PIPE SPRING Cultures at a Crossroads: An Administrative History

PART X - PIPE SPRING NATIONAL MONUMENT COMES ALIVE (continued)

Ponds, Fish, and Fowl

The Fort Ponds

The fort ponds were drained and cleaned in May 1964. Algae and pondweed were a problem that Hugh Bozarth fought to control during his tenure, but the fact that the Kaibab Paiute Tribe was also a user of pond water was a factor when treatment options were considered. During the summer of 1965, the pondweed was removed from the ponds without draining them. Utah State University experts identified the pondweed as a species of green algae called Chara. Bozarth continued to search for a herbicide that could be used to reduce the Chara while having no harmful effects to livestock, fish, or trees bordering the ponds. The fort ponds were again drained, cleaned of pondweed, and refilled in June 1967. They were drained again over the winter of 1967-1968, treated with a chemical to retard pondweed growth, and refilled.

The Meadow and the Meadow Pond

Under Bozarth's administration, the meadow was mowed by local neighbors in exchange for the hay. The meadow was often used for large gatherings such as community barbecues and family reunions. On a few occasions, it was even used for overflow camping. No reports of swimming occur during the 1960s, although a diving board was still in place at the meadow pond. In July 1967 (as mentioned earlier in this chapter), the meadow pond was filled in with dirt. No documentation has been located that provides insight into how the management decision to drain the pond was made. It is most likely that liability concerns about public swimming were at play rather than issues related to water use since the pond was supplied from tunnel spring, the stockmen's primary water source of water. At the time the pond was drained, it was planned for the area to be replanted and used as a group picnic area. Prior to and at the time of its draining, the meadow pond was a lush area with many shade trees surrounding the pond. Eventually, with the pond gone, the trees all died. [2088]

Fish

In April 1964 Bozarth reported "rainbow trout appear as numerous and healthy as can be expected." [2089] When the ponds were cleaned in May, the fish were somehow disposed of, for none were found in the ponds during a June inspection. Bozarth reported in June 1964 that he was investigating what kind of fish were historically appropriate for the fort ponds, and several sources indicated carp. (The practice of stocking the pond with trout appears to have been initiated by Leonard Heaton after the monument was established.) This information, however, didn't seem to stop trout stocking when they became available. In late 1967 Acting Management Assistant Jim Harter contacted the Federal Fish Hatchery in Albuquerque about obtaining some fish for the fort ponds, but no response has been located. In March 1968 the monument received a donation of 22 rainbow trout for the fort ponds from an unnamed source. Finally, in late June 1968 two seventh grade boys, Clifford Geerdes and Ben Young, captured 25 good-sized carp and released them into the fort ponds, much to Ray Geerdes' delight. He reported to headquarters, "After prodigious official and unofficial efforts to solve this problem, the historic carp are back at Pipe Spring. This should also keep the algae growth down." [2090]

Fowl

The number of domestic ducks in the fort ponds frequently fluctuated during the 1960s. Ducks and their nests of eggs were annually lost to wild cats. The monument had three ducks in June 1964. In 1966 Hugh Bozarth continued to maintain a few ducks "to give a little farm type life to the historic scene." [2091] It appears that more often than not, local people donated ducks whenever the monument's supply ran low. In December 1966, for example, Fred Smith of Toquerville, Utah, donated five ducks; in May 1968 the Junior Tait family of Fredonia donated two ducks. In November that year, Ray Geerdes picked up eight domesticated mallard ducks donated by someone in Boulder, Utah. During the summer of 1970, seven baby ducks hatched at Pipe Spring. Chickens were probably reintroduced to the monument some time soon after the donation of a chicken coop by Tony Heaton in March 1969. As mentioned earlier, geese were added either in 1969 or 1970, under Geerdes' administration.

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