Non-profit organization partners with state and federal agencies on aerial seeding
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ELY, Nev. – A non-profit conservation organization is partnering with state and federal agencies to seed 19,000-plus acres of eastern Nevada’s burned public lands. The aerial applications augment previous seedings that improve wildlife habitat and watershed health.
Lara Derasary, wildland fire rehabilitation specialist for the Eastern Nevada Landscape Coalition (ENLC), said that field assessments suggest the sites selected would benefit from additional seed to support revegetation and habitat restoration efforts. “Given the highly variable annual and inter-annual climatic conditions within the region, we may determine that some sites could benefit from seedings conducted over multiple years,” Derasary said.
The ENLC, Nevada Department of Wildlife and Bureau of Land Management Ely District are applying seed to nearly 14,900 acres burned in the 2018 Goshute Cave Fire. The lightning-ignited fire burned 32,215 acres of BLM-administered land in and outside the Goshute Canyon Wilderness in White Pine and Elko counties, about 60 miles north of Ely.
The partners are seeding approximately 3,935 of the 4,050-plus acres of public land burned in the human-caused 2020 Flat and Baldy fires located in the Antelope Range and 46 acres burned in the lightning-ignited 2018 Paine Fire in Duck Creek Basin, about 60 and 15 miles northeast of Ely, respectively. Approximately 315 of the 338 acres burned in the lightning-ignited 2017 Hobson Fire, about 75 miles northwest of Ely, will also be treated.
All five of the burned areas were initially seeded within a year of the fire event as part of an Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation Plan prepared and implemented by the BLM.
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.