Field Trips
1. Milford Flat Fire Rehabilitation Tour
Monday May 17, 2010. 8:00 am - 5:00 pm. This trip will depart from and return to the lower level of the Cliff Lodge at Snowbird.
$70 (lunch included)
Leader: Verlin Smith, Utah BLM
On July 6, 2007, a lightning strike started a wildfire just north of Milford, Utah. During the next two weeks, the fire burned 363,000 acres (567 square miles) of pinyon-juniper woodland, sagebrush, and cheatgrass. Following the fire, an extensive rehabilitation and stabilization effort costing several million dollars was undertaken. From October 2007 to spring 2008, selected burned areas were treated with more than 1.8 million pounds of seed, both native and non-native. Different seeding procedures were used including drilling, chaining, broadcasting, etc. This field trip will examine several areas that were seeded and some that were not seeded. The relative success of the efforts will be discussed. The challenges of using native seed will be the focus of this trip.
Additional information: http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/prog/fire/milford_flat_fire.html
2. Common Gardens & Seed Facilities Tour
Monday May 17, 2010. 8:30 am - 5:00 pm. This trip will depart from and return to the lower level of the Cliff Lodge at Snowbird.
$60 (lunch included)
Leaders: Jason Vernon, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources & Scott Jensen, USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station
This tour will make 3 stops:
Fountain Green: We will tour common garden plantings from two major endeavors, the Great Basin Native Plant Selection and Increase Project and the Colorado Plateau Native Plant Initiative. We will view and discuss plantings of several native species from multiple source populations for further evaluation. Many of the species will be in bloom at this time.
Great Basin Research Center Seed Warehouse: This Utah Division of Wildlife Resources facility has capacity to store 750,000 pounds of seed. A wide array of rangeland revegetation equipment is available for viewing.
Stevenson Intermountain Seed: Finally, we will tour a modern private seed conditioning facility that processes millions of pounds of seed annually, much of which is wildland collected.
