Forage and fire
Guest post by student Tucker Cribb -
The forage section run by Dr. Agurre started out with a surprising bang. While collecting forage samples, I noticed a very odd-looking stick poking up from below the hill I was standing on. After investigating further, I discovered a large elk antler shed. I had hoped that I would find one while out here, however, I really did not think I would actually find one. That shed will make for an excellent keepsake to remember this trip by. Besides the elk shed, I was incredibly interested in what Dr. Agurre had in store for us. I really hadn’t given the science of forage much thought during my time in school. I was captivated by what Dr. Agurre taught us, especially the sections on macronutrients and why cows select certain forage over others. My interest in forage was also assisted by how great of a professor Dr. Agurre is. He is one of the funniest individuals I have ever met. He also just radiated passion about the science of the cattle industry, and it was contagious. I do have to say the fieldwork for forage collection was a bit tedious, however, it did teach me things and give me an excuse to hike and look for more sheds. At the end of his section, I was very sad to see Dr. Agurre leave. I am truly grateful for the time he spent with us and I am grateful for how much he taught us.
The next section for this course was about fire and how fire affects the prairie and ponderosa pine ecosystems. I was very excited about this section because ever since I learned about the good that prescribed fire can do for forest ecosystems, I have been fascinated by the subject. I was also excited about this section because of the professor that taught it. Dr. Hagan may very well be the best professor that I have ever had throughout my entire schooling career. I had him for my forestry-based classes my sophomore year and he left a lasting impact. Needless to say, I am very happy to have him as an instructor again. The majority of this section was based in the field. We worked hard on data collection and covered a lot of ground. The fieldwork became very tedious; however, it was spaced out by fascinating lessons by Dr. Hagan. We looked at a few tree stumps and counted the rings on them. We discovered that one stump sprouted around the same year the Battle of Little Bighorn took place. We also looked at some trees that had fire scars and dated them back to when the fire occurred. One very cool thing that happened was that two members of the Montana DNRC came to speak to us about wildfires in the area. We rode around the property and the DNRC guys talked about the “Wildcat” fire that swept through the ranch a few years ago. Both men worked that fire and were able to provide some fascinating details on it and fire management in general. One of the guys was also an avid hunter, like me, so we chatted a lot about that. Just before writing this post, we went to Lewistown and visited the American Prairie Reserve visitor center. The center was an incredible place that informed us more about APR and it was also entertaining. I made sure to stop by the gift shop and now I will be wearing APR-branded everything.
The past week has been a truly incredible experience. I learned so much about things that I never could have thought that I would be interested in. I feel like a more well-around individual after learning about forage and fire. I could learn about wildlife all day; however, it is very nice to break out of my shell and learn about other topics. I am thankful for the time that Dr. Agurre and Dr. Hagan gave to us. I look forward to the last section of the course and I am sad that it is coming to as close.
