Beautiful Jackleg Fencing
Guests at the HPR often ask me what they call that good looking fencing constructed of approximately 20 ft lodge poles, with 3 poles on one side, 1 on the other side (inside), one along the top, and jack legs! It seems like Idaho has all the "worm" fences and Montana has all the jackleg fences. There are at least four distinct advantages of jack leg fences. First, they do not sink in boggy pastures; second, they can be installed in hard, rocky country; third, they look great; and fourth, they are indigeneous to the area (e.g. we can get a BLM or USFS permit and harvest them in the nearby forests (yes, that's a form of logging and a good one!).
Where we can, we install jackleg fencing. Our most recent projects were to surround the lake at LakeSide and to fence off a riparian area (Upper Watson Creek) to protect the area from grazing and also encourage the cattle to graze the uplands, instead of the riparian area. Of course, we encourage the cattle to move upland by installing stock tanks and placing mineral in strategic locations. We have other grazing efficiency projects on the board and hope to complete them soon. It's not enough just to have pastures and fields in which cattle can graze, we must have efficient grazing (e.g. the utilization of all forage) and practive "time and timing", i.e. watch what time of year we put cattle into a particular pasture or field and how long we leave them there. That beautiful jackleg fence is a wonderful management tools for pasture and range management. Feed is the most expensive component in raising cattle. It must be managed, nurtured, and harvested carefully and with precise planning and execution of plans.
Where we can, we install jackleg fencing. Our most recent projects were to surround the lake at LakeSide and to fence off a riparian area (Upper Watson Creek) to protect the area from grazing and also encourage the cattle to graze the uplands, instead of the riparian area. Of course, we encourage the cattle to move upland by installing stock tanks and placing mineral in strategic locations. We have other grazing efficiency projects on the board and hope to complete them soon. It's not enough just to have pastures and fields in which cattle can graze, we must have efficient grazing (e.g. the utilization of all forage) and practive "time and timing", i.e. watch what time of year we put cattle into a particular pasture or field and how long we leave them there. That beautiful jackleg fence is a wonderful management tools for pasture and range management. Feed is the most expensive component in raising cattle. It must be managed, nurtured, and harvested carefully and with precise planning and execution of plans.
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