Vandalsim at the old homesteader spring

As Mojave has pointed out, someone has cut the fence surrounding this seep spring and cut down the old cottonwood tree there. The perpatrator didnt stop there, all of the saplings have been cut as well. When we visited this site on our tour of Juniper Flats with the BLM, I asked Tim Read if this was a project sanctioned by the BLM. He stated it was not sanctioned by their office as a range management project and didnt seem too happy about the damage.

Native cottonwood trees do not dry up springs. The shade they provide helps keep ground moisture from evaporating and other native shrubs like willows thrive to provide critical habitat within the natural ecosystem. This in turn promotes more shade to prevent further evaporation and the cycle continues.

Clearly, somebody with an attitude has done this damage for reasons unknown. This small seep has historicaly has had very limited surface water except in wet years when a small pool would remain until summer. Why would someone cut the fence and kill all of the trees? This seep is very close to the ACEC and is next to Juniper Flats road. Maybe our friend Auggie has some information for us regarding this destruction.