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Rancher strives for ecological balance Mail Tribune / Drew Fleming John Ward tends livestock at his ranch in the Greensprings. Chairman of the Friends of the Greensprings, a local environmental watchdog group, Ward believes ranchers can protect the environment and benefit their operations through responsible management of their own lands. By PAUL FATTIG GREENSPRINGS � Rancher John Ward likes running cattle on his small spread. He also likes to see nearby Tyler Creek running cold and clear with healthy green vegetation along its banks. "There are lots of opportunities to solve problems," he said. "It doesn�t mean having everything everywhere. It also means balancing private rights and the public good. "It has always been my belief that unless folks can work together and solve problems when they are still small, then we all go down together," he added. "We have to work together to solve problems." When Ward isn�t riding herd on his cattle, he chairs the Friends of the Greensprings, a local group that serves as an environmental watchdog in this mountainous region. He is also chairman of the Bear Creek Watershed Council. Ward is a true altruist, says Harriett Rex Smith, a Greensprings resident and a fellow FOG board member. "He just gives and gives," she said. "He cares about the community. He�s always doing something to motivate people to get involved." A longtime friend of Ward and his wife, Anita, Smith said he makes a difference by his activism. "He�s a good family person," Smith said, adding, "He�s got a very soft heart." Raised on a ranch in Colorado, Ward has run cattle on the 86-acre ranch for nearly three decades. He is also a retired administrator from the Oregon Institute of Technology. He has a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from Seattle University and a master�s in business administration from the University of Oregon. "I�ve always had concern about the community in which I live," he said. "But part of the community involves birds and other things. "When I bought this place 30 years ago, there were areas along the stream where downcutting from the cattle was seven or eight feet in places," he said of the trampling of cattle along the stream bank. Since then, Ward has built cross-fencing to rotate grazing on the land. He normally has 20 to 40 cattle on his ranch. He doesn�t run cattle on nearby public lands. "The main thing is to be able to control where livestock goes and for how long," he said. "If you can�t, you are at a disadvantage. You can�t get them to not cause damage to stream banks or other water quality problems." The Wards also constructed rock and wire dams to help bring the stream back to health. Vegetation now thrives along its banks. "It�s possible to do restoration work and make it benefit your operation," he said. "Letting cattle seriously overgraze and reduce streamside vegetation is just asking for trouble." Ward, a member of the Oregon Cattleman�s Association, observed that his views aren�t shared by all ranchers. "Some are in denial," he said. "But times are changing. There are some fairly large operations in the area where owners are changing with the times." Yet Ward said the issue of protecting the environment is much more than keeping cattle away from streams. "My focus here is working on the watershed, trying to balance our needs with wildlife needs," he said. "A lot of people out here care about the wildlife. "Many are reluctant to make changes that adversely affect wildlife out here on their property," he added. "So we have to consider that." The fact that FOG has been involved in community issues in addition to environmental matters has enabled it to reach out to many local residents, he said. Members have raised money for the local school, cleaned up along roads, planted wildflowers and raised funds for other community projects, he noted. Working with the Oregon Department of Forestry, FOG also has initiated a program of ladder fuel reduction along roads, he said. "Probably the biggest threat would be catastrophic wildfire," he said. "I find a lot of people resonate with that. A lot of people care more about fire than fish." A dozen residents have created ponds for wildlife as well as potential water sources for fighting fire, he said. "We�ve started doing initial attack training," he said. "We�re a lot more fire-sensitive than we were before." Local residents have started forest management plans on some 900 acres, he said. "We started doing more fuels reduction and forest health improvement on our own property," he said. "We�re doing more watershed work. "We�re trying to make a difference across the landscape," he added. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.