Flag Prairie, located in the southeastern corner of Grant County, is a wonderful little piece of cowmans heaven. Very strong summer grass country, it consists of deeded range ground and wild meadows (the Cow Camp) surrounded by a higher elevation Malheur National Forest grazing permit. The deeded ground and adjacent Forest land is at about 4,500 feet in elevation and is classified by Forest biologists as mule deer winter habitat. As the owner of the deeded land and the Forest Permit, we have spent a lot of time out there living in our cow camp both in summer and winter and know the country intimately.

Last fall my son asked me if he could rent grass out at Flag from a field that had not been grazed during the summer to extend his fall feed for his own cows. Economically, the difference in cost of $14 per month per cow versus $80 per month for grass hay is substantial. Originally, his plan was to stay in until Nov 15. His plan was to haul out of Flag or trail up Crane Creek and haul out of Crane Prairie depending on weather and ground conditions.

As November came and went, the weather stayed mild and the country open. My sons cattle were doing fine and he continued to monitor the weather on a weekly basis. He continued to go in and out of Flag on a regular basis to monitor grass, water, supplement and the condition of the cattle. In fact, he often would work a good part of his day in other aspects of his ranching operation and then trot the 10 miles in from Crane Prairie and back out (20 miles round trip) to check conditions. There are not a lot of young men I know willing to put in those kinds of hours.

As the conditions stayed mild through December, the cattle continued to stay in fine flesh on native feed and supplement. When the first weather hit in later January, my son began getting additional feed and supplement into the cattle. Having personally wintered a lot of cattle in the desert, my son consulted with me on weather and cattle conditions. Although there were a few broken mouth cows that lost some flesh and started getting a little tough, the biggest majority of the cattle were in a BCS of 4 or so which was acceptable for May calving cows (I have not seen any of the pictures given to the veterinarian which gave his assessment of the situation; I have a suspicion that several pictures are of the same cow from different viewpoints and that some may not be my sons cows at all).

I have been very grateful for the great support for my sons efforts by friends, family and neighbors. So many people have offered to help or be available if need be in the current situation. It is great to live in such a community with so many caring people. However, I have also been quite surprised by a few individuals that were very quick to cast stones and spread a lot of misinformation surrounding the circumstances at Flag.

Here is a young man that is willing to work his tail off to fulfill his dream of ranching in the west. All on his own. He has not inherited cattle or a ranch. He has his own capital at risk. He pays all his own bills from his cow operation. And works long hard hours making it all work. Being ranch raised and formally educated in ranch management (graduating from the TCU Ranch Management Program), he has been on the cutting edge of many aspects of our industry. And hes one heck of a cowboy.

Despite the long odds, he has been working hard to make his dream of cattle ranching in the American West come true all on his own. Its all part of the American Dream. Rather than cast stones, I think the kid deserves a pat on the back. That is what he is going to get from me.

Pete Rawlins is a Canyon City rancher and property owner.