Conservation has been a core part of the Heaton Family for as long as Karl Heaton can remember. Located in southern Utah near the town of Alton, The Heaton’s ranch rests in a valley at an elevation of 7,200 feet and stretches across 15,000 acres of private land. Tree-covered mountains surround the green open space on three sides, while red rock formations to the north add a striking splash of color to a landscape inhabited by mule deer, sage grouse, elk and other wildlife. At 80 years old, Karl represents one of five generations of Heatons who have worked to implement conservation practices to protect the wildlife and the land. 

During a recent field visit with the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), Karl and his son Kevin pointed out shallow gullies now planted with grasses and trees. The Heaton family has been utilizing NRCS programs since the 1960s. Karl recalled his dad using an old Army surplus dozer to push over trees and haul them into the deep washes carved by strong seasonal runoff. “I’d follow behind scattering grass seeds,” Karl said. At other times, his dad would cut limbs from conifers and have Karl drag them into head cuts. Trees and other species provided by NRCS, then still known as the Soil Conservation Service, were also planted to combat soil erosion. While the larger washes still show signs of sediment loss, Karl estimates 15 feet of soil has been restored thanks to the family’s decades of seeding and planting. “If I live long enough, maybe it’ll be clear full,” he said. 

Adaptive Management

The cover of a 1964 Soil Conservation Service booklet, What is a Ranch Conservation Plan, features Karl’s uncle Ross and cousin Ferril on horseback as cattle graze nearby. Standing in the same spot more than 60 years later, Karl and Kevin point to areas where they’ve worked to reintroduce a diversity of native grasses and forage to prevent a sagebrush monoculture. “We pushed the trees and brush off probably 15 years ago to try and restart the system” Kevin said. 

Over the years, eleven contracts through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and three Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) contracts have helped them improve brush and range management, implement prescribed grazing with wildlife-friendly fencing and install irrigation and water efficiency improvements. 

“I think it’s interesting that some of these guys here think they’re cowboys, and I tell them they’re grass farmers,” Karl said. “They don’t like that, but it’s really the truth because if you don’t raise feed for your livestock you’re not going to be profitable.”

Their grazing system includes 15 pastures that cattle rotate through each summer, leaving most pastures to rest for 10 to 11 months. Depending on drought conditions, the cows are moved to the Arizona strip either by a 100-mile cattle drive or by truck for the winter. “Last two years we’ve trucked the cows to the winter grazing pastures because it was so dry,” Kevin said. “Climate is different every year. We can’t depend on a monsoon, and we can’t depend on a winter snowpack.” The challenge now is capturing and moving water to where the cows are through solar pumps, storage tanks, pipelines and troughs.

A Legacy of Conservation

The Heatons view conservation as a top priority for the land and a primary reason they’re still in business. 

“They’re some of my favorites because it’s clear they understand how everything connects,” said Kristi Westwood, NRCS District Conservationist for Garfield and Kane Counties, “They were doing conservation work long before they contacted us.”

In 2012, the Heaton Livestock Company received the Leopold Conservation Award from the Sand County Foundation for their leadership in conserving natural resources and protecting open spaces. “Out here, you’re taking care of everything. The watershed, livestock, wildlife,” Karl said, “When everything thrives, so do we.” 

From following his dad with a bucket of seed in the 60s, to implementing rotational grazing in the 80s, to the work they do today, Karl and his family plan to continue carving a path of responsible stewardship that preserves the land’s natural resources for generations to come.