Document text
42 °F 5 Day Forecast Thursday, December 4, 2003 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | eSouthernOregon | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend September 14, 2003 On horseback with dog, Soda, Bruce Buckmaster rides the trail with a view of Mount Ashland in the background. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven COWBOY DREAMS Grants Pass man fulfills a lifelong dream of ranching and grazing cattle By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune Sometimes when Bruce Buckmaster sits astride his horse on the slopes of Soda Mountain, he marvels at his world. Mountains stretch as far as the eye can see. The air is filled with the scent of pine. "I think I’ve lived my whole life just to get here," he says. " . . . I guess I’m going back in time to be a cowboy." Reared in Grants Pass where he and his wife, Jaci, own a home, Buckmaster is about to complete his second year of riding herd on cattle grazing in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. The cattle are rounded up in mid-October. Advertisement The Buckmasters lease some 3,000 acres of private land from John Mosby, a dentist living in Southern California. Mosby has a permit for about 1,000 animal unit months on the monument, according to the Bureau of Land Management. One AUM represents a cow and a calf grazing for a month. Using a portion of Mosby’s AUMs, the Buckmasters are running about 120 cows on the open range this year, compared to 80 last year. Jaci Buckmaster, an elementary teacher for two decades in Josephine County, is now studying mental health counseling at Southern Oregon University. She often rides alongside her husband in the monument. "This is really my first experience with open range and chasing cows over the mountain," Bruce Buckmaster says as he rides into the monument. Soda, one of their three cattle dogs, lopes alongside. Buckmaster, a longtime horseman who also has been a businessman and managed an irrigation district, talks about his decision to try his hand at ranching. "The kids are grown," he says. "Our house (in Grants Pass) is paid for. We don't owe anybody any money. "I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing or the wrong thing, but I’m damn sure trying to do the best I can at it, " he adds. The Buckmasters ride into the monument several times a week to check on their cattle. "We come out here to see if they need to be moved, to make sure they are where they are supposed to be," he says. "That’s part of our responsibility." Sometimes the cows are reluctant to be found and the days are long, he says. "There are a lot easier ways to make a living, and a lot of other ways to make more money," he says. "It’s a lot of work. This is the fourth day in a row that I’ve ridden up here." But he wouldn’t have it any other way. From the mountaintop, the Buckmasters can see a green dot of their leased ranch near Ashland, one they call Buckmaster’s Soda Mountain Ranch. While he finds no problems with cows in areas where they need to be moved on this trip, he sees plenty of wildlife signs. A four-point buck springs up out of a draw as Buckmaster’s horse approaches. A large pile of bear scat lies along the trail near a site known as Cow Camp, an area where ranchers used to gather cattle. As he turns his horse back toward his pickup truck and horse trailer, Buckmaster stops to watch a golden eagle soar over the mountain. "It would be real sad to see this life taken away forever," he says. "People should have the option of working the land like this." Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times