- Joined
- Feb 17, 2013
- Messages
- 6,168
Rather than cattle, I was told that the spread of the Ashe juniper berries was more by birds eating them and then pooping the seeds out. A set of notorious culprits (Lee has probably heard of these) are the Black Capped Virio and the Golden Cheek Warbler. These 2 birds make their nests in the junipers and eat the berries. They winter in Mexico and nest anywhere from central Texas up into Oklahoma. After they were declared "endangered species", the clearing of "cedars" from March to June was outlawed in many places because the cutting would "disturb their nests". So the prime time to work at clearing these trees away in Texas - the spring, when it is cooler, was taken away from land management folks.
Also, at least in central Texas, the tree huggers got the Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge started. They feds started buying up ranches and leaving them to "go natural", allowing the weed known as the Ashe juniper free rein to grow where ever it wanted to. They would but a pox on a ranch by basically telling the owner "You can sell to us now, or you can sell to us later, but you can only sell to us. (the feds).
Just another federal land grab - they are up to nearly 72 square miles so far (nearly 46000 acres non-contiguous). The draw back to the feds letting the cedars take over is that almost all other food sources for other birds is vanishing. Very few bugs eat junipers. No bugs to eat, no birds in the area to eat them. Native grasses are crowded out as the junipers are dense enough to block light from reaching any grass, weeds or wildflowers. Fewer seeds, etc = less food for rats/mice/other rodents aka food for foxes, raccoons, skunks/etc. Fewer wildflowers = less sources of pollen and nectar for bees. The junipers are also alleopathic - they put out chemicals that kill other plants. Their shed needles are so thick on the ground nothing would grow anyway. Then the tree huggers started crying about the lack of food diversity and reduced animal diversity. Bunch a dumb shits. It only took them 30 years to figure out what the ranchers told them 30 years before would happen.
No ground plants = no ground plant roots = more erosion = less topsoil. The 800 acre pasture that surrounds my parent old house up on Lake Travis was good grazing grass and wildflowers every where. When the old rancher who was running cattle on it died, the "grandfathering clause" died. Within 10 years, the property was covered with 6 - 8 ft junipers. In 1969, when my parent moved there, the pasture had anywhere from 10 to 15 inches of topsoil except on the hillsides. cliffs and creeks. Now it is down to caliche and juniper needles.
Where did the dirt go? Well, it washed off into Lake Travis. When I first got SCUBA certified in 1975, if the lake was "full" at 681 ft above sea level, I could hit 53 feet of depth directly in front of the lakeside door. The last time I dove the cove, the depth equated to only 42 feet of water had the lake been full. I guarantee the fish in the lake didn't poop that much in 25 years.
The junipers suck up ground water like sponges. It is estimated that each mature Ashe juniper pulls as much as 25 gallons of water per day. There are reports of hill country springs that haven't flowed since the 50s beginning to flow again just because a new owner goes in and clears out the cedars and salt willows.
I hate Ashe junipers and tree huggers.
Also, at least in central Texas, the tree huggers got the Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge started. They feds started buying up ranches and leaving them to "go natural", allowing the weed known as the Ashe juniper free rein to grow where ever it wanted to. They would but a pox on a ranch by basically telling the owner "You can sell to us now, or you can sell to us later, but you can only sell to us. (the feds).
Just another federal land grab - they are up to nearly 72 square miles so far (nearly 46000 acres non-contiguous). The draw back to the feds letting the cedars take over is that almost all other food sources for other birds is vanishing. Very few bugs eat junipers. No bugs to eat, no birds in the area to eat them. Native grasses are crowded out as the junipers are dense enough to block light from reaching any grass, weeds or wildflowers. Fewer seeds, etc = less food for rats/mice/other rodents aka food for foxes, raccoons, skunks/etc. Fewer wildflowers = less sources of pollen and nectar for bees. The junipers are also alleopathic - they put out chemicals that kill other plants. Their shed needles are so thick on the ground nothing would grow anyway. Then the tree huggers started crying about the lack of food diversity and reduced animal diversity. Bunch a dumb shits. It only took them 30 years to figure out what the ranchers told them 30 years before would happen.
No ground plants = no ground plant roots = more erosion = less topsoil. The 800 acre pasture that surrounds my parent old house up on Lake Travis was good grazing grass and wildflowers every where. When the old rancher who was running cattle on it died, the "grandfathering clause" died. Within 10 years, the property was covered with 6 - 8 ft junipers. In 1969, when my parent moved there, the pasture had anywhere from 10 to 15 inches of topsoil except on the hillsides. cliffs and creeks. Now it is down to caliche and juniper needles.
Where did the dirt go? Well, it washed off into Lake Travis. When I first got SCUBA certified in 1975, if the lake was "full" at 681 ft above sea level, I could hit 53 feet of depth directly in front of the lakeside door. The last time I dove the cove, the depth equated to only 42 feet of water had the lake been full. I guarantee the fish in the lake didn't poop that much in 25 years.
The junipers suck up ground water like sponges. It is estimated that each mature Ashe juniper pulls as much as 25 gallons of water per day. There are reports of hill country springs that haven't flowed since the 50s beginning to flow again just because a new owner goes in and clears out the cedars and salt willows.
I hate Ashe junipers and tree huggers.
. Only plus side to letting it heal on its own, in another week or two I should be able to move it a bit more / start running again. 
