EQIP Eases Landowner Concerns Over Lack of Water

What began as landowners’ concern over a lack of water has emerged as 37,119 feet of pipeline that serves 2,880 acres of rangeland in the foothills of Orofino Mountain south of Deer Lodge. The Orofino pipeline evolved into a complex system involving multiple landowners, government agencies, and the Atlantic Richfield Oil Corporation (ARCO).

Area that the Orofino pipeline serves. John Bowe, NRCS, photo.

“Four sections of ground that we run our cattle on only had two springs and one creek that ran most of the time. There’s pretty good grass there, but there isn’t much water,” said Ted Beck, landowner involved in the Orofino pipeline project. “There were usually only about 100 pair and on those four sections for less than three months because of the lack of water.”

The purpose of the Orofino pipeline is to attain better dispersal of cattle over the entire range with strategically placed livestock watering tanks. Because Tom Beck, Ted Beck, and Arnie Mohl, the private landowners served by the pipeline, wanted to keep fencing costs down and long-term maintenance requirements to a minimum, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) employees at the Deer Lodge USDA service center came up with an alternative. The placement of water tanks is used to manage the grazing patterns of the cattle rather than fencing.

“I think we’ll get better utilization of the grass that’s there and the cows won’t congregate around the troughs as much,” said Beck.

Six 1,000-gallon watering tanks on three different branches of the pipeline are placed to bring cattle to previously under-utilized areas of three large pastures. Along with the pipeline and watering tanks, NRCS personnel designed a deferred grazing system for the landowners to follow when their cattle are moved to the Orofino pastures. The maximum number of cattle that could be using the system simultaneously is 450 head. Although it would be very rare to have that many cattle on the land at the same time, NRCS specifications require that a grazing system is designed for the maximum number of cattle that could potentially be grazing at one time.

Water tank on the Orofino pipeline. John Bowe, NRCS, photo.

“Pastures on the Orofino pipeline will be grazed from May 15 through October 15 in most years,” said Nancy Sweeney, NRCS district conservationist in Deer Lodge County. “However, in years of low rangeland production because of drought or other factors, pastures may be completely rested to allow them to retain plant vigor.”

Construction on all of the pipelines will be completed this summer, so this is the first season that the Orofino pastures will be used since the project has been implemented. Landowners expect to see more consistent use of forage, better cattle performance, and maintained or improved rangeland condition with the new pipeline and grazing system.

This project has been funded through several channels. The NRCS funded a portion of the project through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). EQIP is a voluntary cost-share program that assists private landowners in implementing conservation measures on their property. The remaining costs were paid by funds from grants through the Environmental Protection Agency, National Rural Development Partnership, and Atlantic Richfield Oil Corporation as well as landowner contributions.

Last Modified: 06/07/2005