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Show Ga?field County PANGUITCH • PANGUITCH LAKE • HATCH • BRYCE • TROPIC • ANTIMONY • HENRIEVILLE • CANNONVILLE • ESCALANTE • BOULDER Thursday, August 11, 2011 • Issue # 335 PRESCRIBED BURN SCHEDULED IN BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL. PARK AND DIXIE NATIONAL. FOREST A prescribed burn is scheduled in Bryce Canyon National Park (NP) and adjoining lands of the Dixie National Forest (NF) in the upcoming weeks. The 1,106 acre Sunset Campground Prescribed Fire (Rx) is planned to occur over a period of several days, as weather conditions permit, between August 10 and 31, 2011. Should burning conditions not materialize earlier in the month, fire managers will assess smoke management considerations prior to any ignition late in August to avoid unnecessarily effecting visitor activities over Labor Day weekend. The burn is located on the west side of the main park road, near Sunset Campground in Bryce Canyon NP and on adjoining lands to the west on the Dixie NE The Sunset Campground Rx is intended to reduce wildland fire hazards to visitors, park infrastructure and adjoining private and public lands. "The Sunset Campground prescribed burn is an interagency effort between the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service," said Rob MacWhorter, Dixie National Forest Supervisor. "It is intended to restore forest and park ecosystems and to better protect high use developed areas on both the forest and park." The burn will only be ignited if weather and fuel conditions are appropriate and sufficient firefighting resources are available. The project will begin with a black-lining operation along the boundaries of the burn unit on the first day, followed by aerial ignition of the interior of the unit on the second day. Once the area is ignited, it will actively burn for 1-2 days and then smolder for another few days. The fire will be closely monitored until declared out. Through careful planning by the agencies, this prescribed burn will be conducted with the health and safety of area residents, visitors and wildland fire fighters as the highest priority. Adhering to the carefullydeveloped fire prescription allows the burn to achieve both ecological and fire safety objectives. Public lands will remain open during this prescribed fire with the exception of Sunset Campground in Bryce Canyon NP and some adjoin- Perseid Meteor Shower by Kate Magargal The Perseid meteor cally high shower is an annual celes- numbers tial event that can be seen of meteors in mid-August. This year's still make meteor shower is predicted this shower to peak in the early morning worth sethours of August 13th. The ting your alarm for. full moon might wash some Going outside after of the fainter meteors from midnight will give the view, but warm summer best potential view of any temperatures and histori- meteor shower, however THURSDAY SUNNY HIGH: 83 LOW: 46 FRIDAY SUNNY HIGH: 84 LOW: 49 SATURDAY PARTLY CLOUDY ;ft SCATTERED T STORMS HIGH: 84 LOW: 51 SUNDAY HIGH: 78 LOW: 49 MONDAY ISOLATED T STORMS HIGH: 80 LOW: 48 TUESDAY MOSTLY SUNNY HIGH: 80 LOW: 47 WEDNESDA SUNNY Member of: fir Utah Press, HIGH: 80 LOW: 47 ** * ** I FPA. INDEPENDENT FREE PAPERS OF AMERICA ac_ PULL BACK AND LET IT FLY! Archery elk and deer hunts start Aug. 20, 2011 ing areas of the Dixie NF. There may also be some short-term traffic delays in the vicinity of the burn. Visitors to Bryce Canyon NP and Dixie NF and area residents may see or smell smoke from this prescribed fire. Smoke on park roadways may be a hazard and scenic visibility may be reduced in certain areas. At night and in the early morning, residents in the Bryce Valley region may experience smoke because of atmospheric inversions. The future benefits of restoring the health of the ecosystem and reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfires and threats to developed areas is vital to maintaining the integrity of the resources at Bryce Canyon National Park and the adjoining areas of Dixie National Forest. "Using prescribed fire to improve wildlife habitat and restore forest health," said Jeff Bradybaugh, Bryce Canyon NP Superintendent, "helps sustain Bryce Canyon's long-term appeal to the national and international visiting public and the economic benefits they bring to the tourism industry in the area." elk are very mobile. "Once the hunt starts," Mumford says, "the animals seem to know they're the focus of interest, and they seek areas where they will not be disturbed." To take an elk, Mumford says you should get away from roads and main trails. "During the archery hunt," he says, "the elk will seek out thick and out-of-the-way conifers and aspen stands where they feel secure and where they can escape the summer heat." Archery deer The number of buck deer compared to the number of doe deer in Utah is good across most of the state. Aoude says this past winter was a good one for deer across most of Utah. "Even though the state received a lot of snow," Aoude says, "temperatures across most of Utah were mild enough that the snow melted quick on the lower elevation areas where the deer spend the winter. "Most of the fawns that were born in 2010 made it through the winter," he says. "These deer will be available to hunters as yearling bucks this fall." Aoude says there are some exceptions, though— portions of the Cache unit in northern Utah, and units along the south slope of the Uinta Mountains in northeastern Utah, were hit with cold temperatures at the start of winter. The cold temperatures remained through most of the season. "The snow in these areas crusted over and stayed that way through most of the winter," Aoude says. "Quite a few fawns died." Another area of concern is southern Utah, where a severe drought several years ago has kept the overall number of deer down. "The number of fawns born in the southern part of the You can buy a general archery elk permit at wildlife.utah.gov, at DWR offices and from more than 300 hunting license agents across Utah. What can hunters expect? Utah's general archery elk hunt and general archery deer hunt start on Aug. 20, 2011. The two hunts are the first general hunts to be held in the state this fall. Anis Aoude, big game coordinator for the DWR, provides the following preview for each hunt: Archery elk The number of elk in Utah is up. Based on surveys conducted after the fall 2010 elk hunt was over, biologists estimate the total number of elk in Utah at more than 72,500 animals. That's almost 4,000 more elk than the statewide objective of 68,825. "Utah's elk herds are doing great," Aoude says. If you buy a general archery elk permit, you can take a bull elk or a cow elk on any general season area except the Monroe unit in southwestern Utah. On the Monroe unit, general archery elk hunters meteors can be seen at any may not take a cow elk. time of night. Perseus, the Plenty of bull and cow constellation that Perseid elk will be available, but meteors appear to emanate taking one with a bow and from, will rise soon after arrow can be a challenge— midnight. Jupiter will also in 2010, only seven percent be prominent in the early of the general archery elk morning hours, offering a hunters took an animal. view of its cloud-bands and To increase your chance four largest moons to those for success, Vance Mumwith even modest binocuford, a DWR biologist in lars or spotting scopes. southern Utah, encourMake sure you find an obages you to remember that servation spot well away from artificial lights. LuckPrime Rib Specials Friday ily for most of us in Wayne County, this doesn't mean and Saturday going much farther than our back yards! &meow V/eueeot Redo/a If you'd like to learn more about astronomy and the dark skies of the Colorado Plateau, come to this Eattakey .7e_2-4.ec2-0-0 7ite 9,r1.! .91crm.:42-tr/ year's Heritage Starfest, September 30th and OcHours: tober 1st. 4H activities, a movie screening, telescopes 7am - 9pm Monday Thru Saturday and more will be part of 7am - 8pm Sundays this year's event. Detailed information, including a Call for Lodging reservations: schedule of events, can be 435-638-1040 found at www.heritagestarfest.com. We are inclined to believe those whom we do not know because they have never deceived us. Samuel Johnson THE GARFIELD COUNTY INSIDER is owned and operated by Snapshot Multimedia and is distributed weekly to all of Garfield County. Its purpose is to inform residents about local issues and events. Articles submitted from independent writers are not necessarily the opinion of Snapshot Multimedia. We sincerely hope you enjoy the paper and encourage input on ideas and/or suggestions for the paper. Thank you for your support. Multimedia state has been fairly low over the past few years," Aoude says. "Hopefully, the wet winter and spring this year will help the vegetation. If the vegetation improves, so will the overall number of deer." Bucks per 100 does Every fall—after the archery, muzzleloader and rifle hunts are over and while the deer are grouped together during their breeding period—DWR biologists conduct deer surveys. During the surveys, the biologists compare the number of bucks they see to the number of does they see. Vance Mumford - Monroe, Fish Lake The archery deer hunt is expected to be only fair this fall on the Fish Lake and Monroe units. Poor reproduction over the last couple of years, coupled with a hard winter in 2009, has caused a decline in these two deer herds. Both of these units are below the buck-to-doe ratio objectives. There is good news, though! Even though the unit received a lot of moisture this past winter, the deer came out very well. Very little winter mortality of fawns or adults occurred. This should result in a fair number of yearling bucks entering the population for this fall's hunt. Even though the populations are down on these two units, there is still ample opportunity for a fun and successful hunt. Public land access is excellent on both of these units. This year, the spring and summer precipitation has resulted in very good vegetation growth, and the deer look very healthy. It's likely that deer will not be concentrated around water sources as ample water is spread across the units. Remember the Monroe unit has a shorter archery season again this year. The last day of the general archery deer hunt is Sept. 4 on the Monroe. The statewide general archery deer runs through Sept. 16. Jim Lamb Boulder Archery deer hunting should be fair on the Boulder unit. It's likely that deer will not be concentrated around water sources as ample water is spread across the unit. The Boulder deer hunt is also shorter this year, and hunters need to remember the dates. On the Boulder unit, the last day of the general archery deer hunt is Sept. 4. - Phone: 435-676-2621 Fax 1-888-370-8546 PO BOX 472, Loa, Utah 84747 snapshot@scinternet.net ALL content for THE GARFIELD COUNTY INSIDER must be submitted on FRIDAY BEFORE 5:00 PM to be included in the following Thursday edition of the paper. BOXHOLDER PRE-SORT STANDARD PAID LOA, UTAH PERMIT No. 5 |