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Show . Control burns scheduled on Bookcliffs by BLM "This fail, at least one wildland fire, will start and be allowed to burn," stated Lloyd Ferguson, Vernal District Manager for the Bureau of Land Management. In recent years the term "fire management" has come into play and is rapidly replacing the idea of complete wildland fire control. For many years fire has been used as a means for manipulating vegetation and for improving range conditions for domestic livestock and most big game species. However, because it can be very difficult to control, managers have been reluctant to use it as a rehabilitation tool. This situation is ' rapidly changing because techniques for. controlled burns have been improved. im-proved. In addition, equipment such as the helicopter and sophisticated S pumper units are available to help in j control. 1 The control burn referred to by Mr. Ferguson will occur in the bottom of upper Sweetwater Canyon in the rugged Bookcliff Mountains. This will be an experimental burn designed to improve forage conditions for doe deer that are raising fawns in the area. Forbs (succulent vegetation) are very important in the diet of a female deer as she raises, her fawn. The designated burn area presently supports a heavy stand of big sagebrush which has grown so tall (average plant is six feet high) that it is unpalatable and unavailable as forage. This has also resulted in very few understory plants. Through bur- ning, new succulent plants will replace the old decadent sagebrush. Detailed planning relating to all phases of the 300 acre project have been completed and approved. This includes a complete burning schedule, safety measures for crew members, weather and fire behavior analysis and a post burn review. In addition, studies designed to determine vegetation changes, impacts to the watershed and changes in wildlife habitat have been developed. Both pre and post burn . monitoring will be completed to provide guidelines for future projects. A detailed environmental assessment 1 of the project has been completed. This indicates that despite immediate loss of ground cover and temporary loss of vegetation to a variety of small birds and other wild creatures, most wildlife and the watershed will be vastly improved im-proved over the long-range. "This is clearly demonstrated on several large natural burns which have occured in the Bookcliffs over the years," stated Mr. Ferguson. "Nature, in all her wisdom, has covered these once denuded areas with a good variety of grasses and shrubs and thus protected the precious top soil and provided good forage increases and protective cover for our wildlife," he said. Literally thousands of acres in the Vernal District could be improved with fire management and the up-coming project schedule for burning late in the fall will provide experience and guidance for developing future projects. |