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Rosebud County - Model Nutrient Cycles

Background Info/ Historical Story:

“Soil- Soils in Rosebud county formed from sedimentary parent materials without influence of glaciers or

major geological uplifts causing the county to be an upland plain with deep creek and river channels.

Sixty percent of the soils are weakly developed Entisols and Inceptisols because of shallow depth to bed

rock or creation by flood deposition. Prime and Important farmland soils cover 12% of the county with

the majority in the Yellowstone Valley. Hydric soils cover less than 8,700ac or 0.2% of the county. Soils

are grouped under the Sedimentary Plains and Pierre Shale Plains Major Land Resource Areas (MLRAs).

A 1975 Soil Conservation Service (SCS) work grouped soils into four categories. Soils of the floodplains,

high terraces (along the Yellowstone), sandstone and shale uplands, and red and brown shale hills.”- A Long-Range Plan for Conservation Delivery in Rosebud County, MT

“Soil Degradation – Rangelands- Organic matter is depleted or decreasing on rangelands across the county based on feedback from the Local Working Group. The problem is evident on most rangelands in the county. Grazing management is the solution; however, we don’t know the intensity of management that is required to make an impact on organic matter levels across all rangeland ecological sites in Rosebud County. We think that 75% of rangeland managers, approximately 165 operators, in the county could learn and implement focused prescribed grazing management.”- A Long-Range Plan for Conservation Delivery in Rosebud County, MT


“First the homesteader came in with his dream of wealth from the soil; only to find that he had destroyed a good range for stock, and had not found this dream land in the homestead. The range was broken up and planted to crops. The rain failed to come in sufficient quantities to insure a crop with sufficient frequency to enable the homesteader to make a living. He quit the land, and the Russian Thistles and other weeds took possession. The fences were easily torn down, but the native grass, so good for range stock, was gone. Range stock cannot be raised on weeds.”- They Came and They Stayed, By M. W. [Bill] Tadsen


“The Castle Rock community is not devoid of History. It is here the mystery rings, perhaps of prehistoric significance, are found. Here, buffalo, elk, and deer were replaced by horses, cattle, and sheep. The soil that was tilled in "homesteader days" has struggled to return to native grass, and dotting the area are the forlorn cabins that once housed the hopes of the young families who built them. Near a few of the deserted cabins one can find a sunken bit of earth, surrounded by carefully gathered rocks. There are few who remember the final resting place of a child who never left the Castle Rock community. Industry has purchased the coal that underlies the region known as Castle Rock. Strip-mining the coal has become a rewarding business for the "back east" banking concerns of our Nation. The giant shovels strain and cast aside the native soil to reach the black gold beneath.”- They Came and They Stayed, By Patty Kluver

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