Explore more
Maps, photos and other details of this restoration effort can be found at The Conservation Registry »
Restoration Efforts: Five Creeks Rangeland Restoration Project
Status: Currently in progress
Problem
The range of western juniper was historically controlled by wildfire. Current range expansion in the Intermountain West began in the late 1800s, concurrent with wet, warm climatic conditions, introduction of livestock and reduced incidence of fire.
Approximately 70 percent of the Five Creeks Project area has been encroached by juniper and is at increased risk for catastrophic wildfire. Additionally, this juniper expansion into sagebrush steppe and riparian habitats reduces forage production, increases soil erosion, and eliminates habitat for sagebrush obligate wildlife species such as sage-grouse. Sage-grouse are dependent on sagebrush for nesting and winter forage and avoid areas with vertical structure, such as juniper trees, which are associated with increased predation risk (Commons et al. 1999). Restoration of these plant communities improves wildlife habitat, reduces hazardous fuels, protects watershed function, decreases erosion, and increases forage for wildlife and livestock.
Approach
A complex, innovative approach is being used to reduce hazardous fuel accumulation and restore sagebrush steppe plant communities that have been invaded by western juniper. Fire is the key tool in this project. Prescribed burning is an effective method of juniper control which kills mature trees as well as seedlings; results which cannot be achieved through cutting alone. Several specific burn prescriptions have been utilized including black lining the burn perimeter, use of a helitorch and Plastic Sphere Dispenser (PSD) machine to burn internal acres, jackpot and broadcast burning, and hand lighting portions of the project area. In areas where standing trees do not provide enough fuel to carry fire across the landscape some mature trees are being cut prior to burning. These selective cuts help prescribed fires move across the landscape in a mosaic pattern.
Where appropriate, burned acres are aerially seeded to facilitate recovery where closed canopy juniper had replaced the herbaceous and shrub understory. Seeding is generally implemented in the more productive soils of east and north facing slopes.
Progress
2008: 7670 acres of juniper were cut, 5500 acres received fire treatments and 2000 acres were aerially seeded.
2009: 2670 acres of juniper were cut, 16,400 acres received fire treatments and 1760 acres were aerially seeded.
14 miles of stream treatments were completed in 2009, including removing juniper from riparian zones and canyon sides and burning the resulting slash.
In addition to juniper control, noxious weed surveys were conducted on over 20,000 acres. Diffuse knapweed (Centaurea diffusa) Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense), bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare), Scotch thistle (Onopordum acanthium), whitetop (Cardaria draba), medusahead rye (Taeniatherum caput-medusae), and morning glory (Convolvulus arvensis) were found. Herbicide treatments were applied to problem areas.
Habitat surrounding an active sage-grouse lek (36 birds counted in 2009) has been targeted for treatment in 2010. This treatment will include cutting and machine piling juniper in order to remove juniper from the site, while retaining all existing sagebrush.
Results
Monitoring of plant cover, density, and plant species composition and frequency in upland and riparian areas will continue over the next several years to determine the overall success of treatments to plant communities. These monitoring plots will also be used to ascertain if objectives were met and add to the available information related to vegetation response to juniper cutting and prescribed fire.
The USDA Agricultural Research Service is also conducting research in the Five Creeks project area to determine if aerial seeding of native perennial herbaceous vegetation in treated (cut and prescribed burned) phase III juniper woodlands improves restoration success of the herbaceous plant community and if including mountain big sagebrush seed expedites the recovery of sagebrush and sage-grouse habitat.
Additionally, the Five Creeks Project was chosen to be part of an ongoing, multi-state research project funded by the Joint Fire Science Program. Neo-tropical migrant birds and vegetation are being surveyed within research plots in the project area. Information from this investigation will provide site specific research results related to current management actions.
References
Commons, M. L.,R. K. Baydack, and C. E. Braun. 1999. Sage-grouse response to pinyon-juniper management. USDA Forest Service Proceedings RMRS-P-9.
