BLM announces thinning treatments in San Juan and Rio Arriba Counties
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FARMINGTON, N.M. – Beginning today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Farmington Field Office, in partnership with the San Juan Soil and Water Conservation District, will treat approximately 9,350 acres of sagebrush. Treatments will occur on BLM, State of New Mexico, and private lands within San Juan and Rio Arriba Counties in northwestern New Mexico, where sagebrush densities have surpassed historic, naturally occurring levels.
The objective of the treatments is to improve plant species diversity, which will benefit wildlife, rangeland, and watershed health by reducing the density of sagebrush, and result in an increase of native grasses, forbs, and other herbaceous vegetation.
A low-flying airplane will drop Tebuthiuron pellets, a soil-activated herbicide that inhibits photosynthesis, on sagebrush. The herbicide will have minimal impact on desirable grasses and forbs, and because the herbicide is applied in pellet form, it will not drift from the treated areas. When the pellets dissolve with favorable precipitation, they are absorbed into the ground to a depth of approximately two feet and into the targeted plant root system, eventually reducing the sagebrush plant cover. The agency will not drop pellets near waterways or on slopes greater than ten percent.
The agency has been using the herbicide Tebuthiuronto control sagebrush since the 1980s. The BLM’s goal is to decrease sagebrush densities to historic levels and not eradication.
For further information, please contact BLM Rangeland Management Specialist Barbara Witmore at 505-490-2073 or Steve Wamel with the San Juan Soil and Water Conservation District at 505-793-0364.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.