Sometimes it's okay to keep traditions alive. No one likes change and that’s part of the reason some traditions  remain. Other times, people and operations find  change is for the better. That’s not the case for the ranchers along the Sweetwater River. Five ranchers still graze their cattle together on 90,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management land under shared permits. They call this practice “Roundup,” and it dates back to 1934, when the Taylor Grazing Act led to the fencing of the allotment and the beginning of communal grazing. 

When Roundup first began, they had a Spring Roundup and a Fall Roundup. Over the years the common allotment members have since done away with Spring Roundup, which was typically held around mid-June. Spring Roundup was to brand everyone’s calves, distribute the bulls according to the number of cattle around each water hole, and to doctor anything injured or sick. Now since everyone on the Sweetwater brands in April and May before we turn out onto the allotment in the middle of May, there is no need for a Spring Roundup. I can remember when I was younger going to help on the Spring roundup, Ihelped gather and hold herd, and the last one we had was in 2016.   

Fall Roundup takes place every year around Labor Day weekend. On this Roundup we gather all the yearlings, bulls and other cattle that need to be sold, as well as anything unbranded, or sick. Four of the five ranches that run on this allotment are still carrying on the tradition that their ancestors made. Before the Taylor Grazing Act was passed, my great-great-grandparents were already grazing cattle on this allotment. They were among the first to take part in what’s now known as Roundup.  

When we gather the allotment, we make a big sweep—what we call “going out on circle”—around whichever watering hole camp is set up at that day. We hold the herd while each outfit rides in and sorts out the cattle they want from the bunch. It can get a little western at times, but it’s a great way to learn how to handle cattle. 

The best part of Roundup is that the men stay out on the range each night at a different watering hole, for about 11 days. At each watering source there are large pens that were built when roundup began to keep their horses in as well as the  cattle they gather. Women can trailer out with their horses, to camp each morning but go home when the work is done. The cowboys each bring a few horses with them that will last all of Roundup, and in the mornings it's fun to watch the cowboys wrangle their horses for the day, with only a rope corral.  

After the sorting is done, we eat lunch and move camp to the next.  Cowboys are divided up, some move the cavy and some go with the stock. The cattle are trailed to each camp until we can get them close to the river to cross into the next allotment.  Another tradition that stays alive is the “cook shack”. It’s what it sounds like, an old camper that is primarily used for cooking all the meals for the cowboys, and providing a place to stay for the cook. Each year a different ranch provides a whole beef for Roundup to last the whole time. It's so fascinating to look at camp when it's all set up, with the teepees surrounding the cook shack, and the horses grazing along with the beef in the pen next to them.   

Now Fall Roundup is not when we bring all our cattle back to our operations. After Fall Roundup we wait another month to gather the rest of the cattle. Sometimes the older cattle will just come home. Other times a huge snow storm will come through driving them home. Other times, we have to go out and gather them. Something very interesting about the allotment is  it is connected directly to 4 out of the 5 ranches that run out on the it, making it very easy to gather them into our corrals, with no need to haul them home. On the Sweetwater many special traditions have died off with time, but Roundup still lives on, and I’m grateful for every year I get to be a part of it.