Why Are "You" Ruining a Natural Ecosystem

[@dustupstexas]

Hovsco HovAlpha Ebike: bit.ly/3ZgMECT Use the code "Shaun" to get $100 for all hovsco ebikes.

[@rsr3959]

The flowering weed you're referring to is a thistle. Knowing when you filmed would help to ID the species. Typically only invasives are flowering late summer in Central Texas... Thistles have relatively deep roots, are great for pollinators, and provide habitat (and perhaps also food) for birds. FWIW, in my experience cowpen daisies provide a longer season pollen source than thistles with similarly deep root systems, though thistles seem to do better in wetter soils... YMMV.

[@johngault8688]

You're absolutely correct!! There are many, many areas that people confuse as a natural landscape, when in fact it's degraded land. When 30 to 60-million bison roamed the land the US looked much different back in the day.

[@markeh1971]

Well said. When i visit or see Scotland I wonder what it was like before we changed the environment. Keep up the good work its going to be slow going working with nature to hold back the water and slowly change the fauna to what it was. Nothing wrong with growing saplings up and planting them out to give nature a hand. This is your garden, help it along/ Take care M.

[@veramae4098]

Almost all of the wild grass we see is European grass, introduced for cattle and it's pushed our native grasses out.

[@GeshronTyler1]

Not too mention, the hundreds of millions of beavers "engineering" all those riparian wetlands

[@cattleNhay]

I remember those days..before the loving US gov. was large and a murdering entity. God bless our war of terror domestic and abroad !

[@TalRohan]

the majority of the UK used to be wooded, all the "beautiful green fields of England are totally unnatural...theyre in the same state as this piece of land they just happen to have water...there is no biodiversity and no natural ecosystem its all propped up by chemical fertilisers and grasses that are human engineered.

[@threeriversforge1997]

You skipped a step, though. The cattle eating the grass didn't help, but the real killer of the ecosystem was the removal of the beavers that lived not only in that area, but farther up in the hills. Beavers are a keystone species and are responsible for holding back millions of gallons of water in every catchment they're in. So when the trappers and ranchers removed them for reasons that seemed good at the time, that caused the collapse of the ecosystem since the beavers were the foundation of it all. It was the beaver dams that held back the water, letting it soak down into the ground where it was protected from evaporation and could still feed the trees and grasses. A lot of the water is still there, buried deep, but because there are no beaver dams moderating the storm surges, you get floods that scour away all the plants that could help attract beavers back to the area. And because the water's moving so fast, it's gone through the catchment before it has time to saturate the ground. You want to fix the problem, start at the root. First you build Beaver Dam Analogs across every single little crease and fold in the land. Start at the top of your property and work your way down to the bottom. Don't worry about building huge things, just lots of little BDA's that can slow and spread the water. Yes, the floods will destroy them a good bit, but that's still slowing down the water, redistributing sediment, creating eddy pools, etc. Then you come in with your bath tub ditches on the slopes. Fill them with bags of wood chip mulch you buy from the big box stores. In each one of those tubs, plant a Panicum virgatum or Adropogon gerardii. Try planting Schyzachryium scoparium. You can buy these Prairies grasses at Home Depot and Lowes, or landscaping suppliers. They are all very hardy and evolved to endure horrible conditions. The important part is that they are famous for their amazing root structures that bore down a dozen feet or more. They are the ones that build the soil, create shade, and provide you with much-needed organic matter that you can then spread around to fill even more bath tub beds. The wood chip mulch is a key component because it not only shades the soil, but acts as a sponge to soak up all the water it can get and then slowly release it to the grass you've planted in it. Edge of Nowhere Farm, here on KZbin, has done extensive work with this technique so we know it will do exactly what I've outlined, and you can watch their videos for yourself to see it in action. You need the mulch to be at least 8" deep, but that's easy enough and rather cost effective in the grand scheme of things. You don't need a huge pit filled with tons of wood. Aim small, Miss small. Focus on getting a lot of smaller catchments. Every fold in the land should have a lot of One Rock Dams. Look for places you can install Zuni Bowls since you have rocks aplenty. The deep-rooting nature of the grasses I listed will be able to mine down deep to find water and other nutrients they need. You just need to help them as they get established. Once you have some tall grasses giving the ground a bit of shade, I'm sure you'll see a lot of other plants start popping up. Heck, you might even see an ephemeral spring develop if the grasses can break through the hardened ground in the right place.

[@dustupstexas]

The Rio Grande in the valley is bone dry right now. There aren't any beaver in the entire valley. I would love to reintroduce them, but there's no way to give them a foothold atm.

[@josephpadula2283]

I hope you meant wood chips like at the big box stores not buying from them . He Needs tons . Best to get it from landscapers with big truck chippers . That Also usually has green leaves in it. Our last truckload actually started to compost by itself

[@l0gic23]

​@@dustupstexaschip drop to get wood chips... Get delivered as close as anyone will and take wood chips with you everytime you return to your land. Edit: after reading the wise, well worded comment from Forge, use garbage bags to make them more portable if you go this otherwise free path... But as mentioned, there are certainly good reasons to invest in the commercial prepackage bags - just get the natural ones (unpainted and untreated or whatever those companies tend to do).

[@threeriversforge1997]

@@dustupstexas You're putting the cart before the horse a little bit. Yes, there are no beavers in the valley, and that's the problem. However, the beavers have been gone a very long time, and the valley looks like it does today because of the beaver being removed a hundred years ago. It'll take time to build up the area to the point that you could possibly hope to reintroduce the beavers, but that doesn't mean you can't mimic what the beavers do. That's why I mentioned the Beaver Dam Analogs. Your gabion works like a beaver dam, just made far more stout and without the experience that beavers evolved with over eons. As I mentioned in the comments on that video, one gabion or BDA is nice, but you need dozens of them along a channel of that size to have any hope of slowing the flood waters enough that some of them survive. And even though yours was knocked over, it is still providing a very powerful service by slowing the flow of the flood, creating eddy pools, and redirecting the flow into the banks where some of the energy is lost. That's all a net gain, way better than simply letting it fire through the property uncontested. Now you need to build a dozen more along that channel and make that water really work to get free of your territory! 😁 I would point you to the story of the Maggie Creek restoration. While the land was a little different than what you've got, it's only a little and the principle remains the same. You can see how huge a difference they made by learning from the beaver and mimicking what the beavers do. kzbin.info/www/bejne/ooOaqGyKp86noJo You've got a lot of rock and scrub that you could build "Leaky Weirs" with. Those are just Beaver Dam Analogs made from the material you have on hand. The key, in your situation, is to build a ton of them, all rather small, and focus your efforts in the smaller channels where you have some hope of stopping the slowing down the smaller tributaries before they make it to the big riverbed. If you go up into the mountains, you find that beavers would often dam up the smallest little trickles because they knew that was easy and their dams would be able to make them a nice pond from even the tiniest bit of water. What that caused downstream where folks like you are living, is a much more moderated flow of water. Beaver dams let water out slowly. The snowmelt up in the mountains didn't get a chance to just rush down the hill to the ocean because the beavers had put a million speed bumps in its way. And when they were removed in the late 1800's by the trappers, the ranchers who followed had no clue. The ecosystem hadn't had time to really show the damage, and we didn't have the scientific understanding at the time. All the ranchers knew was that the grass was thick and the creeks were running high. When they ran across one of the remaining beavers building a dam, they thought of them as rats, pests that were ruining their pastures, and worked to remove the bothersome critters. They didn't understand that they were making a problem worse because they had no clue the ecosystem was on the decline because the trappers had already removed so many of the beavers in years past. Farther down the hill, land like yours was slowly drying up because the water table was dropping. The grazing of cattle didn't help, sure, but the real cause of the problem was the loss of beaver ponds that stored so much water, literally millions of gallons, and gave it time to get down into the ground where it slowly worked it's way to your property. As the water table dropped, a lot of plants couldn't survive. Your cottonwoods are no more. But, there's hope. We are learning from the beavers, finally starting to understand just what their role was. And knowing that, we can mimic it using the materials we have on site. In your case, that's a lot of rocks and scrub brush. That's why I suggested you go to the top of your property and start building gabions, BDA's, leaky weirs, or whatever you want to call them. That main channel is seeing a lot of water rushing down from the property above you, and the only way to get a handle on it is to start at the top where it first enters your land. Build a road block. Sure, it'll probably knock that gabion down, but that's why you have a second one, and a third, and a fourth. Each one takes up a little of the energy of the storm surge. Each one helps to slow the water, spread it out, force it to expend some of its power... and that means the soil gets just a little bit more wet for a little more longer. When you dug those bath tub pits, you had the right idea and the scale was on point. Little steps like that will make a huge difference, helping to catch the small rivulets of water before they can build up speed and join the flooding in the main channel. That's a huge win. Every little crease in the land can have a One Rock Dam put across it in a dozen places. Those creases and folds act like funnels to channel the rainfall down and away, adding to the flood in the valley. Okay, so make that water earn its freedom. One Rock Dams are incredibly easy to build, and you have plenty of rock to work with. It might not seem like much, but when you have a dozen ORD in a 100yd stretch, that's slowing the water, collecting silt and organic matter, and giving the soil time to soak up the much needed drink. Then you can start planting things like the Panicum and Andropogon I mentioned. Their root structures are amazing, and they are evolved for that area. They just need a little help from you to get them established. Fill one of your bathtub pits with wood mulch and stick a Switch Grass in the middle. Edge of Nowhere Farms has done the legwork (kzbin.info/www/bejne/pXzCc6ivrr-ojcU) and shown that the wood chips can decrease soil temperatures by 30ºF. That's huge. Not only do the chips hold the water, slowly releasing it to the soil long after the rains have gone, but by shading and cooling the ground, they allow the microbial life to flourish in the ground. With the help of the fast-growing grass, you'll have the beginning of something big. Planting trees is great, and I'm not suggesting you shouldn't. However, planting grasses with those trees will pay dividends as a "sympathetic planting". The prairie grasses root deep and grow pretty fast compared to a tree. That means they will shade the young sapling against the harsh sun while also opening the soil so water and air can move around easier. As their fine roots die off (at a rate around 20% annually) they leave behind vital organic matter that helps to build the soil, making it richer for the tree sharing the space. It's a win-win situation when you use the native grasses that have evolved to do the job. The grasses also stand a better chance on their own, I think, if you can protect them from the rabbits, and are very easy to split once they've grown a little. That saves you money while also providing much needed organic matter to mulch even more bath tub pits and other projects. Anyhow, I'm getting longwinded here and better call it a day. I love what you're doing and really look forward to seeing what you get up to next. This is something I could talk about all day long!

[@threeriversforge1997]

@@josephpadula2283 Small steps, especially when you're trying to talk someone into doing a trial run. Yeah, he might need tons over the years, but ten bags from the local store will be more than enough to do one or two test beds so he can see that it works and it's not just the ramblings of some stranger on the internet. We know it works because Edge of Nowhere Farm has already done the legwork and put it up here on KZbin for all to see. That said, sometimes folks just have to do it for themselves and see it in their particular context. All that said, I think it'd still be easier to pack a dozen bags in the truck every time he heads out. From what I've seen of the roads, pulling a trailer full of wood chips just isn't feasible and the bed of his truck is usually filled with the tools and materials he'll need while he's there. Bagged chips would be easy enough to stow around the load and also easy to carry off into the hills to wherever they're planning to make a bed. Looks like they do a lot of walking out there! 😂

[@fuzzy3440]

It wasn't just cattle, many of the trees were cut down by the railroads and for building the cities of Alpine, Marfa, Fort Davis, Marathon, Presidio and other ranches in the area during the 19th and 20th centuries. For a long time, most of the property in the Big Bend region was owned by absent, wealthy landowners on the East Coast. I own property in Alpine, and the area around is completely denuded. I'd like to plant Cottonwood and Mexican Sycamore trees in the ravine next to my property. There are Ponderosa Pine trees in the Davis Mountains that were used to build the fort at Fort Davis. There are not many left in the Davis Mountains Preserve, run by the Nature Conservancy. FYI, there is an open weekend on Oct 20-22 to hike the Davis Mountains Preserve to see those trees.

[@C.Hawkshaw]

Great comment!

[@davidstakston1950]

Were there any mines in the area?

[@philipbutler6608]

I would see if you can collect seeds or seedlings. I know you can buy ponderosa pine but I think you would be better off with seedlings or seeds from your area as conditions are different from other places and local trees may be better adapted for the area.

[@PenneyThoughts]

"Save the trees!", cried the Lorax.

[@slatecraft]

theres also a small grove of aspen near baldy peak in the davis mountains and also there are a lot of cottonwoods south of marfa on 169 on alamito creek at a place called plata, it probably would have been a better example for the video than franklin mountains

[@philipbutler6608]

July you should try collecting cottonwood seed from that tree. You could set up a netting to trap the cotton blown seeds. Every time you go places like that collect seed and plant them around your check dams. Another thing missing from the landscape is bison that migrate and don’t over graze. No trees no grasses. Native American Seed Company has native grass mixes for your area. Desert willow you can get at any nursery in Texas. Willow is usually very easy to start by cuttings. Also Texas Purple Sage is easy to propagate if you plant one they will spread naturally and are good for pollinators and chop and drop. You can start a dozen cuttings in a one gallon pot and transplant them. If you want a forest you want to start a nursery at home the best time to plant is in the fall before the rains. You could also hall in water in food grade barrels then do drip irrigation using a 55 gallon barrel. Drip directly into the roots. Or a wick. When the plant is a established you move the barrel to a new one.

[@moniquelefebvre4798]

these are excellent ideas! love this channel and discussion.

[@dustupstexas]

Desert Willow is a solid option. It's doing really well in both Cottonwood and Oxford Canyons. There were very healthy seed pods this month. I'll harvest those next month after they're fully dried out. Those are going to be critical seeds in the bathtubs

[@dustupstexas]

You might like the Facebook group. It's even more active

[@sietuuba]

@@dustupstexasCheck out something called the Groasis Waterboxx. It has been used to kickstart some reforesting in degraded soils that have no water holding capacity, in Spain (Los Monegros desert) and in other deserts in several other countries. It's a container that hugs the planted tree and the claim is that it provides enough of a reservoir of water for the first two years until a deep enough root system has established itself. They claim that watering is needed only during the first year. I don't know if it would be useful for you in your context but it might be worth a look. There's a reusable model and a single-use model. From a cursory look back now that I thought of it, there are several projects that claim success with it so it's probably possible to figure out what and when it's worth it, and in what kind of context.

[@inucune]

​@@dustupstexas I use a plant-based garden twine for (vertical) wicking for a different project (algae). about 4 hand-to-elbow segments tied off at both ends and run together can wick 3 liters of water in a day (in my setup), or just stay damp. Being plant-based, it will naturally rot/decay, but you won't have to worry about introducing plastics/nylon into your soil. Small bugs will also feed off the water. One thing I don't recommend doing is bringing in any sort of earthworm as they are not native to North America, and will sap the soil of nutrients that the trees and other plants will need from what soil you have.

[@GHumpty1965]

I used to run a couple head of cows on my home pasture. I had to start from scratch bare desert soil on the pasture. Unlike you I had water available to me from a well and from city services. I did not have a lot of money so I used natural means to get it going. I noticed when I had spent hay or straw that got spread in areas with no animal pressure on it. Grass would start to grow, weeds to but mainly grass. I took chicken bedding and old hay and straw bedding and started spreading it here and their near the rainy seasons. Soon I had patch's of decent wild grass and alphalpha growing. The seed bank is in the ground already, you just need to help it retain moisture to kick start it.

[@C.Hawkshaw]

This.

[@threeriversforge1997]

I always tell folks to plant Switch Grass, Big Bluestem, and Indian Grass as a first step. With their deep-rooting nature, they will make the soil come alive in ways we can't imagine. They used to be there, but after the beavers were removed uphill, the water didn't last much longer. Grazing pressure sure didn't help, but it's hard to be mad at folks who literally had no clue what was going on. Heck, we're only learning this stuff now, with all our fancy tech and whatnot, so expecting them to see what was happening isn't realistic. All we can do is learn and try to repair what we broke. Planting the native grasses is a great first step because it's so easy and pays quick dividends.

[@philipbutler6608]

Maybe you can get rotted hay or moldy hay from a farmer. I know you can get wood chips from the dump in Arlington but they smell like garbage.

[@aliciarrrrrr]

I’ve enjoyed seeing your channel grow as you learn more about your land and what it takes to improve it. You’ve really come a long way! I don’t comment much, but I’ve been around almost since the beginning.

[@davidstakston1950]

The plant with the butterfly looked like a thistle. In Wisconsin when we clear cut a forested area the bull thistle is the first plant to recolonize the area. The bull thistle takes two years to mature. The first year it lies low to the ground and retains the soil from eroding. The second year the flowers and seeds attract pollinators and birds that eat the seeds. The birds poop and reseed the area with the native seeds mostly from berries. By the 3-10 years the native trees start to reappear above the thistles and berries.

[@michaelguerra1644]

Devil's lettuce

[@y0nd3r]

@@michaelguerra1644 I don't think bull thistle has ever had the common name of devils lettuce. That's a common name for cannabis which requires too much water to be viable there.

[@jeffreyc9183]

What’s fascinating is all the little details that go into the planning. It’s cool to get feedback from long time local residents and in a way it’s motivating to know that it is actually damaged land because that means it can be restored.

[@Isaacmantx]

A similar thing struck me when visiting Arches National Park in Utah. The original accounts of explorers in the area, and even some early photographs, show dense chest high grass. It is almost pure sand now. What is missing is the intense but infrequent grazing of the bison, replaced by the continuous grazing of cattle, followed by exclusion of all grazing. Our practices and lack of understanding create these wastelands.

[@brettutley2461]

Everything you just said is false. I live in Utah. Cattle are actually used to help the land and build up organic soil. The problem in Utah is every drop of water is stolen and diverted to be used in California.

[@Isaacmantx]

@@brettutley2461 grazing of livestock, pack and saddle stock is literally banned in arches national park… which is the specific property I mentioned above. And pack or riding animals permitted in the park must be fed certified weed-free PELLETIZED feed, CUBED hay products, or grain products. So, what I said is 100% accurate.

[@marymurphy3108]

@@brettutley2461 You're correct about my home state of California taking your water. It goes to the coast where 10 million people in Los Angeles county waste it. They have also taken water from everywhere from the edge of Los Angeles to northern and eastern California destroying ecosystems, aquifers and communities. Los Angeles keeps spreading and building. Turn off the faucet Please. California Coastal communities are destroying the environments of everywhere they bring water from.

[@gauvaindf]

5:34 I think it's a thistle, it grows on its own and it's very invasive, in my country it is forbidden to let them grow.

[@xxtwobitxx]

I have a cotton wood growing in my front yard, not to far from where your at. Its been there for 10+ years, I was thinking of cloning it one last time next spring

[@anthonycastro2146]

What you are doing is really inspiring. I myself want to plant 1 million trees before I die and your channel inspires me to continue. Thank you.

[@Drone256]

Loblolly pines are planted at 400 to 600 trees per acre and harvested in about 18 years. Sounds like 1,000 acres with two plantings gets the job done.

[@Technoanima]

They'll die without a soil biome. China has tried and failed for the last thirty years. It's like trying to build cities without the surrounding farms and towns to supply food and manpower.

[@FortheBudgies]

Please don't plant them in deserts and grasslands. Plant them in the tropics where they are actually being lost.

[@ethandoingstuff1433]

I’d be collecting seed from local landscapes. Also put up some posts for birds to land on, their dropping may contain local seeds too. I would be doing a flora survey and then going to local, healthy ecosystems and doing surveys there, and comparing them. I would also be dumping organic matter when you can. I’m sure people are throwing out leaves or grass clippings in the nearby town which you might be able to collect and dump at the tops of gullys.

[@davidkottman3440]

Bird roosting places are a potentially excellent idea!

[@rsr3959]

Establishing woody species naturally result in bird droppings FWIW.

[@marxagarden]

5:33 The weed could be a thistle, the one native to Texas is the Texas thistle (C. texanum). They are closely related to artichoke and cardoon. Love your project, the idea of destroying a natural habitat popped into my mind a few times too. Thanks for clarifying, it’s hard to tell what is native especially here in Europe. Many of our forests may have been planted as a fast growing fuel source for the furnaces of the Bronze Age. I see large swathes of dense pine forests here in Spain and just wonder when they’re going to catch ablaze. I wish there was more management and efforts to plant multi species forests.

[@davidkottman3440]

A myriad of local names, but yes definitely a thistle of some kind.

[@tokarukora7272]

That weed is also calle "Distel" in German, and its variations are very common in Europe.

[@RobbyVanArsdale]

Hey, Shaun! I don't wanna be that guy-but your bike fit is super important to your joint health and control of the bike. You should look up some guides for mountain bike fitment. Love your channel. My dad and I independently found it and we both watch. Much love to you and good luck.

[@RobbyVanArsdale]

@@captainstevemurray it's very difficult to give advice to an adult who is undeniably an expert in his own areas-but we want as many people to love cycling as we can get. We want it to be so good you keep going. Don't let a high standing height tradeoff hurt your knees, you know?

[@katjordan3733]

I think you are doing the 'right' thing by trying to restore your land. However, it appears you are going to need to put in hundreds, if not thousands of small dams and other earthworks to harvest water. LOVE the idea of the dirt bathtubs! They seem so doable! They'll fill with silt and debris and the levels will rise. What ever you do, I wish you all the best!

[@FortheBudgies]

He's not restoring anything. He's destroying even further. This is a grassland. It's not a forest. The #1 threat to this ecosystem is mesquite encroachment. This is extremely well documented. Just Google desertification and Chihuahuan Desert and you will find hundreds of papers on the topic. I did my graduate research on how birds wintering in mesquite encroached areas of this ecosystem have higher stress hormones, lower body condition, and carry more fat than birds in areas with no mesquite. Mesquite is very bad and disturbing the soil is probably permanent damage. It is devastating to disrupt the soil surface in this ecosystem. It has a living crust that takes a very long time to form and plant life is dependent upon it .

[@stevejohnstonbaugh9171]

I'd like to suggest the minimum tools you should supply to each of your rock dam crews; 2- wheelbarrows, 1- digging bar, 1-mattock, 1- pick, 2-long handled round shovels, 2- steel rakes, 2- 5 gallon buckets, 1-2 pound drilling cracking hammer, 1- masons line, 1-line level. These tools will go a long way toward helping your volunteers make the best rock dams they can with the time they have available. 😊 Looking forward to another 'after the rain' tour up the arroyo.

[@alanvaleandthelazyfarmer1930]

That weed you saw was a scotch thistle and believe me, you don't want that one. 😁

[@veramae4098]

Scotch thistle is a European invasive, but you can eat it and it has medicinal properties. However it will out compete Native plants, and even form barriers animals won't go through.

[@oldstudbuck3583]

@@veramae4098how did it get there

[@fayebird1808]

@@oldstudbuck3583 People bring in bales of straw & hay and the thistle seeds are in the bale as well. Scottish people plant those weeds on purpose.

[@oldstudbuck3583]

@@fayebird1808 interesting. I live in the NE I’m not familiar with desert life.

[@davidstakston1950]

The thistle is the national flower of Scotland. How can the bull thistle be invasive if you can find them in all 50 states and Canada?

[@mysteryfinds]

I get excited every time I get the notification that you uploaded a new video. Keep up the great work. Love seeing the progress on the ranch.

[@erutuon]

I've really been looking forward to this video! Such an important topic to explain why you're doing what you're doing. I kept reading the comments saying the land always used to be this way and you responding that there used to be cottonwoods and more grass. I haven't been on the same land for generations, but I wonder if it's because "this way" is not defined clearly enough (after all, many of the same plant species have remained even as the land has gotten more bare) or because the land changed before many people were born and it is difficult for say a dad to communicate to his son how the land was when the dad was young. Anyway, I've got high hopes you'll succeed, though it could be in ten years or more, because I've seen videos talking about other equally dry or drier parts of the Chihuahua Desert that are a lot more vegetated than your land is now.

[@mikehamilton3833]

The largest cottonwood trees I have ever seen are on the highway from Alpine to Ft Davis at a small roadside park. There is a spring fed creek running by the trees. Worth the trip to see them. Beautiful.

[@bigonorganics5753]

I watched all your series and found your channel because this is the stuff I like to do. you should get a water collection system up you can do it on the cheap with a tarp flat on the ground and build a dirt berm around the edge underneath and bury the edge on top and cover it with rocks and it should stay in place and the lowest corner can be used to collect the water just pipe it downhill to a water tank. once you have water you can compost on site by collecting twigs branches small logs and break it all down with the smallest chipper from harbor freight and make a Johnson Su Bioreactor with the little bit of clean water you have. make clay with the water and recycle the water to make more clay by skimming. make seed balls using a native seed mix for caliche soil. investing into cover crops is the move but not the soft ones you need native grasses and trees all mixed in as your cover crop. between the top of the hill "main ridge" where it starts to slope down and the "keypoint" right above the first rock dams you trench a line there and plant the grass in clay ball form only a few inches deep try to not bring calcium in the subsoil up to the top it will damper and kill of plants that are getting established. sprinkle a little of that really good compost when its ready on top of the keyline of grasses and it will cause the water infiltration to start working. I seen the tub of water soaking test and its not accurate because it wasnt representative of the soil surface which can have crusting and interlocking platy layers of rocks that settled in place but it was still a slow infiltration anyway needs it to be much faster if you want to capture the rain and plants roots increase the surface area letting the water get into the soil much faster and the organic matter it adds will retain water longer in the soil. for every 1% organic matter added to the soil it will retain 25k gallons of water per acre you can get 7 to 10 % organic matter eventually over the years by adding the right biology and getting a regenerative soil going. I was going to comment last episode about how all those wild animals you see on the highway at night will be grazing when your not there but if you do see a wild hog it would make great fertilizer. I dont have a facebook but would like to do a zoom call or something you have my email and phone in the volunteer form. should I make a facebook?

[@davidkottman3440]

7-10% OM?? Not in that climate without large annual artificial additions, such as in pockets. Across larger landscapes, in cooler climate of the midwest cornbelt, natural prairie soil OM was typically about half that, & is now often degraded by another half. But, yes, more OM will work wonders for maintaining soil & plant life...just don't be surprised if 2-4% is all that you can get.

[@rsr3959]

@davidkottman3440​ @bigonorganics5753 is right insofar as his focus should be on OM/Carbon and not nitrogen -- many desert plants are nitrogen fixers... OM/carbon keeps water around longer after harvested. He lives in Dallas and can transport wood chips, compost, etc., for not much more gas $ each time he visits. Whatever his strategy -- keyline plantings, tub holes, etc., -- a little additional inputs will realize huge gains and save him years vs. natural processes.

[@davidkottman3440]

@@rsr3959 yep, just be realistic... it's hot & dry out there!! My wife's family live in various parts of TX, & used to farm & garden in San Angelo area. Without a doubt some mulch & a little water will do the most good for any vegetation.

[@darkiee69]

Greenland wasn't a viking joke. It was a warmer climate back then so parts of Greenland were green. The vikings did farm there and lived a good life until the little ice age when Europe lost contact with them. Once Europe took up traveling west again after a few 100 years they couldn't find any trace of the settlers anymore.

[@Technoanima]

As one of my permaculture friends would say, "You're gonna need a whole lot of cardboard." 😂

[@jasonlovell3934]

A lot of the cotton woods were cut down for firewood when the mercury mining was done in the big bend area. That was from the late 1800’s to the 1940’s.

[@onedelmonte]

Thanks!

[@dustupstexas]

Likewise!

[@toomanythoughtsinmyhead]

Shaun, please consider adding subtitles when you're talking to/interviewing someone who isn't mic'd up. I think this is the third video I've had that thought but forgot to ask! 😅 We have been enjoying your channel since the first video. It has made KZbin recommend a lot more videos and channels with similar subjects and I am learning a lot.

[@dustupstexas]

Thanks for the feedback on subtitles

[@jergensroetz]

Absolutely love what you're doing. Thank you for sharing your journey and being inspiring

[@rhondascraftobsessions5817]

I love the sound of the wind blowing through the trees. It's a soothing sound and it would make me want to take a nap there.

[@eric4052]

Have you ever thought of contacting fellow KZbinr “ crime pays but botany doesn’t “ I’ve been watching his stuff for about two years. Extremely passionate about plants life. He’s godly knowledgeable in plant terrain.

[@y0nd3r]

Joey and Tony are great.

[@chriscorvus1808]

5:30 - "Distel" in German, "thistle" in English, Scottish national flower.

[@michaeld.3931]

Juniper might serve as a good intermediate species between the scrub flora and true forests. Since they are evergreen the shade that they cast can help protect less drought tolerant hardwoods.

[@rsr3959]

*And they're acidic on what is often alkaline soil... PH balancer.

[@lewispaine4589]

"The one who plants trees, knowing that he will never sit in their shade , has at least started to understand the meaning of life" (Rabindranath Tagore)

[@FortheBudgies]

This is a GRASSLAND. Trees destroy grasslands. This place is supposed to be covered in black gramma and blue gramma abd side oats gramma grasses etc. It was never ever ever a forest in the last 10,000 years at least. Maybe when the glaciers were at their most southern extent. This is a grassland.

[@SasquatchBioacoustic]

Yup, classic livestock mismanagement. Let the sheep graze uncontrolled and they take everything down to the soil. With no rest period the grasses die back, the soil dries out, trees die, and you get a waste land. Conversely, you can graze livestock in managed rotations to kick start soil regeneration. You just have to be engaged, and not leave the animals to their own devices.

[@veramae4098]

A lot of vids I watch about streams being revived out west control the cattle very carefully. Or they'll eat everything and ruin it. Again.

[@raymondk.hessle607]

Hi, Im some nobody from the internet and i need you to pre-record a clip for the future. Please re-record the intro saying "Hi, im Shawn Overton and im turning this ... into this ..." and then snap your finger dramaticaly. This way you have a epic intro in a couple of years when you can record a second clip with green stuff in the background and combine it with the earlyer one. Dont forget to use the same location and outfit tho lol I have to think about this every time your intro runs. Maybe the idea grips you as much as it gripped me lol Anyway, awesome work!

[@chriscorvus1808]

Awesome idea!

[@dustupstexas]

I love it! Great idea

[@sandmanxo]

Amazing to know that cottonwood trees were there. In east Texas I've thought of them as trash trees but would be impressive in the desert. Also with the fat tire ebike be careful of mesquite. I recently got a Juiced Ripcurrent fat tire ebike and picked up 3 mesquite thorns on the first ride in my semi arid property in central Texas. It cut down both intertubes, and changed the rear tire with the hub motor is annoying. Luckily I had brought 2 spare tubes but I'll be looking to convert it to tubeless since they are self healing soon.

[@faheedalajmi7487]

I came across your video and was instantly drawn to your channel. I have been hunting out of gunsite and scratch ranch in Sierra Blanca since I was a kid. In the last 6 years I have been doing research on how to create the same, an oasis in the dessert. I have already tried a few experiments with gabions and check dams in the outskirts of El Paso with mixed results. I have been searching for a good plot of land in the quitman mountain region. It’s nice to know that there are people interested in regenerating our glorious desert.

[@YasuTaniina]

I really appreciate the weekly content even though your not going there weekly. Even every other week would make me happy. The upload schedule before was just too spread out

[@bugnator]

Cool! Are there any old tree trunks? As you know cottonwoods can get real big and it will take a long time for them to just rot away especially without water.

[@desertedenblooms]

Herd animals are essential in maintaining a forest, savannah etch, however in nature/wild animals pass through once maybe twice in a year, actually helping fertility of the soil , reseeding, etc. BAD ranching practices that do nor allow this method aka over grazing not only give wild/domesticated animals bad reputations but the wrong believe that they are the problem when actually the solution, as are bids/chickens. The key is educating ranchers for a win/win method. God Bless you Shaun !

[@FortheBudgies]

This is a GRASSLAND!!!!!

[@DevonianDave]

Big Bend National Park, and Big Bend State Park still have cottonwoods in some of the canyons. You might want to take a trip to both to see them in natural habitat there that is more similar to your land than what you saw in the Franklin Mountains.

[@briangrayson5602]

I second this. You can see the sparse cottonwoods for a mile or more away in the desert, and so you know there must be water at that spot in some form. Also, in Big Bend Ranch State Park, I've seen dessiccated tree trunks of juniper trees, and when you look around, there are NO living trees of that type for literally miles. The ecosystem really was different, and not that long ago since the old tree trunks haven't completely rotted away.

[@DevonianDave]

@@briangrayson5602 You sure can see cottonwoods from long distances. For example, you can see the cottonwood at Red Ass Spring from The Chimneys which is a good distance away. It sticks out like a sore thumb and immediately drew me to it when I visited it. I haven't seen the dessicated junipers at Big Bend Ranch State Park, but I have no doubt they are there. The climate is getting warmer and drier and has been for some time. And once disturbed, vegetation living on the margins will not return. The Chisos Basin was forested 150 years ago before the trees were cut to fuel the mercury mines in Terlingua. Those trees are not coming back.

[@aviansoul]

Awesome! That was my spot in the late eighties and early nineties in the Franklin Mountains!!! Grew up on the East Coast, so I would head up to hang among the trees and near the trickling stream. Love your channel Bro!!! Keep on keeping on...

[@Rothardeo]

There is a cute little fella in the backgroung at 3:03 :)

[@RyanEglitis]

The 'viking joke' is actually the same reason - greenland used to be warmer when they first settled there. Now it was probably still a _bit_ of marketing, but it was green enough to farm for hundreds of years.

[@madhijz-spacewhale240]

5:32 seems to be a field thistle of some sort.

[@ShanShan-kw9hi]

You’re doing the right things - slow and spread the water as much as you can, get some pioneering natives planted like long rooted grasses, a wildflower seed mix can do wonders. Rinse and repeat. Slow the water, plant natives. Some will die. But those that stay will make it easier for the next plant.

[@debiebrumley3104]

there are Cottonwoods down near the river in the park it's Cottonwood campground. : Cottonwood Campground is a quiet oasis in the western corner of Big Bend National Park. Reservations are required. Conveniently located between the Castolon Historic District, the scenic Santa Elena Canyon and the tail end of the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive.

[@timkbirchico8542]

look for a wild flower nursey. get local plants. and cottonwood seedlings. plant them towards the tops of the tributaries where you make run off channels to water them. Can you make an alberca high on the land and fill it with channelled water when it rains? if so you could irrigate when its dry. keep it up dude

[@veramae4098]

What's an alberca hole? I googled, and all that came up was swimming pools.

[@timkbirchico8542]

sorry. it is a Spanish word derived from Arabic. It means a large water storage tank. dug into the ground and lined or made of cinder block and concrete etc. I live in Andalucia , I thought Texans would know that word. x @@veramae4098

[@timkbirchico8542]

also spelled alberqua @@veramae4098

[@americanrambler4972]

Ok, help me understand why you dumped the wire fencing down the canyon into the river valley? Why dumpster it instead of recovering it and reusing it or scrapping it?

[@brucewales5965]

When I purchased 36 acres in central Az high desert in mid-nineties I had it fenced in immediately from free grazing cattle. They may not have been the first thing to degrade the land but they needed to be stopped. Although I positioned some dead juniper limbs etc across grade of the gradual sloping land, I did not do much other than hand toss some seeds from regional plants. Now there is more ground cover. How crown vetch moved in I don’t know. But I’ve read it adds nitrogen to the soil. I am reluctant to bring in heavy equipment to dramatically change something. I am trying to merely assist Nature’s own rehabilitating tendencies. So far, time has proved my “method” has some validity. For those who don’t have the decades to allow the earth to heal herself bring in wood chips. organic matter and simply sow thistle, dandelion plantain seeds and see what stays. The infamous goat head thorns hold soil till they’re replaced. Note: the terribulus terestis sp? Is used in natural remedies for ED. So, don’t hate without looking for benefit. Hold water at the top (primary permaculture principle). I will be acquiring some vetiver to plant for more water/silt/rabbit pellet retention. That’s probably as “radical” as my technique will be. We’ll see. Meanwhile, the place is greening up naturally. Keep up you efforts. It’s time to help Nature undo what others have done.

[@erikhughes7150]

You're absolutely right Shaun. It's stunning how little Americans (or most people in general) understand the disasterous affects of unchecked grazing by cattle, sheep and goats for decades. Plants simply cannot grow when they are grazed year after year. Young trees in particular. The landscape of the South West and so many areas of the world was incredibly greener and far more diverse a few thousand years ago before man overtook everything square inch with their farm animals that grazed everything. The lack of shade dries up the soil, kills the healthy organisms that allow for good soil and allows for far more erosion. Makes the water run off far too quickly as well. Just a disaster all around. People don't learn about this so they continue to allow the destruction of the environment and think the lack of diversity is somehow just "normal". We both know it's not.

[@lindsayseal8504]

While I agree with you about past grazing practices todays farmers and ranchers are far more concerned about stewardship of the land and sustainable grazing. Humans will always do the right thing, after they have tried everything else.

[@rsr3959]

I think you underestimate how little overgrazing over just a couple years can devastate an ecosystem in low rainfall areas. Only a couple years of overgrazing can take a decade+ to recover w/o irrigation, even with overseeding with native grasses. Regardless, animals are critical to rehabbing the land, if only to add biology to the soil through their dung and seeds through fur and dung and disturb the soil through their hooves. Plus fire, and you have a relatively complete and natural system. Human interventions only plus up these natural processes.

[@FortheBudgies]

This American did her graduation research on this exact ecosystem and knows that overgrazing is destructive, but not as destructive as planting mesquite in an ecosystem where mesquite encroachment is responsible for desertification. This is very well established knowledge. Mesquite pulls water down below where the rest of the plants and grasses cannot reach with their shallow roots. This is a grassland. It's not a forest. Anything more than 10% shrub cover is degraded. This land needed to be left alone, not bulldozed and disturbed further. This property is going to be a source of non-native invasive plants and mesquite encroachment. This experiment has been done and documented. It's not a matter of opinion how this will turn out. It's been done and studied and documented over the last 120+ years.

[@GB-fn8qg]

Those weeds are thistles. Either Scotch or Canadian. Very robust when they get a toehold. But deep and dense and impossible to get rid of later. Unless you want to start grazing goats.

[@rsr3959]

TX has a lot of natives. Time of year will help to ID the species -- doubt this is a realtime post since so few are in bloom in late summer...

[@Adnancorner]

Have you tried ditches ? 2ft wide and 5 ft long with 2 feet deep ? Dug near large trees and vegetation on contour lines ? They did it in India and the whole area changed into green fields with grass started to grow 4 ft tall. The ditches after several years will get filled with silt but the plants take over.

[@dustupstexas]

Yes. Check out the dirt bathtubs episode

[@Fabdanc]

The Trans-Pecos eco-region is what we are talking about here. A region whose vegetation is primarily influenced by elevation, heat, and fire. You need to be prepared to burn... otherwise the changing of the hydrology is going to encourage non-native grasses and woody growth to encroach. Trans-Pecos was comprised of short bunch grasses interspersed with Chihuahuan desert plants. Trees were not wide spread due to fire, or were short and shrubby. Or you could just fix the problem with cows with more cows like you previously suggested. Even though cows are not remotely close to bison and bison were only in this area during winter.

[@Edekje]

Shaun it's a big job you have at hand, yet all these little improvements will compound over time. It's great you're doing this, keep on going, I admire the persistence!

[@loganjackson4253]

Get some blue grama, curly mesquite, and Buffalo grass seed. Native short grasses that thrive in low rainfall areas. They’ll hold your existing soil in place and will also allow water to be held and percolate down into the soil.

[@philipbutler6608]

You can get those seeds at Native American Seed. Also wide variety of Native Wild Flowers.

[@rsr3959]

@@philipbutler6608 NAS/SeedSOurce is the hardest way to do it, since they reject improved natives or anything that's patented. For diversity, yeah, they're good. For regional options like little bluestems they offer, yeah, also good. For optimal results across the board and to get folks to abandon introduced/invasives grass species in favor of native lawns, it's a cut off nose to spite the face strategy IMO. NAS/SS is also stupid expensive... And coming from someone who has spent thousands of dollars with them. Bamert is in West Texas and has both improved and VNS/unimproved native varieties. Improved are bred for desirable characteristics whether aesthetic or biomass/nutritional for feed use. Reduced prices vs. website and no sales tax when placing orders over the phone either vs NAS/SS... Stock (east texas) and Johnston (south texas with climate similar to OP's property) are other options to look at.

[@rsr3959]

Those varietals are probably not best to his terrain, especially w/ so much bare soil and so little overhead shade from woody plants.

[@philipbutler6608]

@@rsr3959 active American Seed has a bras mix specifically made for the Trans Pecos Region. Many native grasses have very deep roots that can go 20-30 feet deep. Also there are micro climates in which some varieties can exist shaded by other plants. The problem is finding the best places to establish a foothold..some grasses can lie dormant for decades waiting to be blown or washed into the right spot to germinate.

[@erim9305]

I don't know if you have already discussed this but I am quite curious about the feasibility of building a water catchment system lined with HDPE pond liner to collect rainwater for irrigation purposes?

[@collinE83]

It’s a good idea. Might not be able to hold enough water for the whole property, but could jumpstart the ecosystem and help it spread faster.

[@dustupstexas]

Stock tanks help but evaporation Rob's almost all of the water. I'll get to that when the dozer is out there

[@rsr3959]

@@dustupstexas MUCH less evaporation if you design your "stock tanks" to put water into the subsoils instead of watering whatever at the surface level... If Bill Zeedyk isn't your bible (lowercase), you're doing this wrong -- his methods are even now being used in Aussieland.

[@KiloBravo69]

Hey there, Shaun. that weed you saw near the cottonwood trees is a thistle.

[@bernardfinucane2061]

I recently commented you need bikes and you got one lol. Makes a lot so sense. It's important to remember what the landscape used to be like. Southern California used to have a huge lake. Forgetting what used to be possible is one of the biggest causes of desertification.

[@alatamore]

Thank you for this video. I think lots of keyboard warriors, who know little to nothing about ecology, history, or that area, have an impression you are creating an unnatural change when actually your efforts are to return the land to the state it was in before it was overgrazed and ended up in the state its in now. A similar (yet different) scenario played out in the Dust Bowl, further north, where farmers over-farmed marginal land that did well with native prairie grasses but could not sustain agriculture, resulting in ecological collapse and the elimination of the thin topsoil. I applaud your efforts to return this land to a more natural state. We can never truly recreate a natural habitat, given that land is constantly in flux, even if we humans were not manipulating it, but your efforts are putting the basic building blocks back in place for an ecosystem to come back. Thank you!

[@peterwaroblak166]

You will have to water those cottonwood trees until they are established, maybe try some drought resistant type of vegetation. If you bury some plants in 10 gallon pots near some of your catchment areas they might survive with some occasional watering in the dry season

[@humbertorodriguez1733]

I live in Mexicali, México and there are a lot of cottonwood here, it´s really beautiful you'd try ''palo verde'', ''Mezquite'', ''Tornillo''

[@3RaccoonsInATank]

5:40 looks like a bullhead thistle, which is actually an invasive species.

[@typhoon320i]

I'm eagerly watching the progress. Keep making videos.

[@NUCLEARxREDACTED]

It is sad to think about what it was and could be, versus what we have. Great work! Hope everything works out better than you could ever hope for.

[@Stonewallx39]

It’s a little more nuanced than “live stock eating too much grass” and more land mismanagement where livestock was able to eat the best until it was gone and leave the rest to take over. Overall though I’m of the opinion that landscape is not natural and has been degraded.

[@evantspurrell]

what succession of species do you needs to build up to cottonwood. im guessing that is a climax species for riparian areas

[@dustupstexas]

Weeds, grass, shrubs then trees

[@jjsterling3]

The plant at minute 5:30 is a thistle. Grows all over the southwest. :)

[@jacobjones1622]

When are we going to see a video of you onsight seeing how the water runs during a rainstorm?

[@ionraice]

5:40 bull thistle. Not something we treasure in New England.

[@shaunybonny688]

Digging the channel, inspiring to me to do something with a small piece of land I have in the Mohave desert in Arizona. 👊🏻

[@jerrymixon9209]

20 or 30 years ago I went on river rafting trips in Big Bend and the guides told us that there used to be Cottonwood Tress all over the area and up and down the Rio Grande but they were cut down by miners for the mines back in the day.

[@huibu8987]

so sad. but it was the way the world worked for them back then.

[@richardbudd5334]

I've lived my whole life in the southeast and my favorite spot in the whole world is Big Bend NP.. My wife and I spend 2 weeks there every year

[@kenttheboomer721]

5:39 I think that's Southern Thistle. It's also referred to as "Texas Thistle". But since I'm from Georgia it's "Southern Thistle". lol

[@matthewconstantine5015]

I don't know anything from anything, but I've been seeing various projects going on to rewild or at least rejuvenate land in the American Southwest, as well as make life more livable in our warming world. And I've been seeing some stuff about how folks in the ancient/medieval Middle East handled some similar environmental conditions, like using windcatchers as passive cooling for homes, that sort of thing. Anyway, it got me thinking about using Middle Eastern style dovecotes to generate nitrogen-rich fertilizer from bird poop. European style ones were more for collecting eggs and/or pigeons & squabs for rich people dinners, but I believe they were used more for soil-building in Egypt & the Middle East. I think you've mentioned having birds already in the area. Thought I'd put the idea on your radar. Not sure how practical it is, but some of the old-tech ideas worked pretty well.

[@y0nd3r]

I've read about those. Interesting idea. Seems like the fancier ones rushed the wind past a pool of water underneath it. Evaporative cooling will only work in drier environments. I'd like to see the technique used in some kind of hybrid Earthship. Those already use convection cooling, so maybe an outbuilding.

[@jeffpittman8725]

Beavers are what create the riparian areas like the one you're talking about. This was the natural way that kept the ground hydrated. This also helped during very common wildfires that kept the junipers in check. Then there's the bison roaming the landscape. Would have been very different looking 500 years ago.

[@locutia7]

I've never been to Cottonwood Springs, though I live in close proximity to the Franklins. Will have to find directions!

[@dustupstexas]

It's pretty intense for a short hike, but totally worth it. Highly recommend it!

[@TimErickson-oc6sd]

Cottonwood where I am is a nuisance weed. Oldtimers tell me Cottonwood root systems harness and hold water. If you want to dry out wet ground remove the Cottonwood trees

[@MotherofUnicornsProductions]

I am fairly certain that the weed with the purple flower you were talking about is a thistle.

[@grantmccoy6739]

That's a really cool spring on that mountain. Kind of mind boggling how that happened, but beautiful nonetheless. I think if you continue to dig small water catchments all along the property, you will have a green square in a gray land. Especially during the rainy seasons. I have suspicions about the success of the operation, but I still really like the idea of ecological development/management. Seeing how the drought has affected central Texas, it appears that overall, soil infiltration is quite low, even in regions with somewhat rich (black) soils. If the water won't sink... To me, a desert forest should have trees, shrubs and cactus. The grasses can help protect the soil moisture for some time, and can accelerate the process for developing healthy, rich topsoils. Many Texas trees dont drop their leaves, so the only alternative source of organic compost is seasonal vegetation that is hardy enough to grow there but not enough to be perennial. You want the plants to grow and die, so certain grasses wouldn't be right (you aren't trying to create a desert grassland, right?). You might have a solution on the ranch already, that becomes apparent during spring and fall. If so, you probably won't have to try to source the right plant. I also wanted to say, I don't think livestock is a part of the solution, especially if it was the original problem. But honestly, is west Texas the way it is because of livestock ranching? I doubt it.

[@davidkottman3440]

Some areas have always been grassland for a reason. Either the climate or soil is more favorable for grass than for forest.

[@lorettarussell3235]

There are many areas of the world where desert has been turned to green fertile land. Go back & read & watch Shaun's channel from the beginning to understand his plan. Cattle can ruin the land or save it. It's all about they management of the animals. You have to have a water source to raise animals. Shaun doesn't have that yet. Look up regenerative farming it works. It works even in desert environments, it takes time & work but it can be & has been done. You won't have the same results in desert Mexico, Texas,or Arizona that you get in Missouri or North Dakota, but you will increase water abrorption of the land, & you can see the difference in the land that is regenerative managed & land that isn't side by side.

[@glyn1]

Hello Shaun Have you used tyres to form dams plastic to line it with Using tyres wired together backed filled with gravel make great dams using polythine pipe from the grape yard to act as feed lines works well using recycled plastic you cant go wrong with it 1000 litre plastic drums as water supplys OK Barry NZ

[@esmith1771]

Thank you Shaun - another great video! That weed is a thistle (very prickly). They are highly invasive and a pain in the arse. We have them here in British Columbia.

[@davidstakston1950]

The thistle is the national flower of Scotland. How can the bull thistle be an invasive when you can find them in all 50 states and Canada?

[@esmith1771]

@@davidstakston1950 Because they are invasive. You've answered your own question.

[@davidstakston1950]

@@esmith1771 Which country are the thistles native?

[@esmith1771]

@@davidstakston1950 From Google: Bull thistle, Cirsium vulgare, native to Europe, western Asia and North Africa, as with Canada thistle has become a global pest. Scotch thistle, Onopordum acanthium, originally came from Europe. Despite this thistle being the national symbol of Scotland, it prefers the summer-dry warmer Mediterranean climate.

[@markeh1971]

Sheeo! Right at the end you tell us what happened. Lots more rock damb's and give it time. Take care and keep up the good work. M.

[@robmclaughlin420]

That was a really good explanation of why and where your going with it. Thanks.

[@johnowens5342]

Incredible volume of water needed to to do this, perhaps your water catchment system needs to be more aggressive. Multiple dams creating lake size catchments. Do the math how many gallons per day times x number of trees. The up side is anything you do no matter how small is a positive improvement.

[@grantmccoy6739]

The catchments along the slopes should stop enough water that large catchments aren't needed. Large accumulations of water mean you aren't slowing the water down early enough, or there's just too much water all at once.

[@rsr3959]

IMO he should start in wet weather creek collecting all offsite water (Bill Zeedyk methods) and then move to top elevations of his property collecting all on-site water (standard permaculture methods).

[@bartholomewkempis3929]

The weed was a thistle and you can see a butterfly on it demonstrating it is not wind pollinated and not thereby not likely to cause an allergic reaction.

[@maryhairy1]

No surface water? So would it feasible to drill a borehole even just for your own & volunteer use? I have a friend has a borehole with a small solar panel & a toiled system to reload the water when necessary.

[@president2]

No water shed, grass with 15 foot roots once kept a deep water shed years long!!! All gone but it can come back 🌹

[@LorraineCoe]

I’m surprised that you would receive such accusations. In my maybe naive view, the land is severely degraded and in its current state is nowhere near ‘natural’. Hopefully, your efforts will help to heal the land and steer it towards its full potential.

[@StevieWonders2020]

Love the cottonwoods...that plant with the yellow and black [maybe a Swallowtail?] butterfly is in the thistle/artichoke family....and would grow well. Get seeds sometime.

[@fayebird1808]

It looks like a Scottish thistle. Invasive, but it has beautiful purple flowers. It grows all over Canada.

[@atholmullen]

5:37 Scotch Thistle, Onopordum acanthium.

[@fraz1142]

I love how your channel is like an adventure learning and discovering about the area

[@terrytyree9415]

Have you considered rain harvesting?tree nursery for future planting It will supply the water for yourself plus shade for your camp With solar panels and a small pump you can have water year round I am A retired electrician and use this on my own home.

[@GG_GG_GG]

I wish you would make longer videos!

[@yellowlabrador]

it's the same story here in Ireland. Once we were forested but now everything is bare. Sheep, goats and deer are to blame. Same in Scotland

[@C.Hawkshaw]

Don’t despair! We can bring back the earth, we really can!

[@dustupstexas]

I got to live in Ireland for a year. My wife and I loved hiking through the isolated pockets of reestablished forest.

[@V1sual3y3z]

@@C.Hawkshaw there is a channel (Mossy Earth?) that does "rewilding" projects. I think that's how this channel was suggested to me because I watch a lot of stuff like that.

[@AmandaHugandKiss411]

No, They DeForest it and killed off wolves or other predators is what happened in Ireland and Scotland and other parts of upper Europe.

[@timothyvanderschultzen9640]

Thanks for a vision of what could be!

[@Thesandchief]

i would say the same thing about the west coast of the arabian peninsula. it used to be savanna with some light tree cover, I wouldn't exactly call it a forest but it's defiantly not the deserts we see today especially in the valleys. years of mismanagement and apathy have degraded those lands and made them into deserts.

[@regentmad1037]

i ,love that hike. gunsight peak is nice too. my son sat on a cactus right around there when he was a little boy XD

[@konduriumesh]

All the very best for your project Shaun, can’t wait to see the desert forest. Love from India 😊

[@Ifyouarehurtnointentwasapplied]

Seeping water is coming from the water pressure in the soil above that point more wiers will help ✌️