Livestock Exclosure Near Seneca, Oregon

This site is in Malheur National Forest, about ten miles north of Seneca, three miles west of Highway 395. I have been taking students there for more than twenty years (had a bunch there when Mt. St. Helen's blew, in '80). When I first saw this exclosure, and 2 more in the same drainage, I thought, "Wow, they're finally going to look at it". Subsequently, though, I was *told* that the FS was looking at "elk damage". And that makes far more sense. As you know, if there is an elk or a horse within fifty miles one or both is responsible for all the "damage". And , no, this is NOT an exclosure within an exclosure, and as nearly as I can tell its main function is to exclude COWS. The contrast, inside and out is just huge, as you can see. There is virtually no aspen sucker survival outside the rails, and they're growing like hair on a dog's back inside. This is what happened on Hart Mountain as soon as the cattle were removed. I have lots of photos of that.

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