Audio
Ferron Leavitt | Oral History
Transcript
MH: [Ferron] retired a couple of years ago. He was born and [grew up] in Santa Clara [Washington County, Utah] near the [Arizona] Strip. [Did] you leave Santa Clara to [attend] school at Utah State University [Logan, Cache County, Utah]?
FL: Yes.
MH: Did you graduate in range management?
FL: [I graduated in] range management in 1967.
MH: Where was your first job with the BLM [Bureau of Land Management]?
FL: I worked in Riverside County, California [and] San Diego [California].
MH: How long were you there?
FL: [I was there] about seven years.
MH: Where did you move [to]?
FL: I moved back to the [Arizona] Strip. I had worked [as a] temporary here for Tom Jenson who was an area manager. He called and asked me if I would come back and work with him. He and Garth Colton, who was the district manager at the time, brought me back and I was glad to [be] here! [Laughter]
MH: [Laughter] I bet you were glad to get back home! Initially, were you over on the east side of the [Arizona] Strip?
FL: I worked in the Vermillion Resource Area which is the eastern half of the field office. I worked as a range conservationist for three or four years. Then I became the area manager over there.
MH: When did you come back over to this end of the [Arizona] Strip?
FL: It was probably about 1995 or 1994.
MH: From the mid-1990s to the time you retired, were there a lot of changes in the way the [Arizona] Strip was administered?
FL: Yes, there were. There were a lot more people and we [were] involved in a lot of planning and multiple-use [programs]. In the past, [we] had been [involved] mostly [in] grazing. That was the big [program] when I first came to work. It evolved into a lot of other activities such as uranium mining, especially over on the east side. I was quite involved when they were doing a lot of exploration out there [and in the] recreation and the wilderness areas. Before I retired, they had [set aside] a couple of monuments. It [has] changed a lot and [very] fast through the years.
MH: When were the wilderness areas — Mt. Logan, the Piute Wilderness Area, [and] Grand Wash Wilderness Area established?
FL: That was while I was area manager over there. It was kind of unique that the [Arizona] Strip was deeply involved. We had a lot of controversy and were arguing and fighting with everybody. Then we got a few people together, not just the BLM but wilderness advocates, the ranchers and the miners. That came about because a coalition was formed. Because of the uranium mining, they wanted to know where they could explore and where they couldn’t because we had wilderness study areas. This coalition group came together. It was mainly led by a [man] named [Russell D.] “Russ” Butcher. He was a wilderness [man] but he was willing to work with us, the miners and the ranchers. That is [how] this came about. It was all negotiated and agreed to [by] not following the regular wilderness routes. These areas [were] where there was a lot of exploration [and] we were able to get a lot of those areas out of the designation. So it went [very] smoothly and we ended up with about, as I recall, ten or twelve wilderness areas across the [Arizona] Strip. We had very little controversy.
MH: That is interesting. On the Arizona Strip things seem to, as far as the administration goes, move more smoothly than [in] other areas in Utah, specifically the Grand Staircase-[Escalante National Monument]. Why is that? Why is it that the Arizona Strip seems to be able to deal with the controversy? They have their differences of opinion, but they seem to come to consensus at some point. It is sort of refreshing from what you see in most of the public land management issues.
FL: I have heard that a lot. Actually, I guess I have seen it and think that is really true. We were able to go through the planning system without a lot of the controversy. When I was area manager, we had the grazing environmental statements and the grazing decisions but we worked [very] hard to maintain and work with the livestock permittees [individuals allowed to use the land for grazing] and the miners. We tried to keep a relationship where we could work and negotiate with them, not necessarily to give up but to negotiate. With the livestock permittees, as I recall, we had about 120 [or] 130 decisions that we issued.
On the Vermillion [Resource Area] we only had five protests [and] we resolved all five. We had no appeals. We worked [very] hard when we were writing allotment management plans to work closely with the permittees, trying to get their input as best we could. We made grazing reductions. We cut numbers. We worked closely with them, especially the range people, and made sure they knew the allotments with the permittee. They traveled out on the ground with them and they would come in and some would be pretty mad. [Laughter] Several times the permittees would walk out. Then they would come back and we would sit down and talk some more. We tried to work things out and keep an open relationship. I think it carried through when the uranium exploration [started]. We did hundreds of plans of operation with them. We spent a lot of time with them and tried to work problems out if there was any way we could.
MH: On a philosophical note, I [want] you to comment on this: do you think the fact that a lot of the people working on the [Arizona] Strip for the BLM had grown up knowing the [Arizona] Strip prior to going to work for the BLM and they had common interest, understanding and appreciation of the [Arizona] Strip with the permittees and because of that were they able to sit down and go over controversial issues? Do you think [their previous experiences] had anything to do with it?
FL: Absolutely. Plus many of us, I think, were raised on ranches. The range people, Bob Sandberg and some of these [men who] are still here, we understood what they were going through and what they needed. I was raised on a ranch and felt like I could talk with them on that level. I think it made a lot of difference. Plus, when we come to the [Arizona] Strip we don’t want to leave. We [had] our careers here and we intend to stay for the long run. We want to make relationships work.
MH: Throughout Utah, Nevada, and Arizona the [Arizona] Strip is one area where they do seem to get things hammered out at one point and another. While we are talking about differences of opinion, what were some of the notable [situations] you had to deal with? [What were] some of the funny outcomes [for] some of the permittees?
FL: I would have to think about that for awhile. The individuals out on the [Arizona] Strip are very strong in their feelings. They have a love for the area, but they are very adamant about protecting their interest. [When] you [go] out in that area, some of the [people, like the] Bundys, have been there so long [that] they felt like it was their land, essentially. They were taking care of it and they didn’t need [the] BLM. We were in the way. They were doing fine and [the] land was being protected. To some extent, that was true. They really did have a love for the land. Occasionally, we would get a new livestock permittee [who would] come in [and] that wasn’t situation.
I remember one incident [that happened] in Kanab Creek which was designated as a primitive area at the time, I think. A permittee wanted to build a road down into it so his livestock could get in. There was a spring [in that area]. We couldn’t allow him to [build the road] because it would have disturbed too much [of the] area. What he did to get around us, he went down and filed a mining claim. Then he built a road down into his mining claim. Of course, we challenged that [action]. It was not valid and he ended up having to come back and restore the road. We had to threaten to cancel his grazing permit. Sometimes we had to use a [fairly] strong arm in those situations. Whenever possible, we tried to negotiate [with] them.
On the [Arizona] Strip there are lots of fences [and] water developments that had to be put in because it is a water basin and there is not much water out there. Sometimes, in the wilderness study areas, we weren’t able to do some of those things. We had some knockdown, dragout fights trying to make it so they could run their ranch but yet not have an impact on the study areas or the wilderness areas. We had to reduce numbers because of some of those [situations]. Sometimes we couldn’t put fencing in. But, all in all, eventually they would come around and realize that it was a bigger picture than just what they wanted.
Some of our biggest concerns and problems were probably over on the Paria Plateau. Are you familiar with that?
MH: Yes.
FL: [It is] a very unique area. I just love it. There were some of the real old timers who went out there, the Bowmans, the Richs and A. P. Sanders, [who] plain didn’t like us. It was so remote and sandy. The only way to get around a lot of that country was on a horse. When we [went] in there and tried to work some [situations] out and put management plans [in], it was in [a] primitive and study wilderness area. We made some [fairly] significant changes up there. Some of [the ranchers] ended up selling out and combining rather than having to [submit to] some of [our] plans. As far [as being] unique, it has probably been done in thousands of places across BLM.
MH: What about good and bad years? There had to have been years when there was drought and you were in the untenable position of having to say, “Look, we have to cut [the] number [of cattle] back.” [The land] was just not there to support them.
FL: We went through that. A lot of the permittees recognized [the situation] and cut back their [herd] numbers. We tried to give them [the] opportunity to do it [and] worked with them as best we could. There were a few ranchers [who] didn’t want to reduce down as far as [was] necessary, I understood that. When they did [reduce their herds it] was hard to get back in business. You can’t sell a cow-calf operation down to almost nothing and then, when the drought is over,
automatically build it back up. You would have to go buy a whole new herd. [The] cattle had been running in that area for years. They knew the area and you cannot replace that. But there were a few [times when] we had to make those reductions and we did. We worked with them as best we could to get the numbers down by their own accord, when it was best for them, before the auction prices [went] to hell. They lost. It really hurt a lot of the permittees. But by the same token, those [who] didn’t [reduce their herds] we had to force off [the land and] it took the ranges a lot longer to come back.
MH: Where did most of the permittees market their cows? Did they haul them off the [Arizona] Strip? Did buyers come in and buy [the cows] on the spot? Did they run their bulls with their cows year round or did they separate them out?
FL: As far as selling [cattle], the biggest auction is in Cedar City [Iron County, Utah]. Another one [is] in Salina [Sevier County, Utah]. That is where most of them [take their cattle]. There were a few of the bigger, more progressives ranchers [who] would bring the buyers in and [sell] them out on the [Arizona] Strip or buy them on futures. What was your last question?
MH: I wondered how they got [their cattle] to market. Did they go to market year round or did they go for a spring calf crop?
FL: Most of them did go with the spring calf crops. Another [reason] that made it hard to adjust [herd] numbers was the cow-calf operations. It is [such a] remote [area] that most of the operations are year long. It made it much harder to manage those areas because the livestock were out on each allotment year-round. I would say most of them, when I first [arrived] here, [had] just one pasture [and] cows [were] out there [all] year long. They would run their bulls with them. They would have calves throughout the year. [That was] not the best of operations.
It was beginning to change [fairly] fast about the time I [came]. BLM was in the process of trying to divide allotments up into pasture so we could rotate. We had been building a lot of waters [ponds], pipelines [and] reservoirs so that we could make it possible to rotate [pastures] within allotments. There were a few community allotments. It is [very] hard to get everybody to think the same way and to run their bulls and operations the same way. That was one of the reasons early on that the [Arizona] Strip was divided up into individual allotments or family allotments, as much as possible. We tried to keep [it] that [way]. There were some advantages for management and for the permittees. That was one of the reasons that we started writing allotment management plans so we could implement grazing systems to protect the land [and the ranchers] didn’t run on [the same] piece of ground year-round.
MH: What were the major breeds of cattle out there? Has that changed [during] your time?
FL: Early on most of [the herds] were Herefords. I would say that [breed] would probably be [in] the minority now. There are so many breeds out there. The Herefords were bred through the years for this kind of rough country. They did well out there [but] other breeds that have come in, Charolais and Angus. Now there are a few ranchers [who] have gone [with] Longhorn [cattle].
MH: [Joseph T.] “Joe” Atkin [inaudible].
FL: Yes, “Joe” is one of them. They had their own herd. There were two or three other [ranchers].
MH: He [”Joe”] spoke highly of those [breeds] in terms of birth weight [of] calves and [the] ease of calving.
FL: Yes, there are some advantages. They are beautiful animals but it is expensive to get [a herd of] those [cattle], too. Even the Atkins kept their base herd mostly Herefords, but they have such big allotments and such a big area that they had a separate herd and a separate area for running their Longhorns.
MH: Were you here when the [National] Park [Service] closed down the Lake Mead [National] Recreation Area aspect of grazing and started to phase that out? If you were, were there any problems with that?
FL: I was [here] at the tail-end of [that situation]. The biggest problem was fencing a lot [the area]. Then we had to reduce the number [of allotments] back down. It took a long time to get some of those areas fenced. The boundaries, especially over on [the] east side around June Tank [Heaton Knolls] and some of [the area] where Ward Heaton’s big outfit, ran into the park. In order to make that work, the Heatons out of Alton [Kane County], Utah (you may be familiar with them) had a couple of allotments and they bought another one from The Church [of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints] at Twin Tanks to make up for [what] they lost [in the Lake Mead] area. It took us a few years to get an allotment management plan implemented [with] them. We changed the season of use for them completely. The reason it took a little longer is because they had to go up to Alton in their summer country and do a lot of reseeding. They modernized their operation and took their cattle up there in the summer so that we only had [their cattle] in the winter [on] some of [the] allotments [on the Arizona Strip]. [This] helped a lot. That was how they overcame losing part of [their] area in the park [Lake Mead National Recreation Area].
MH: It would have been during your tenure that Tony Heaton developed the Bar 10 [Ranch] down [in] Whitmore [Canyon]. That is about the only commercial operation on the [Grand Canyon-Parashaunt National] Monument and the [Arizona] Strip right now, isn’t it?
FL: It is as far as having allotments and running [cattle]. There is another [rancher by the name of] Mel Heaton. I don’t know if you have heard of Mel Heaton.
MH: I know Mel, [he is] out of Moccasin [Arizona].
FL: He runs horse trips and wagon trips out on the [Arizona] Strip. His [operation] is still commercial out there. [He] works with the ranchers [and] goes on some of their cattle drives. Yes, those [are the only] two. The Bar 10 [Ranch] is a little more unique because they have private land down there that [is] used in conjunction with the BLM lands for grazing.
MH: How did the BLM react to Tony building the lodge down there and bringing guests into stay at the lodge?
FL: I think BLM was fine with it. Tony had a lot of allotments up on Mt. Trumbull and [some others] scattered around. He gave up parts of those [allotments] and concentrated down in Whitmore [Canyon] and exchanged some lands [with the] BLM. I thought it worked out well. A lot of his operation does not affect [the] BLM. Some of their four-wheeler trips, I think, do. As far as flying people into his airstrip and taking them down the [Colorado] River and bringing them out, I thought it was quite compatible.
MH: What about mining? The only mining in recent history would have been the [Hack Canyon] Uranium Mine out by Hack’s Canyon. Was there any other prospecting activity down around [the] Grand Gulch or Copper Mountain [Mines]? [Was there] anything like that going on when you were here?
FL: Yes. I dealt mostly with the east side [of the Arizona Strip] and that was where most of [the mining occurred]. Most of [the] exploration [was around] Kanab Creek on both sides of it. There was some down [mining] towards Parashaunt Canyon. They were doing quite a bit of exploration over on this side as well. But it didn’t seem like it led to anything. We had a few mine shafts where they actually were mining ore over on us. They drilled down in Hack’s Canyon in order to protect some of [those] areas a little bit. They tunneled in on a couple of them. But most of them were [inaudible] pipes and they didn’t disturb a large area. Most of [the] mines involved forty [or] eighty acres and were narrow shafts where the [inaudible] pipe would go down. The big [problems] were roads and trails [needed] for their exploration. [That] was where most of the disturbance [occurred]. Getting [the roads] reclaimed was one of our big projects. It was kind of fun because there was a lot of excitement. We had a [very] hard time keeping up with it because it was [happening] so fast and furious there for a few years.
MH: What about logging? Was there any logging going on around the [Mt.] Trumbull area when you were here?
FL: Not really. When I first [came] here we had just barely [obtained] that land from the Kaibab Forest [in Arizona]. It was shortly after that I became manager out there. We didn’t want to push [the situation]. There had been logging in the past but not a lot. We saw [the area] more as [being] recreation oriented. We really didn’t sell timber much, very little, until recent years when [we started] thinning [the forest]. The big project, RCA [Resource Conservation Area], out there now where they are doing a lot of thinning and opening up the stands. Early on, when I was there we were looking at it differently.
MH: Did you have any major fires while you were here?
FL: Yes, there were several but I don’t remember the years. I remember down in Pacoon where huge fires [occurred]. They didn’t do much damage except it did convert a lot of the perennial [grasses] to annual so it perpetuated itself. I remember 40,000 [to] 50,000-acre fires down in [that area]. It was an incredible area that [the fires] would cover. [The fires] would do it in just a matter of a few days because there were so much flash fuels. The biggest [fire that] had [any] impact would have been out [at] Mt. Trumbull. We had a fire go through there. We thought we had lost our lodge. There was so much smoke when they flew [over] it. It was up in the timber. We couldn’t see, so we figured we had lost [the lodge] but it burned up right around the edge. We managed to save the old cabins [that we use when] we stay out there. Later on, we had an electrical short and [the lodge] burned down anyway! [Laughter]
But the big fires were mostly over on the west side. When I moved over [as] chief [of] operations I was over the fire program. We did have some [fairly] good fires down [there]. That was one of the reasons we talked about finding a way to have some equipment and a place down there in the Pacoon [area] so we could have somebody stationed there. It is a [fairly] miserable place most of the year down there, especially [during] the summer. Plus, getting equipment in there would take so long.
MH: What was the best part of your job while you were here?
FL: There were a lot of good parts. The best parts are the days you [go] to the field. Any day you went to the field was a good day! A lot of [time] was [spent] getting to meet and know the people on the [Arizona] Strip, the permittees, the miners, the people in the cities, the mayors, working with cities [like] Fredonia [Arizona] and working with the [United States] Forest Service on a lot of projects.
MH: What was the worst part of the job?
FL: [Laughter] There were those days when we had to trespass [on] somebody’s [land]. When [ranchers would] come in and throw money down on your desk and walk out. [They] wouldn’t talk to you [about] whether it was a grazing trespass or one of those [inaudible]. You enjoyed the people and wanted to work with them.
It was part of the job that had to be done and you knew you were hurting somebody sometimes. A lot of times you realized that some of [the problems] were brought on by themselves and it had to be done. We still had to maintain some controls. I didn’t like it when we had to hurt people and it affected their livelihood. We took that seriously.
MH: I have two questions I ask all the interviewees. The first [question]: what is it with you [folks] and [the] Arizona Strip? You talk to the people who work for and on the [Grand Canyon-Parashaunt National] Monument, to the ranchers, permittees and they all have a fondness, a reverence for the darn [Arizona] Strip. It is a reverence you don’t see for other national parks [or] other monuments. It is an acquired taste. Can you comment on that?
FL: I would [like] to. I wish I had a concrete answer for you. It is remote. It is quiet. It is relatively undisturbed. I have gone out there and worked. For instance, when we first took Mt. Trumbull over from the [United States] Forest Service, I was doing a rain survey out there. I would go out Monday morning and come back Friday night. I might not see or talk to anyone all week. Occasionally, you would see a truck go by on a road. But to spend a week out there doing [a] rain survey, not meeting another person, you had to depend on yourself. You had to take care of it yourself [when] anything happened. You [could] get into snow, mud, dust, get stuck [and have] break-downs. You had to depend on yourself, but it was the peace and serenity of relative undisturbed areas. It is unique. [You] see the livestock and wildlife, those big bucks out there with tremendous sets of antlers on them. Then, over on the Vermillion [Cliffs] it is such a beautiful country — pinnacles. Every area you go to is different. You go down Kanab Creek [and] you see something else. Hike the Paria Canyon. It would take a week to ten days in the Paria Canyon [before you would] see other people. And the weather! When I first came here I had heard so much about it. I had friends [who] had done surveying out in the Clayhole area tell stories. It is just different and probably it is as remote as any area in the [United] States in its own way, not so much in miles.
MH: [In] the lower forty-eight [states], yes.
FL: Once you leave [St. George and] head south, you are on your own. There are no Pepsi stores. All of those things combined plus the people [who] have been out there. They have lived in the town [at] Mt. Trumbull. I went to school with some of the people [who] lived out there. When they first came back to [St. George] and started high school [they] would tell stories. Then you read the old newspaper columns. I read in the [Washington County News] for years [about] Paws Pocket before I ever had the chance [to go out to the Arizona Strip]. When I had the opportunity to come here, boy, did I jump at it!
MH: That is a good answer. I think you have almost answered my next question which is: given your perspective, both as a local boy and also with responsibilities of
managing BLM lands on the [Arizona] Strip, what would you like to see happen with [the Grand Canyon-Parashaunt National Monument] in the future? How would you like to see it managed and administered?
FL: Being a BLM’er, I firmly believe in multiple uses. I want to see the lands used. I want to see [the areas] remain open to people to get [there] but I want it to remain remote. How do you do these two together? That is the hard part. I want it well-managed. I want it to look good. The ranges through the years were [fairly] well managed. The ranges were in [fairly] good shape. We hit droughts and we go down for awhile but we have good systems out there. We have taken care of the range part of it. Now [there] are monuments over several areas. Recreation is going to be a big thing [with] access into [areas] like on the Paria and we [will] have to limit numbers [of people]. You hate to do that but to protect it, to keep the remoteness, you have to do it. I would like to see it continue on in the future the way it has been, knowing that you cannot do that because there are going to be so many more people out there. The challenge is to keep it remote, keep it so it doesn’t become an eyesore, [be sure] mining [operations] are reclaimed and keep [the area] open to the public even for use [by] four-wheelers. I want to see trails and roads remain open but people restricted to these [areas] so we don’t disturb the [areas] where there are trails. I would like to see [the area] remain open. That is the challenge of the resource management plan.
MH: A big challenge [for] the future, that is right.
[END OF TAPE]
Description
Ferron Leavitt was interviewed on February 3, 2005, in St. George, Washington County, Utah by Milton Hokanson, a representative of the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument Oral History Project. He related his experiences as Resource Area Manager of the Arizona Strip, Mohave County, Arizona for the Bureau of Land Management.
Credit
NPS
Date Created
02/03/2005
Copyright and Usage Info