additional
information are available on the
North Dakota Energy Impact web
State A1 Jaeger, Attorney General site: www.nd.gov/energyimpact.
/
We are halfway through the fall
semester, so students are busy
learning. The reality of skipping
class or slacking off is starting to
show up for some. For others, the
self-fulfilling rewards of better
understanding how the world
works is becoming evident.
The hallways always have a
question or two, even if the ques-
tions are not about a class assign-
meat. For students today, not
unlike those of yesterday, the chal-
lenge in how to put all the pieces
together remains. However, the
answers are not insurmountable.
Even for those who teach,
keeping up with the ever-tmfold-,
ing scrolls of knowledge is diffi-
cult. A smile is worth producing as
one listens to those who moan and
groan about the complexities of
modern living and the desire to go
back to those "simpler times."
Even those who prod ahead by
challenging students to think and
comprehend outside of their cho-
sen box occasionally ask for the
same.
Ilae tact of the matter is that the
world never will become simpler,
so, by whatever mechanism one
can, one needs to push forward to ,
understand what it is that the
world learned today.
The business of beef always
changes, so understanding beef
from conception to consumption is
multidimensional. Occasionally,
as I travel around, one encounters
sentiments that really wish our
advancements in understanding
about how things work would go
away. Although ,one could sympa-
thize briefly, the reality is that the
pursuit of doing things better is
deeply engrained in all of us. We
want to know the "why" and
"how" of the world. Perhaps
someday all will be known, but for
now, we are not even close.
Even the simple things in life
are not always understood. As fall
arrives and the world around us
ch'ills, we seek warmer places.
Some might say we are like geese
looking for a way out. We start to
hustle a little more and phm ahead,
but somehow, unlike geese, we
muster the strength and desire to
stay put and prepare for seasonal
change and the upcoming winter
weather.
Some may venture to say that
geese are. the smarter component
of our conversation because they
can find their way south without a
map or a smart electronic device.
However, we do know and under-
stand what it takes, to live in this
world and we do seem to adjust.
Even though the path may be
tough, we make the c'ommitment to
forge ahead. While
forging ahead,
we learn to better understand the
world around us and how it works.
Times Inav have 1~ .
but seldom do you find anyone
who wants to reptow old ground.
In other words, if someone has fig-
ured out a better way to do things,
why not adapt and try the new?
Not everything works, but trying is
easier than starting over.
The world of beef re,ally is no
different than the many other liv-
ing systems we try to tmderstand.
We do not know all the retisons,
but as fall arrives, other living
things are looking to hibernate,
depart to wal'mer climates or, as in
the case of a few, adapt and devel-
op specific strategies to survive
I ife is programmed in all that
is around us. The challenge to
understand is not uniquely
assigned to those in classes but to
all of us.
We are chal! aged to better
understand the ', ~gy behind !;r-
ing systems. We are far from fully
understanding all there is to know
about raising beef, so we must be
willing to keep looking and learn-
ing.
Every day, the classroom is the
place to challenge and expand
how it is that we have come this
far in this place we call home. The
tools change every year, and each
class has a new toolbox.
Some would say life really
doesn't change that fast. That
might be true, but don't tell those
who are climbing a mountain.
There is no need to look down,"
only up tO the eventual destina-
tion.
We still do not fully know why
geese go soutff, why bears hiber-
nate or why the trees let go of their
leaves in the fall. We do know that
it is good that we harvested the
wheat, picked the pumpkins and
good that we prepare for the
changing seasons and provide fbr
the living things we are entrusted
with.
Furthermore, it is good that we
helped the poor, spent time with
those who are less fortunate and
shared our prosperity with those
who have less. All this is good, but
it gets better~ When we read, study
andseek to extend our understand-
ing of the world around us, we
ultimately increase our knowl-
edge.
Thus, the process of under-
standing how things work allows
us to better understand how to
make things work better.
May you find all your ear tags.
(Ringwall is a North Dakota
State University Extension Service
livestock specialist and the
Dickinson Research Extension
Center director.)
Farmers Union to open new restaurant
WASHINGTON Founding
Farmers, the greenest restaurant in
Washington D.C will soon have a
new sister restaurant located just
10 blocks away.
The North Dakota Famers
Union (NDFU) and The Farm, the
restaurant management company
behind Founding Farmers,
announce the arrival of Farmers
Fishers Bakers, which will open in
early November in Georgetown at
The Washingtdn Harbour.
"We are so pleased to be open-
ing a Completely new restaurant at
The Washington Harbour in
Georgetown," said Dan Simons,
partner/concept developer,
Founding Farmers/Farmers Fishers
Bakers restaurants; and principal of
Vucurevich Simons Advisory
Group. A recent extensive renova-
tion and upgrade to the waterfront
.lifestyle center at Washington
Harbour includes a brand new
tbundation on the plaza level lor
warmer months, which converts to
an ice rink in the winter months.
Farmers Fishers Bakers will have
prime views of the action from
nearly every seat in the dining
1"OOI11.
The American menu at Farmers
Fishers Bakers offers a selection of
farmer, fisher and baker centric
dishes for lunch, dinner, brunch, as
well as a 'Farmhouse Sushi bar.
Developed by Corporate Executive
Chef Joe Goetze and .Executive
Chef Lisa Marie Frantz, the region-
ally inspired menu is designed for
an 'unstructured.' farmhouse style,
eat-what-you-want-at~your-pace
dining experience, where sharing is
encouraged.
/
Board changes made for North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame
The North Dakota Cowboy Halt
of Fame has two new members of
the board of directors, filling recent
vacancies.
F~:ed Sorenson, White Earth, is a
retired rancher originally from
Ross. Buying his ranch at the age
of 26, Sorenson has been involved
in several community organiza-
tions, boards and commission
through his life. Recently he has
been a trustee for the NDCHF and
served 11 years on the North
Dakota Stockmen's Association
board of directors. Sorenson
replaced Russ Danielson,
Harwood. Danielson is a retired
NDSU agriculture instructor and
served on the NI~ICHF board since
1997.
;Beginning in 1986 through
2003, Steve Tomac, St Anthony,
served in both houses of the state
Legislature. He is a life member of
the Professional Rodeo Cowboy
Association (PRCA) and has been
on the Badlands Circuit Board
from 1987 to 2004. Tomac may be
best remembered as the well-
respected rodeo clown. He was
inducted in to the NDCHF in 2008.
He r~nches near Mandan with his
brother and works at Basin Electric
Power Cooperative, Bismarck.
Tomac assumed the seat vacated by
Ray Morrell. Morrell has served on
the NDCHF board since 1995 and
assumed the role as the organiza-
tion's executive director.
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HELP WANTED
RECYCLING COORDINATOR
The City of Beach will be accepting
applications for a full time Recycling
Coordinator. For an application and job
description please contact City Hall
at 701-872-4103 or email
cityofbeach@midstate.net. The
deadline te submit applications is
Oct. 25th.
You served your country well and faithfully when
:it needed you. Though your tour of duty in the
armed forces is behind you, the opportunity to help
your nation, state and community still exists as an
active member of our American Legion Post.
The Legion functions as a powerful and signifi-
cant force in fostering patriotism and promoting the
values and ideals that have made our country great.
Our Post is in need of active members willing to
join and assist with the numerous programs we con-
duct.
If you are a dues paying member of the Post,
come to out, monthly meetings at 7 p,m. on the sec-
ond Thursday of each month. Meetings are normally
concluded within an hour. If you are not a member
and wish to join, contact Harvey Peterson, Post ad-
jutant, at 872-3716, or Henry Gerving, Post Com-
mander, at 872-4673. We need your support.
