Page 44 - Wood Plenty, Grass Good, Water None

Another significant vegetation change along this route segment is the apparent disappearance of a cienega. I believe this was caused by diversion of a spring for ir rigationoffieldsupstreamfromthearea.TheCienega Ranch,wherethisspringsurfaces,wasfirstoccupiedin thelate1860sorearly1870s.Idonotknowhowlong aftersettlementoftheranchthespringwasdiverted. ThephotographbyRexKingin1916oftheflatatthe convergenceofPineSpringsDrawandCienegaSprings Draw (fig. 27) shows no sign of riparian or wetland
vegetation, so the area had apparently been modified w e l l b e f o r e t h a t t i m e .J u n i p e r h a s i n c r e a s e d c o n s i d e r a b l y on the surrounding uplands since 1916 (fig. 28).
PhotographstakenbyJ.W.Fewkesin1911,showing theeasterlypointsofJuniperMesaandlookingback upalongWhipple'sapproachtoWalnutCreek(figs.29 to31)suggestthatthejunipersweremuchlessdense duringthe19thcentury.
Alexander Gardner's photograph of the meadow just upstream from the present K4 Ranch shows an
Figure 21. 1867 pho tograph by Alexander Gardner. Wagon train of Palmer's railroad survey at Russel Tank on Partridge Creek nearthe area traversed byWhippleonhisNew Years reconnaissance in 1854.
Figure 22. 1995 repeat of Figure 21. Juniper and other woody veg etation have increased. Several trees were recently cut in fore ground. Photograph by Raymond M. Turner.
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USDAForestServiceRMRS-GTR-177. 2006.