Jones Corral Draw

1943

1946

1953

Description:

Plate 161X. Jones Corral Draw 1943 - 1946 - 1953 - 1959 - 2003 The Jones Corral Draw Photo Plot Transect was established in 1943 and reread in 1946, 1953, 1959, and 1979. Initial range conditions were described as poor and soil erosion was widespread. Native grasses were described as rare and snowberry and aspen were very heavily browsed by both mule deer and cattle. The area along the drainage was reseeded in 1946 with smooth brome, crested wheatgrass, and timothy. When the transect was reread in 1979, native grasses had increased, snowberry was described as being “in good vigor”, and according to Dr. Jim Bowns, the range appeared “to be in good ecological condition with an upward trend” (unpublished reports in range files, Panguitch Ranger District, Panguitch, UT). Plate 161x is viewed west and shows the rock carin at the start of the transect. The truck in the 1943 photo is located on the transect’s centerline. The transect is 660 ft. in length, runs through the aspen stand above the truck, and ends on the sagebrush covered hillside beyond the aspen - - see Plates 162x and 163x. There was very little ground cover in 1943 and rainfall events were carrying soil down Jones Corral Draw. Today, grasses are more abundant and there is no active soil movement down the draw. The aspen stand has been heavily invaded by conifers and has not successfully regenerated in many years except for the few new trees on the left, which escaped browsing when mule deer numbers were low during the 1970’s (Kay and Bartos 2000). In 2003, all aspen suckers were heavily browsed by deer, livestock, and elk - - a species that was absent in 1943, but which is common today. Sagebrush in the foreground appears to have increased, though by 2003, sagebrush appears to have thinned on the far hillside. The forest road (No. 126) has been relocated. The road initially was between the rock carin and the draw, but has since been moved to the opposite hillside.

Photo Information:

U.S. Forest Service photographs (unnumbered) by Ray J. Davis on August 25, 1943; Walter Cottam on August 24, 1946; I.H. Johnson on August 6, 1953; and I.H. Johnson on September 15, 1959; retake by Charles E. Kay on July 11, 2003 - - Photo No. 5178-12. Original photographs, negatives, and narrative reports held in the range files on the Panguitch Ranger District, Dixie National Forest, Panguitch, UT.

Vegetative Community:

Aspen, Mountain Brush, Conifer, Sagebrush

Location:

South West: Section 26, Range 3 West, Township 31 South; UTM for the transect starting point 398150E, 4215700N; elevation 9,600 ft.

January 2018