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Show Page 7 APRIL 5,2007 THE GARFIELD COUNTY INSIDER CAN LIVESTOCK GRAZING BENEFIT WILDLIFE? Hardware Ranch hosts a public open house March 24 in Wellsville A major study to leam the ways livestock grazing might be used to improve wildlife habitat is among the many programs at the Hardware Ranch Wildlife Management Area this year. You can learn more about the work that's happening at the WMA by attending a public open house in Wellsville on March 24. The open house runs from noon to 5 p.m. It will be held in the Reception Building at the American West Heritage Center, 4025 S. US-89/91 in Wellsville. "As we look at the busy year ahead, we need to tell people what's happening at the ranch," says Dan Christensen, superintendent of the Hardware Ranch WMA, which is about 15 miles east of Hyrum. "Our programs are creating changes on the landscape, as well as in classrooms and in our community." About 1,000 cattle will be released onto portions of the ranch around April 1 as a study continues to determine whether prescriptive livestock grazing can be used to improve wildlife habitat, especially in places too steep or rocky to use heavy equipment or other traditional methods. The cattle will initially graze along the steep hillside about six miles above SR101, the main road in Blacksmith Fork Canyon. Then the cattle will be moved among five other areas on the ranch throughout the summer. "The number of cattle and the effects they're having on the range will be obvious to people as they come up the canyon to camp, fish and hike this spring," Christensen says. "The study will affect many areas of the ranch throughout the summer. We want to explain why we think this study is important and let people know that they can still use most of the ranch this year." Christensen is also gearing up to continue a major facilities improvement project. In June 2006, the WMA received much-needed funding to repair and replace utilities, buildings, roads, fences and other systems. Some of the trenches and repair scars from past work are reappearing as the snow melts, and there will be more trenches and improvements as major projects resume at the WMA in April. The visitor center at the WMA is also being repaired and upgraded. That work will continue through the summer. New displays, major artwork and a new habitat garden will premiere in time for the ranch's Elk Festival in October. A new interpretive area, located where people wait in the winter to board sleigh rides that take them through a wild elk herd, will also be completed this year. "At the open house we want to talk about new partnerships, growing education programs, habitat initiatives, recreational opportunities and future plans," Christensen says. "We're bringing together a team of people who know and care about what happens at Hardware Ranch. We want to talk to our neighbors to learn more about what they want to see." For more information, call the Hardware Ranch WMA at (435) 753-6186. ANNUAL SUNGLASS BLOWOUT SALE 30% OFF ALL INVENTORY EXCLUDING OAKLET c; i. i N i S «s llISSAHB yjEKEKGA, 0 896-8142 or 800-789-2020 ^<^P=^ ' y" " '*' o r> T I C A i BAVID GRAF, O B . 145 No. IOO East, Richfield • Gunnison - Bicknell Powell Ranger District Plans Burn in Sunset North Fuels Reduction Area The Powell Ranger District is planning to ignite prescribed fires over the next several weeks totaling about 800 acres. When fuels, safety and weather conditions permit, Forest Service fire management crews plan to burn about 800 acres in the Sunset North project area located about 10 miles northeast of Hatch. Smoke will be visible in Panguitch and Hatch through the duration of the effort. The Dixie National Forest developed the Sunset Cliffs North project to create defensible space around private land that will reduce the threat of a large, destructive wildland fire burning onto private property. The project is intended to maintain the ponderosa pine overstory, reduce the density of pinyon and juniper trees, and increase the presence of forbs, grasses and shrubs. Fire crews will monitor the fires to ensure that they meet management objectives, and to provide for public safety. Historically, fire has been the dominant disturbance on the Paunsaugunt Plateau. Prescribed fire is a tool used by foresters to re-introduce fire into this ecosystem, which 100 years of intensive fire suppression has unnaturally altered. Carefully managed fire also improves wildlife habitat, rangeland conditions and general forest health. For more information about the Sunset North Fuels Reduction Project, please call the Powell Ranger District at (435) 6769300. Need Solar Electric Power? re your local source! We're currently planning orders fop this season. Set in on quantity discounts or save on shipping by combining your order with others! Give us a call! Solar Power for: Cabins, 2nd Homes, Campers, and Well & Surface Pumps RE Solar, 135 E. Main Street in Torrey 435-425-2110 www.re-solar.com FUNDS STILL AVAILABLE FOR ENERGY ASSISTANCE The Home Energy Assistance Target (HEAT) Program is a federally funded energy assistance program designed to help eligible low-income households and families pay a portion of their winter home heating bills. The HEAT program assisted over 35,000 Utah households in 2006, yet applications for 2007 are lagging far behind applications received last year. The HEAT Program is concerned that many eligible households may be unaware of the program and is encouraging these households and families to take advantage of this assistance. HEAT targets its assistance to all eligible low-income households, especially the elderly and the disabled. The amount of the HEAT benefit payment a household may receive depends on their income and energy burden (the amount of income used to pay your energy bill). The maximum HEAT benefit amount is $500. The average household receives about $290. Applicants need to have identification, social security cards for everyone 18 years or older in the household, a copy of their most recent utility bills, proof of income during the past calendar month for all household members, and proof of medical expenses, if any, paid during the past month. County residents should call the HELP toll-free number—1-877-488-HELP (3233) to get the phone number of the nearest HEAT Office. When you qualify for HEAT you are also enrolled in the Utah Telephone Assistance Program (UTAP) and, for Rocky Mountain Power (RMP) customers only, the Home Electric Lifeline Program (HELP). UTAP gives landline telephone customers a $13.50 per month discount on their phone bill and HELP gives RMP customers an $8 per month discount on their electric bill. HEAT is administered under Housing and Community Development, a division of the Utah Department of Community and Culture. The program's season will closeApril27,2007. |