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OUTDOORS: Summer of splendor
(1 comments; last comment posted October 4, 2007 09:13 am)
Katy Hagelstein, 15, helps a family friend Grady Harris, 4, tie his shoes in the Bond Cabin of the Valles Caldera National Preserve. Harris rode with the Hagelsteins while they pushed cattle through the valles. Photos by Lauren Clifton for the New Mexican
Family lives full-time in the Valles Caldera, working 500 head of cattle
VALLES CALDERA NATIONAL PRESERVE — When Jack Hagelstein, his wife, Pat, and their five children moved into the Bond Cabin in the Valles Caldera National Preserve in June they took their place in history.
It’s been close to 50 years since a family lived and worked full-time on the 88,900-acre preserve located in a collapsed crater in the Jemez Mountains.
This latest program is part of the Valles Caldera National Preserve’s effort to keep a ranch tradition alive amid the bustle of other recreational and scientific activities at the preserve.
Purchased by the federal government in 2000, the Valles Caldera is governed by a board appointed by the president. It’s mission is to open up the area to the public while protecting the natural resources. Congress has also mandated the preserve remain a working ranch and pay for its own operations by 2015.
“We’re a working family up here at the caldera, selected by the Valles Caldera board to come and do this,” said Pat Hagelstein. “It has been an honor to be here.”
Their proposal, one of four submitted, emphasized the use of low-stress cattle management and rotational grazing techniques to keep the land and the cattle healthy.
“They met every criteria to a tee,” said Marie Rodriguez, natural-resource coordinator at the Valles Caldera National Preserve. “The decision (by the selection committee) was unanimous.”
The family spent its days pushing the 500 head of cattle through the grassy valles, chasing mice out of the rustic Bond Cabin and watching elk from the front porch — which sits on the edge of the Valle Grande.
The area is known for its vast grassy meadows and rising domes — and also for its restricted access. The scenery has not distracted the family from the work at hand.
“The first time I went to look at it (the preserve), it was so green. It’s one of the best sceneries I’ve ever seen,” said Sam Hagelstein, 17.
Although it was difficult to be away from friends in Dexter and cut-off from cable television, Sam Hagelstein said it was a good experience to spend so much time working and talking with his family.
There are no hired wranglers or ranch hands in this grazing project. The daily team consists of the Hagelstein family. But there were also scientists and a steady flow of curious volunteers interested in the program.
Additional support came from Guy Glosson of Jayton, Texas, who assisted with low-stress animal handling and Lee Johnson, a range rider from Santa Fe who participated for a period of time to learn about livestock management.
For Jack Hagelstein’s ranch in Dexter, he has worked closely with the Quivira Coalition, a group that promotes sustainable ranch management. The support of the coalition was also included in the preserve’s grazing project. Craig Conley, associate director, assessed the grazing habits of the cattle and their impact to the grasslands.
The original grazing proposal had included low-stress management workshops and a program that invites ranchers to ride, watch and ask questions about herding techniques. The educational component was canceled after Glosson was thrown from his horse mid-summer.
The Hagelstein children, Josh, 21, Sam, 17, Katy, 15, Jacqueline, 13, and Will, 12, have been instrumental in the team effort said Pat Hagelstein. “This is a family thing. It’s a family affair. We’re all up here and each of us do our part.
“The children have been especially involved because they understand what we do. They’ve grown up with herding. … It’s second nature to them.”
It was the ecological and economic approach proposed by the Hagelsteins that made them a strong candidate for the 2007 livestock program.
Using rotational grazing techniques, the cattle stay together, moving as a single unit. The herd spends a short amount of time in one area and is quickly moved into another area.
“It gives the land more time to rest,” said Jack Hagelstein, who has used these techniques on the family’s Comanche Hill Ranch in Dexter.
“We’ve gone into most of the main pastures for a few days, and no one has seen any significant damage to the property. They have seen some disruption that will help the grass to grow better.”
Hagelstein explained that everything needs rest: people, cattle and land.
“I remember the story of the goose that laid the golden egg and the king who killed it,” he said. “The cattle are the egg and the land is the golden goose. When you lose it, you lose everything. You can replace the cattle but you can’t replace the land.”
Rodriguez said the main difference between this year’s project and previous projects/programs is that the Hagelsteins — not the preserve — were responsible for all of the operating costs.
The preserve has lost money on cattle grazing for the past three years. In 2005, for instance, the operating costs for the grazing program were $148,000 and the revenue was $39,654, according to an annual report.
In 2007, the new program will turn a profit.
With only one contractor to oversee and manage, Rodriguez said, “This year’s program required less administrative and overhead costs than in previous years.”
As for next year, the Hagelstein family is already preparing for next year’s proposal, considering changes, and reflecting on this past season.
Inspired by time spent with the cattle in the Valle Grande, Jack Hagelstein is planning more public outreach — from his horse.
“We’d look up at Highway 4 and there’d be people at every one of the areas with their binoculars and telescopes looking down at us, he said. “What would have really been nice is if we had ridden up there and visited with them. If we do it next year, we’ll make sure that we do.”
Pat Hagelstein said her family has learned a lot by their interactions with the preserve’s staff, volunteers and interested visitors.
Added son Sam, “Dad worked hard to do this. His heart was set on it. This proves when you have your heart set on something you can be successful.”
Pat Hagelstein, an education diagnostician in the Dexter Public School System, and most of the children returned to Dexter in August for school. Jack Hagelstein and his eldest son Josh, 21, are managing the remaining livestock until they are shipped off the Valles Caldera to auction by the end of this week.
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