Friday, July 30, 2010

Visiting the Potato Fire

The Potato Fire was completely out by wednesday, so on thursday a group of us went out to take a look. We have seven days from containment to complete an initial Emergency Stabilization & Rehabilitation plan if needed. Our main issue will be keeping cattle off for three years. Fortunately, there was already a drift fence in place, but we're planning to repair and extend it. There is some cheat grass (Bromus tectorum) along the perimeter; evil, invasive stuff, but there's not much we can do. Hopefully natives will be able to reestablish themselves, particularly away from the edges. We will monitor the vegetation for three years to see how it recovers.


walking the perimeter

sage-grouse pellets just outside the burn area

3 comments:

  1. Wow, the last picture you posted looks like scenery for a bleak scene on a movie set. I actually like that shot. Why was it called the Potato fire?

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  2. They name fires after nearby geographic features... this fire was southwest of Potato Peak in the Bodie Hills. :)

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  3. Only a biologist would put up pictures of poop. I love it!!!

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