An iconic western industry is helping improve the environmental health of thousands of acres of Douglas County open space.
For the fourth straight summer, hundreds of yearling steers from Franktown-based Welch Brothers Cattle, LLC are roaming south of Larkspur.
Since May, the animals have been putting their bellies to work in a choreographed program of high-intensity, short-duration grazing.
The Welch family — 9-year-old Allie, 12-year-old Tate, mom Kristen and dad Bob — move the herd of 365 between 11 divided Spruce Meadows pastures every 5 to 10 days. The herd will complete two rotations through the 2,190-acre property before being shipped off for slaughter at the end of September. They consume native grasses and noxious weeds during their combined two-week stay in each pasture over the course of the summer. Then the pasture is left to recover until the next May.
The result, officials say, is a healthier meadow with fewer weeds and stronger habit for native wildlife.
“Itap really the best we can do to mimic bison grazing,” Douglas County’ Senior Land Manager and Senior Ranger Scott McEldowney said.
McEldowney, who developed the program, explained that property’s meadows are a “disturbance-driven ecosystem” where large scale fires, floods and millennia of periodic heavy grazing by bison herds shaped native plant species. Disturbances lead to move vigorous plants, and vigorous plants means better habitat for ground-nesting birds, deer, coyotes and other native wildlife, McEldowney said.
“My goal was to create this large disturbance in an economically viable way with an ecologically sound program,” he said.
The Welches first brought a herd to Spruce Meadows in 2012 after winning a 10-year lease from the county in a competitive bid process. McEldowney said early results are encouraging.
A 2007 survey showed the invasive weed yellow toadflax was moderately or severely affecting 100 acres of Spruce Meadows. By 2012 it was on nearly all 2,190 acres. There is far less yellow in the fields the last few summers because the cattle eat almost all of it. Grazing has also lead to a 1.5 percent rise in the soil’s organic matter content, greatly boosting its water retention and further strengthening the ecosystem, McEldowney said.
This year the county expanded the grazing program to the neighboring, 2,120-acre area. That 10-year contract was also won by the Welches who now have about 250 steers there. The program doesn’t cost taxpayers any money, McEldowney said. The Welches pay the county roughly $17.50 per cow monthly for the grazing rights.
Bob Welch said ranching goes back generations in his family. His parents moved to Douglas County from Texas in the 1970s and had several leases for cattle through the years. He said he knows the local grass means big, healthy cattle.
“Just the opportunity to have this much acreage in one was chunk was very appealing, and I knew I wasn’t going to lose it to development,” Welch said. “With all the growth in Douglas County, this great grassland is disappearing.”
Regularly moving the herds between pastures provides ample opportunity for the Welch family to work together, and for young Allie and Tate to practice their already considerable horsemanship skills.
“I think a family grows closer when you work together,” said Welch, who is also editor of American Cowboy magazine. “What Kristen and I and the kids get to do is show a piece of the western culture.”
With the Spruce Meadows Trail winding through the property, the Welches said they frequently run into hikers, mountain bikers and others and talk to them about running cattle. Kristen Welch especially enjoys the education piece. She used to teach agriculture at Douglas County High School.
Education also means a lot to county officials. McEldowney said he has heard of other property owners interested in the benefits of high-intensity, short-duration grazing. Cheryl Matthews, Douglas County’s director of , indicated she feels the program could be a model for environmental management.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for us to demonstrate that this a tool that helps improve the environment,” she said.