Sadlers Ranch CCC Camp – Eureka NV

Description

“The Division of Grazing (Grazing Service as of 1939) operated the greatest number of CCC programs in the state. There were several reasons for this. First of all, Nevada has the largest public domain (nonallocated federal acreage) of any of the forty-eight states. With little trouble, Nevadas elected officials and stockmen easily persuaded national CCC officials to approve requests for several new grazing camps, notwithstanding national CCC program budget cuts. Second, following passage of the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934, a large workforce was needed to implement its ambitious provisions. Even with CCC assistance, the amount of work needing to be accomplished was unprecedented.

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The amount of CCC work on Nevada’s public domain was impressive by any standard. In Nevada alone, CCC officials estimated that $13,392,000 was expended on the grazing program during its first five years. By the end of the program in 1942, the CCC Grazing Services program had constructed 15 miles of pipelines for spring development, 26 large impounding or diversion dams, 260 miles of fence, 60 cattle guards, almost 2,000 miles of truck trails, and 800 permanent and temporary check dams. In addition, approximately 80 miles of stock driveways were marked, more than 30,000 acres of poisonous and noxious weeds were eradicated, and crickets and grasshoppers were fought on more than 100,000 acres. CCC firefighting was a major endeavor and man-days exceeded 10,000 per year.

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In Nevada, twenty-six CCC grazing camps operated at various times and locations during the life of the program. Main or parent camps were usually established on or near large ranching outfits such as Sadlers Ranch, Dunphy Ranch, Quinn River Ranch, Moorman Ranch, Board Corrals, Dressler Ranch, Sunnyside Ranch, and Delmues Ranch. The army frequently established one or more subsidiary camps, called side of spike camps, when the necessary work was too far from the main camps for a daily commute.

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It is difficult to assess the real value of the CCC contribution to the public domain. District grazing records reflect hundreds of projects accomplished with CCC labor. By providing water and access, the CCC opened up vast expanses of rangelands that would be available for grazing. But before reservoirs, corrals, and spring improvements could be constructed, thousands of miles of roads would have to be built. Consequently, the Division of Grazing referred to truck trails as the daddy of them all.”