Water is at the heart of any agricultural community. Here in our mountain valley, as the weather warms the land, a true rite of spring for the area’s ranches, and indeed all of us, is when the pastures begin greening up and the irrigation ditches begin to flow.
In April, right as the area’s ditches were getting turned on, Salida was host to the 2016 Arkansas River Basin Water Forum, bringing people from across the state to address strategies and opportunities for managing the valley’s water resources. As part of this event, participants had the opportunity to tour the Hutchinson Homestead and Learning Center with Art Hutchinson and Guidestone. This tour highlighted the current and historic water use and practices on the ranch and provided a venue for discussion around preserving our agricultural heritage and Guidestone’s programs that are dedicated to growing farmers and supporting a vibrant agricultural future in the valley.
As highlighted on the tour, water use and practices on The Hutchinson Ranch and Hutchinson Homestead & Learning Center (HH&LC) have a long-standing history that extends over 140 years. The Hutchinson Ditch #1, hand dug and finished in 1877, today still flows along the north fields of the Hutchinson Ranch and through the heart of the Homestead. This ditch is considered priority right #65 decreed to Annabel & Joseph Hutchinson. Other historic ditches that feed the Hutchinson Ranch include the Hutchinson Ditch #2 (1879) and the Del Monte Ditch (1881)
In the Salida-area where precipitation averages only 9.5 inches a year, not only are these ditches what make hay production on the ranch and other area agriculture possible, they are also quite a feat of construction! At the time these ditches were dug, methodology and tools included a Ditch Board (or Ditch Leveler), a 16 foot length of board with a ½ inch drop that had to be hand-sighted in order to ensure a consistent drop for water flow, followed by a draft horse pulling a Scraper (like a giant spoon) to dig the soil out of the ditch. All this for miles from their parent waters of the South Arkansas and Poncha Creek! This valley remains green and productive thanks to the annual runoff of the high country snowpack and the ditch-digging efforts of these early pioneers.
While the Hutchinson’s upper pasture now has a pivot irrigation system, the majority of their meadows and pastures are still flood irrigated as they were when the homestead was first established. This low-tech method requires using tarps to build a series of small dams along the ditch until water builds up and floods out over the field. As tarps are moved down the ditch, the water follows, ensuring the whole field gets covered. The water helps grow the crops, and a good percentage of it percolates back through the soil and into the lower gravel layers, gradually returning to the nearby river.
As part of summer camp opportunities at the HH&LC, kids get to participate in this age-old technique. What better way to learn about traditional and current ranching techniques than to experience it first-hand, building a dam in a creek and following the water into the field. Needless to say, kids love it! To learn more about summer camp opportunities at the HH&LC for kids ages 5 and up, please CLICK HERE!
The HH&LC Visitor Center also has additional information and photos regarding irrigation and other ranching practices past and present. Beginning May 17, the Homestead Visitor Center will be open Tuesday-Saturday, 10am-2pm. Come learn more, see the ranch’s old Ditch Board and stay for a tour!
For more information on all of our summer programs and events, please visit www.HutchinsonHomestead.org