Interagency Cooperation Key To Restoring Wildlife Habitat After Fires
Source: www.ndow.org
Published: Jan. 09, 2007
The Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) have established priorities and begun restoration work in the 1.46 million acres of land burned by wildfires in the summer of 2006.
“This is really a triage approach; we’re treating those areas where we see the greatest need and the greatest potential for success,” said Dave Pulliam, Habitat Bureau Chief at NDOW. “Our resources are extremely limited in comparison to the scope of work that really needs to be done,” he added.
NDOW is focusing its efforts on areas prioritized for their wildlife values. Wildlife face significant winter die-off in burned critical winter habitats. NDOW is relocating up to 350 antelope and held emergency antelope and mule deer hunts this fall to reduce herds to levels the land can sustain.
Critical areas for these animals are being reseeded using a variety of methods. It is vital that burned areas be seeded with forbs, grasses and shrubs that can compete with invasive grasses such as cheatgrass. Cheatgrass, prevalent in northern Nevada, matures early in spring, and sucks essential nutrients and moisture from the soil. It “cheats” native plants from the essentials they need to flourish. Additionally, because cheatgrass matures and dries out early in the summer, it fuels wildfires, continuing the cycle of habitat destruction. Interagency cooperation between NDOW, BLM, and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) is a key step to restoring wildlife habitat.
BLM and NDOW share the common goal of restoring wildlife habitat burned during the 2006 fire season. In order to accomplish that goal, the agencies share resources and work together at every opportunity. Cooperative restoration is especially critical in areas like the “checkerboard” of alternating sections of public and private land or parcels of private lands surrounded by public lands. BLM and the USFS can only spend stabilization and restoration funds on public land. NDOW, however, can gain permission to complete work on private lands from private landowners. By working together, the agencies are able to accomplish habitat rehabilitation work on large areas of critical habitat that cross ownership boundaries.
BLM has two levels of restoration for post-fire activities. The first level is called Emergency Stabilization and includes work for erosion control, water quality protection, weed control, etc. Stabilization work is normally done within the first year following a fire. The second level is called Rehabilitation, which is aimed at rehabilitating wildlife habitat, rangelands, and repairing/replacing small structures such as fences or cattle guards. Rehabilitation Plans usually last for two or three years, although critical seeding is done the fall and winter following the burn to meet the “window” of opportunity of the first winter’s moisture before invasive weed competition becomes established.
BLM stabilization work in watershed areas is beneficial to burned areas in many important ways. Protection of watersheds not only benefits wildlife and helps maintain grazing, but also helps keep people and their communities safe from the danger of flooding. Thus far, BLM has purchased nearly one million pounds of seed of various species. Nearly 20,000 acres have been drill seeded (using heavy equipment to plant seed directly into the ground), and 10,000 acres have been aerial seeded in watersheds. An additional 165,000 acres of aerial seeding is planned for this winter in northeastern Nevada. An estimated 250,000 pounds of sagebrush seed and 14,200 pounds of bitterbrush seed is on order.
Later this winter, BLM plans to apply various species of big sagebrush and low sagebrush seed on specific sites within the burn perimeters of 28 wildfires, encompassing several hundred thousands of acres of public lands, with a major emphasis on wildlife habitat rehabilitation. Seeding efforts are ongoing for planting bitterbrush seed on various public land burn areas through the BLM, which places a major emphasis on wildlife habitat rehabilitation. The following is a summary of this year’s fire rehabilitation projects that have been completed or are under way.
- Bitterbrush seeding in approximately 1,000 acres of private land of the Snow Canyon Fire area using a bulldozer and 4-wheelers is complete. This project treats critical deer winter range, and was accomplished using NDOW equipment and employees.
- Bitterbrush seed has been hand-planted on BLM public lands on an estimated 120 acres on the Winters and North Antelope Fire areas and 750 acres on the Snow Canyon Fire area.
- Bitterbrush seed was hand-planted on 200 acres of U.S. Forest Service lands in the Snow Canyon Fire area. This was done by students from Elko High School agriculture classes.
- NDOW will assist the BLM in seeding bitterbrush on portions of the 148,000-acre Charleston Fire burn.
- NDOW will seed nearly 30,000 acres with mostly sagebrush species in the Winters, Amazon, Snow Canyon, Charleston, Suzie, Elburz and Marble area fires. Lower elevations with significant threat of cheatgrass invasion will be aerially seeded with forage kochia (a non-native half shrub that provides high-quality fall and winter forage for livestock and wildlife), sagebrush, and grass mixes.
- Concurrent NDOW and BLM efforts will seed drainages on private land in the Amazon, Snow Canyon, Basco, and Mudd fire areas with special seed mixes for watersheds.
- NDOW, BLM, USFS and Ellison Ranching Co. recently completed reseeding efforts on 6,000 acres of mixed ownership lands on the Snow Canyon Fire. Mountain big sagebrush and key grass species were utilized in this reseeding effort.
- Volunteers will supplement BLM efforts in planting seedlings in the Basco and Mudd fire areas, focusing on stabilization.
- NDOW and the BLM will cooperatively plant seed in “greenstrips,” areas around islands of un-burned habitat, in the Suzie, Winters, and Marble fire areas.
- NDOW is working with private landowners in securing funds through the federal Landowner Incentive Program for aerial seeding in the Amazon, Winters, and Basco Fire areas. Sagebrush and watershed seed mixes will be used.
- BLM has completed 426 acres of drill seeding on the Adavan Fire and is working on 2,209 acres of drill seeding on the Sherwood Fire, both in Nye County. In January, BLM plans to drill seed 160 acres of the Texas Fire in Lincoln County.
- In January and February, the BLM plans to aerial seed the Hambly Fire (22,215 acres), Range Fire (24,327 acres) and Higby Fire (11,890 acres).
- BLM plans to drill seed 1,700 acres and aerial seed 1,600 acres on the Poito Fire south of Gerlach. The Bureau has completed 800 acres of drill seeding and 4,400 acres of aerial seeding on the New York Peak and Trident Fires near Denio.
- The Bureau also plans to drill seed 3,600 acres, aerial seed 400 acres and construct 4.5 miles of temporary protective fence on the Gap Fire, south of Battle Mountain. NDOW through NDF and prison crew seed collections will be supplementing BLM reseeding efforts in White Pine and Lincoln areas.
- NDOW has requisitioned nearly $500,000 worth of seed to date, primarily from the seed bank at the state’s Division of Forestry. The costs of NDOW’s reseeding effort are being funded through donations, Question 1 bond funds and money generated through the Habitat Conservation Stamp. The Habitat Conservation Stamp is a $3 cost added to each hunting, fishing, and trapping license sold in Nevada. A fire rehabilitation fund has raised an estimated $85,000 to date to purchase seed and conduct seeding efforts. Anyone wishing to make a donation may do so at Heritage Bank of Nevada.“We wish to thank everyone who has donated to the fund,” said Pulliam. “The donations have allowed for significant acres of additional wildlife habitat to be treated.” Donations can be directed to: Account Name: "NBU - Nevada Wildfire Disaster Fund": Acct #: 3030003481 Heritage Bank of Nevada 47 Damonte Ranch Pkwy. Reno, NV 89521 The Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) protects, restores and manages fish and wildlife, and promotes fishing, hunting, and boating safety. For more information, visit www.ndow.org. The BLM, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior, is responsible for the management of approximately 48 million acres of public land within the State of Nevada.
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