A SusanvilleStuff Feature
by Melissa Blosser, Assistant Editor
Although the Rush Fire devastated 315,000 acres of high desert range last August, the recovery progress is moving forward with the help of volunteers donating time and effort by planting seedling to revive the ecosystem on land that provides homes for many different species of wildlife.
Members of the Mule Deer Foundation and the Honey Lake Pointing Dog Club joined members of the BLM’s Eagle Lake Field Office staff over the weekend of December 8th to plant 1,500 bitterbrush seedlings across a 500-acre burned area off the Rye Patch Road northeast of Susanville.
The group plans another seeding outing in an area that once supported a dense bitterbrush stand.
Bitterbrush is an important food source for mule deer and many other wildlife species, and provides cover for sage-grouse. It is a slow-growing plant, so using seedlings will help speed up the rate of recovery.
The project was made possible by a $5,000 donation from the Mule Deer Foundation, which provided 3,000 bitterbush seedlings and mesh tubes that will protect the fragile plants from foraging animals.
“We greatly appreciate the donation from the foundation and the work of the volunteers,” said Ken Collum, manager of the Eagle Lake Field Office. “Restoring the land after this fire is a huge undertaking, and we welcome all who would like to help out.”
The Rush Fire, ignited by lighting in August, not only devastated the wildlife habitat but also burned parts of nine livestock grazing allotments, within six wilderness study areas, and parts of the Twin Peaks Wild Horse and Burro Herd Management Area.
According to Collum the recovery process will take some time.
“We expect it would take 10 to 15 years to begin seeing establishment of maturing stands of bitterbrush and sagebrush,” said Collum. ” Using seedlings gives us a little jump start on plant growth compared with using seeds.”
Although full recovery time could be lengthy, according to Collum, BLM is focusing on recovery on a broad spectrum and some areas recovery results could be seen in just a couple of years.
“In the coming months, we will continuing broadcast and drill seeding with a mix of native grasses and shrubs. We will be considering aerial seeing in some areas. In many areas, especially higher elevations, we expect to have good natural recovery of grasses and leafy plants, and if we continue to get good precipitation we could see nice coverage in a couple of years,” said Collum.
In addition to volunteer projects, BLM crews are currently at work planting native grass and shrub seeds on about 5,000 acres.
