Revisiting Soda Fire (2015) Post-Fire Recovery (Sept. 2016)

I am still very interested in the 2015 Soda Fire Post-Fire Recovery. Readers of this blog may recall that I wrote two series on emergency rehabilitation and recovery from the 2015 Soda Fire. The first series, in late 2015 focused on Burned Area Emergency Response. I wrote the second series in February 2016 focusing on the 2015 Soda Fire Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation (ESR) plan for burned area recovery (BAR). If you are interested in reading any of these earlier articles, please see my February 8th post where I have included links to all my earlier articles.

You may recall that burned area recovery that the ESR work will continue for one to five years depending on the specific treatments (see for example part two of my two part interview with the Idaho BLM. For some information on specific treatments planner see my February 12th and February 15th articles.

I do spend a certain amount of time reflecting on the 2015 Soda Fire Post-Fire Recovery and regret that distance and other factors preclude me from being able to follow this more closely. I did see that the BLM prepared a briefing package on Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation in May 2016, it is a short document with some photos and a list of treatments is provided on page 3. According to the May 2016 Briefing document, included in the treatments planned for 2016 (this may be a partial list) are:

• repair of roads, recreation trails, culverts, ditches, water bars, and warning signs;
• planting of seedlings;
• repair of fencing;
• and treatment of noxious weeds

On page 5 of the May 2016 ESR Briefing Package refers to plans for emergency fuel breaks:

On May 5, 2016, the BLM Owyhee Field Office signed an emergency decision authorizing the construction of up to 25 miles of fuel breaks in the highest-priority area of the wildland-urban interface. The fuel breaks will include approximately 200 acres of targeted grazing and mowing along with improvements on up to 25 miles of roads.

as well as an environmental assessment for fuel breaks (May 2016 ESR Briefing Package, page 5)

On May 13, 2016, BLM released an environmental assessment (EA) of a network of fuel breaks designed to protect the ESR investment for public comment. 

• The EA analyzes the completion of approximately 425 miles of fuel breaks, using a combination of road maintenance, mowing of sagebrush, application of herbicides, targeted grazing, and establishment of vegetative fuel breaks 

• These fuel breaks will allow for improved access by fire suppression resources and a higher probability for stopping fires before they become large, protecting lives, property, ESR treatments, and natural resources.

 The BLM released a press release about the planned fuel breaks here.

• A final EA and decision are anticipated in early June, 2016. 

I am never quite sure how long links will be active, but I found information about the May 2016 ESR Briefing Package on a webpage from the Idaho BLM on the Soda Fire Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation. Depending on when you are accessing that page, the information that you see may be different. At the time that I am writing this in September 2016, the information on the Idaho BLM's Soda Fire Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation page is similar to the information found in the May 2016 ESR Briefing Package.

2015 Soda Fire ESR -- Reflections

I conclude this series on the 2015 Soda Fire ESR with some of my own reflections.

As I reflect upon what I have learned in writing about the 2015 Soda Fire ESR Plan, I want to take a step back and begin with saying that I have enjoyed learning a little about the sagebrush-steppe ecosystem. I say that I have only learned a little because I know that watching some videos online and reading some documents only skims the surface about how special the sage-steppe ecosystem is. I have said this before in other contexts on this blog, and it bears repeating here. I hope that one day, I can visit this part of Idaho where the 2015 Soda Fire burned. It is unfortunate that I first made the acquaintance, so to speak of the sage-steppe ecosystem in western Idaho and eastern Oregon through this tragic wildfire.

Reflecting on the wildfire and then the 2015 Soda Fire ESR Plan, I keeping coming back to the complexity of stabilizing and then restoring this ecosystem (and any other ecosystem) after wildfires. At the same time through my correspondence with some of the Idaho BLM staff and reading what the Idaho BLM has shared about the ESR plan on social media I see that there are some very good and knowledgeable people who are overseeing and implementing the ESR plan. I can also see that they love the sage-steppe ecosystem. The BLM staff and others who are implementing the ESR plan are very well equipped to do so. They know what they are doing and I take a great deal of comfort in that. 

I hope that through my blog, I have given you a small amount of insight into what goes into post-fire recovery. The ESR plan will be going on for another four plus years. I look forward to following the progress made as the 2015 Soda Fire ESR Plan continues to be implemented.

2015 Soda Fire ESR -- Interview with Idaho BLM (part 2 of 2)

Continuing with the second part of my e-mail interview with Idaho BLM about the 2015 Soda Fire ESR. Sorry I am posting this a day late.

Q5) RRamblings: Is emergency stabilization the first step in post-fire recovery and if so, can you briefly describe what progress is made to date and when they will be completed. Perhaps focusing on soil/water stabilization; habitat for sage-grouse, threatened and endangered species; and noxious weeds and invasive species.

Idaho BLM: Yes, emergency stabilization is the first step in post-wildland fire recovery.  To date, we have completed numerous soil/water stabilization activities, such as waterbarring in areas prone to water run-off, drill and aerial seeding to prevent soil erosion, and repairing culverts to prevent flooding.  We have used aerial herbicides in areas where there was a large concentration of cheatgrass and medusahead pre-burn to prevent their reemergence and provide a blank landscape for us to replace them with desirable perennial grasses that will stabilize the soil and create a healthy environment for us to go in and plant sagebrush seedlings at a later date.  The aerial and drill seeding in other areas of the burn also helps us to combat the spread of cheatgrass and medusahead by putting those desirable perennial grasses there to out compete with the invasives and make the soil more stable for sagebrush in the future.  We finished drill seeding for this season in early January and should have the aerial seeding complete the first part of February.  There will be more herbicide, drill and aerial seeding this spring.  All of this activity will not only benefit the sage grouse, but other native animal and plant species who call this landscape home.  

Q6) RRamblings: How long will it take to reestablish sage-brush and other native plants? Will there be a negative impact on wildlife?

Idaho BLM: It will take many years to re-establish a functioning sagebrush community.  The length of time depends on many variables such as seeding establishment, weather, moisture. Wildlife will move to other areas while Soda recovers.  However many of the treatments will provide new and lush perennial grass growth that is desirable to upland and big game species.

Q7) Rramblings: When will the Burned Area Recovery (BAR) start?

Idaho BLM: ES or emergency stabilization funding can continue for up to 18 months after the fire.  Burned Area Recovery funds can be utilized from years 1-5 depending on the treatment. However the program is being revised as we speak and these time frames can change. 

Q8) Rramblings: Can you briefly describe any challenges in implementing the post-fire ESR plan?

Idaho BLM: It is always a race against time when doing ESR work.  Weather and contracting challenges are a common occurrence, but we work through them and get things done.

  

Q9) Rramblings: Is there anything else that you would like to say to my readers? 

Idaho BLM: Multiple use management adds challenges to an already challenging ESR program.   ESR plans are to be completed and signed within 21 days after the fire containment and treatments begin immediately.  Challenges include obtaining funding, and procurement requirements that make purchasing goods and signing up contractors prior to optimum treatment windows.   Large and complex and multiple fires that span several years are challenging to personnel.  The work that government employees in the Boise District do is hard, complex, but their effort comes from the heart. I want people to know that we do this work because we love and believe in it and there isn’t anything else we would rather be going.

Thanks to staff from the Idaho Bureau of Land Management for taking the time for this e-mail interview. I learned a lot.

My final article in this series will be some personal reflections that I plan to post on Monday, February 22.

2015 Soda Fire ESR -- Interview with Idaho BLM (part 1 of 2)

I want to thank the staff from the Idaho Bureau of Land Management for taking the time to answer a few questions I had on the 2015 Soda Fire ESR. I present this interview, conducted over e-mail in two parts, the second part of the interview will post this Saturday, February 20th.

Q1) RRamblings:  I know that the Soda Fire burned 279,144 acres in  Owyhee county Idaho and Malheur county Oregon. How does the Soda Fire compare with other fires of significant size that have burned in this region and (if applicable) how is the post-fire ESR Plan (aka 2015 Soda Fire ESR Plan) different? For example, were there more invasive species and noxious weeds that perhaps contributed to the spread of the fire?

Idaho BLM: There have definitely been other large fires in the region in recent memory (Murphy Complex, Tri-State), but what sets the Soda fire apart is that almost all of the acreage burned was in sage grouse habitat known as sage brush steppe.  Invasives such as cheat grass and medusa head definitely played a part in the severity of the Soda fire due to their low moisture content but so did erratic wind behavior, and overall dry conditions of the landscape.  Because of the recognized threat to sage grouse habitat posed by wildland fire and how invasives play a part in that and in edging out their healthy habitat, three new polices were issued:  Secretarial Order 3336, Sage Grouse Implementation Plan Amendment and the National Seed Strategy.  These policies allowed for changes in the ESR program as they recognized that it will take years to combat invasives and promote a resistant and resilient landscape.

Q2) RRamblings: Am I correct that the ESR plan is a five-year plan that runs through FY20?

Idaho BLM: Yes, the Soda fire ESR plan is a five year plan.  It was signed the latter part of September 2015.

Q3) RRamblings: How has secretarial order 3336 impacted emergency stabilization (ES)? How do you expect secretarial order 3336 to impact burned area rehabilitation (BAR) and restoration? If there are numerous impacts, can you focus on the most important treatments affecting the Sage-Grouse.

Idaho BLM: SO 3336 paved the way for ESR to go from strictly a three year stabilization and restoring to pre-fire condition to a five year program that opens up more allowable treatments and the ability to do re-treatments to bring the fire damaged area back to resistance and resilience and moving toward functioning habitat.   The most important thing for sage-grouse habitat is keeping fires to a minimum and to prevent invasive species such as cheat grass from spreading which degraded the vegetative community as a whole and can increase the size and frequency of wildland fires.  The most important treatment(s) are a combination of many that are used to keep invasives as a minor part of the community and start the process to moving back to a functioning sage-grouse habitat.  All treatments in combination are important.

Q4)  RRamblings: I understand that the Sage-Grouse depends on Sage-Brush, and that large areas of Sage-Brush were burned in the fire. Am I correct that there was no evidence of Sage-Grouse mortality from the Soda Fire? If so, what happened to them.  

Idaho BLM: There was a chance of some sage-grouse mortality due to the fire.   Sage-grouse probably moved to suitable habitat away from the fire perimeter.

2015 Soda Fire ESR -- A very brief introduction to the 2015 Soda Fire ESR Plan (2 of 2)

This second article, a very brief introduction to the 2015 Soda Fire ESR Plan (2 of 2) is slightly different from what I had originally conceived. You may recall from my article of Friday, February 12th (part 1) that I had referred you to a BLM web page listing all planning documents related to the Soda Fire ESR/BAER Plan where I referred readers to the first document on that list, the BLM Idaho Post-Fire Recovery Plan Emergency Stabilization and Burned Area 2015 Plan (aka the2015 Soda Fire ESR Plan). In preparation for this article I went in and skimmed the other two planning documents on the BLM web page listing all planning documents related to the Soda Fire ESR/BAER Plan. I found what I thought were some differences across these documents that confused me. After some initial struggles where my eyes were starting to glaze over, I ended up making some more drastic changes to my early draft. The result is what you see here. In the spirit of trying to keep things simple, I will go into a little more detail in this article on treatment areas as described in the 2015 Soda Fire ESR Plan. I have revised the article I wrote on February 12th to reflect the changes I made to this article since the 12th.

In my previous article (Friday, February 12th), I listed treatment categories from the 2015 Soda Fire ESR Plan for Emergency Stabilization — ES (S) and Burned Area Rehabilitation — BAR (R), which I list again for your convenience:

• S/R2 Ground Seeding 
• 
S/R3 Aerial Seeding 

• S/R4 Seedling Planting 

• S/R5 Noxious Weeds 

• S/R6 Soil Stabilization 

• S/R7 Fence/Gate/Cattleguard 

• S/R8 Road/Trail Water Diversion 

• S/R9 Cultural Protection 

• S/R10 Tree Hazard Removal 
• 
S/R11 Facilities 

• S/R12 Closures (Area, OHV, Livestock) 

• S13 Monitoring
• 
S/R14 Other Treatments (2015 Soda Fire ESR Plan, p. 11)

There were many things of interest to me as I learned more about the sagebrush-steppe ecosystem, and the recovery from the 2015 Soda Fire. In the spirit of brevity, I will only focus on areas that are of the most interest to me. That is. I am going to talk about treatments used to address threats to riparian & aquatics, wildlife including the greater sage-grouse, and noxious weeds. All are described in some detail in the 2015 Soda Fire ESR Plan.  I will leave it to the reader to read more if you so desire. 

There is much from the 2015 Soda Fire ESR Plan that I am not discussing here such as treatments that will address threats to transportation infrastructure, cultural resources, recreation, horses & burrows, to name a few. 

As you continue to read I’d like to draw your attention to S/R2 ground Seeding (drill seeding) which is a treatment under both wildlife, and noxious weeds. S/R3 aerial seeding is a treatment under riparian & aquatics, and wildlife.

Riparian and Aquatics (2015 Soda Fire ESR Plan, pages 17-9)

“Fire may result in a large array of direct and indirect effects to aquatic species and riparian habitats. Direct effects to aquatic populations will generally occur in riparian areas where burn intensity was high. These areas are typically denuded of all vegetation and, during the fire, could have experienced increased water temperatures, decreased oxygen availability, and ash loading into streams. Since some of the drainages burned very hot, aquatic species may have died as a result” (2015 Soda Fire ESR Plan, p. 17).

Treatments to address the threat to riparian and aquatics are: R7 fence (repair and replace fencing), S3 aerial seeding, R11 facilities (repair and replaces facilities damaged by the fire), and R4 seedling planting (for soil and water stabilization).

Wildlife (2015 Soda Fire ESR Plan pages 20-8) 

Under wildlife, the top concern is for the greater sage-grouse (sage-grouse). Other wildlife species are also impacted, at least temporarily by the loss of the sage brush: e.g. bighorn sheep, mule deer, and pronghorn. The brewer’s sparrow, sage thrasher, and brewers thrasher are also impacted by the loss of sagebrush. Finally, the golden eagle will be impacted by the loss of prey.

Treatments include: S5 noxious and invasive weeds (aerial applications of an herbicide prior to drill seeding), S2 ground seeding (drill seeding), S3 aerial seeding (grass), S3 aerial seeding (shrubs and forbs) and S14 other - juniper removal. You may read about the details of each treatment in the 2015 Soda Fire ESR Plan pages 20-8).

Noxious Weeds (2015 Soda Fire ESR Plan pages 34-8)

“Noxious weeds are present in the burned area. Noxious weeds are now recognized worldwide as posing threats to biological diversity, second only to direct habitat loss and fragmentation. Noxious weeds are known to alter ecosystem functions such as nutrient cycles, hydrology, and wildfire frequency; out-compete and exclude native plants and animals; and to hybridize with native species” (2015 Soda Fire ESR Plan, p. 34). Noxious weeds are listed on pages 35 to 36 of the 2015 Soda Fire ESR Plan.

The first treatment listed under noxious weeds is, not surprisingly, S5 and R5 noxious weeds. This treatment includes monitoring and assessments of noxious weeds in the area burned by the 2015 Soda Fire, inventory of noxious weeds, photos and mapping of infestations of noxious weeds, treatment with chemical and bio-control agents (2015 Soda Fire ESR Plan, p. 37). Related to this is an herbicide trial under S5 and R5 noxious and invasive weeds (2015 Soda Fire ESR Plan, p. 38).

S2 ground seeding (drill seeding) is the other treatment listed for noxious weeds.

Next-up: Interview with Idaho BLM (in two parts).

2015 Soda Fire ESR -- A very brief introduction to the 2015 Soda Fire ESR Plan (1 of 2)

One of the documents that I obtained from the BLM websites is a document known as the BLM Idaho Post-Fire Recovery Plan Emergency Stabilization and Burned Area Rehabilitation 2015 Plan (2015 Soda Fire ESR Plan). The direct link to this plan (pdf file) is here. Alternatively, it is the first document listed on this BLM web page listing all planning documents related to the Soda Fire ESR/BAER Plan.  Just so you know, I found the last link I listed on the Soda Fire Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation Page. If you are landing on this page sometime in the future, I am never quite sure how long these links will last. I assume that because the 2015 Soda Fire ESR will be going on for another five years, that some or all of these links will be good for awhile.

I find the 2015 Soda Fire ESR Planning document a little complicated; yet I have found that this document has given me an appreciation of the complexity of the 2015 Soda Fire Emergency Stabilization and Burned Area Rehabilitation (ESR). Writing about the details and the ins and outs of the 2015 Soda Fire ESR Plan is beyond the means of this blog. Knowing this, I reached out over e-mail to the Idaho BLM office involved in the ESR and asked them some questions. I will be sharing about the Question and Answer session in two posts next week (February 17th and 19th).

However, while the 2015 Soda Fire ESR Plan can be a little difficult to read, I did find it somewhat useful.  For those who are interested I am going to present some highlights from the 2015 Soda Fire ESR Plan that I have found useful in this article with part 2 posting on Monday February 15th. The 2015 Soda Fire ESR Plan identifies two post fire recovery issues: emergency  stabilization and burned area rehabilitation. 

Emergency Stabilization (ES) and Burned Area Rehabilitation (BAR) Objectives and Issues

Emergency stabilization (ES) objectives are to “determine the need for and to prescribe and implement emergency treatments to minimize threats to life or property or to stabilize and prevent unacceptable degradation to natural and cultural resources resulting from the effects of a fire. …ES Issues:

• ES Issue 1 - Human Life and Safety
• ES Issue 2 - Soil/Water Stabilization
• ES Issue 3 - Habitat for Threatened and Endangered Species
• ES Issue 4 - Cultural Heritage Resources
• ES Issue 5 - Noxious Weeds and Invasive Species” (2015 Soda Fire ESR Plan, p. 5)

Burned Area Rehabilitation (BAR) Objectives are: “ 1)To evaluate actual and potential long-term post-fire impacts to critical cultural and natural resources and identify those areas unlikely to recover naturally from severe wildland fire damage, 2) to develop and implement cost-effective plans to emulate historical or pre-fire ecosystem structure, function, diversity, and dynamics consistent with approved land management plans, or if that is infeasible, then to restore or establish a healthy, stable ecosystem in which native species are well represented, and 3) to repair or replace minor facilities damaged by wildland fire. … BAR Issues:

• BAR Issue 1 - Lands Unlikely to Recover Naturally
• BAR Issue 2 - Noxious Weeds and Invasive Species
• BAR Issue 3 - Tree Planting
• BAR Issue 4 - Repair or Replace Fire Damaged Facilities” (2015 Soda Fire ESR Plan, p. 6)

Treatments

ES and BAR efforts under the 2015 Soda Fire ESR Plan are divided into different areas of concern (see note 1) two of which are wildlife (including but not limited to the sage grouse, noxious weeds, and riparian and aquatics. Treatments are divided into two groups: ES (S) and BAR (R). All but one of the treatment categories are the same for both Emergency Stabilization — ES (S) and Burned Area Rehabilitation — BAR (R). To keep it simple I am only listing the treatment categories once. You will see prefixes (S/R) listed in all but one case (monitoring) indicating that the treatment category falls under both ES and BAR (2015 Soda Fire ESR Plan, p. 11):

• S/R2 Ground Seeding 
• S/R3 Aerial Seeding 
• S/R4 Seedling Planting 
• S/R5 Noxious Weeds 
• S/R6 Soil Stabilization 
• S/R7 Fence/Gate/Cattleguard 
• S/R8 Road/Trail Water Diversion 
• S/R9 Cultural Protection 
• S/R10 Tree Hazard Removal 
• S/R11 Facilities 
• S/R12 Closures (Area, OHV, Livestock) 
• S13 Monitoring
• S/R14 Other Treatments 

Here are four of examples of treatments:

• drill seeding from my Dec 2, 2015 article;
• noxious (and invasive) weeds from my Nov 30, 2015 article;
• Two articles from the Soda Fire 2015 Facebook page on aerial seeding may be found here and here; and
• Two articles from the Soda Fire 2015 Facebook page on seedling planting may be found here and here.

In my next post on Monday February 15th, I will go into a little more detail about some of the treatments from 2015 Soda Fire ESR Plan.

Note 1 (added on February 15, 2016 3:10 PM EST): I have edited this article to reflect last minute changes that I have made in part 2.

2015 Soda Fire ESR - more on Sagebrush Steppe Ecosystem and the Sage Grouse

As I continued to do my background reading and research on the 2015 Soda Fire post-fire recovery Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation I gained an appreciation for the sagebrush steppe ecosystem and at the same time frustrated because I felt, and still do, feel like there is a lot that I don't know about that ecosystem and the greater sage-grouse and other wildlife that live in and depend on the sagebrush steppe ecosystem. I wrote a little about the greater sage-grouse and their preferred habit in my November 27, 2015 article.

Somewhere, I don't quite remember where, in the course of my wonderings on the internet doing background research for my current series of articles on the 2015 Soda Fire ESR I found this link for a May 2015 episode of the PBS Nature series called the Sagebrush Sea (about an hour playing time). I learned a lot about the sage-grouse on their habit, and I thought that you would enjoy watching this episode.

Enjoy!

Updated on May 2, 2016, 4 PM EDT to remove possibly incompatible video embed code. You should be able to use the supplied link from PBS (above) to watch the video.

Soda Fire Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation - Upcoming posts

I first wrote about the 2015 Soda Fire post-fire recovery in a series of six posts that ran from November 25, through December 4, 2015, focus on the Burned Area Emergency Response for the Soda Fire. For your convenience (updated on September 19, 2016), I have included links to all of these earlier articles below).

This Wednesday, February 10th, I am going to resume posting about the 2015 Soda Fire Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation (ESR) in what I think will be six posts). I am still working on the upcoming posts, but this is how I think it will shake out. I will revise this post as necessary after I post each article to link to each article in this series.

Wednesday February 10th: More on the sagebrush-steppe ecosystem and the Sage Grouse. 

Friday February 12th: A very brief intro to the 2015 Soda Fire ESR (part 1 of 2)

Monday February 15th: A very brief intro to the 2-15 Soda Fire ESR (part 2 of 2)

Wednesday February 17th: Interview with Idaho BLM (part 1 of 2)

Saturday February 20th: Interview with Idaho BLM (part 2 of 2)

Monday February 22: Reflections

Earlier posts from late 2015 on the 2015 Soda Fire post-fire recovery:
November 18, 2015: Soda Fire (2015) BAER - Intro (1 of 3)
November 25, 2015: Soda Fire (2015) BAER - Intro (2 of 3)
November 27, 2015: Soda Fire (2015) BAER - Intro (3 of 3)
November 30, 2015: Soda Fire (2015) BAER - challenges ahead and invasive weeds
December 2, 2015:  Soda Fire (2015) BAER - drill seeding
December 4, 2015: Soda Fire (2015) BAER - more maps and reflections

Later articles on the 2015 Soda Fire post-fire recovery (September 2016 and later):

September 19, 2016: Revisiting Soda Fire (2015) Post-Fire Recovery (Sept. 2016)

Soda Fire (2015): Burned Area Emergency Response: more maps & reflections

I have been writing about the Soda Fire Burned Area Emergency Response of late. I know that there are stabilization treatments ongoing at the Soda Fire burn area that I have not written about. Should you so desire, these treatments along with a time schedule are described in the Soda Fire Emergency Stabilization And Rehabilitation (ES&R) Plan. I'll post some other links a little later where you might find updates. I am hoping that this post is not my last post on the subject, but this may be my last post for awhile. With winter coming on, if it hasn’t already arrived at the Soda Fire burn area, I’m not sure how much more active emergency stabilization and rehabilitation treatments that they can do this winter. But what do I know? Perhaps there are things that they can do in the winter. Time will tell.

In the meantime, I will keep reading some of the documents that I talked about last week as well as doing my best to keep my eyes out for media reports and report back here.

I don’t know about you, but I have learned a lot about the lands that were burned in the Soda Fire as well as the all important Burned Area Emergency Response. I have grown to appreciate the sagebrush-steppe ecosystem. And of course, there is that magnificent bird, the sage grouse. Through the documents that are available (see the link above), the various photos and videos, and media reports, this little corner of a sagebrush-steppe ecosystem has come alive. I know that the ecosystem is hurting after the fire and I am very glad to know something about the Soda Fire Burned Area Emergency Response Plan that will be ongoing for the next five years. 

I am delighted that there have been a lot of media attention on the Soda Fire Burned Area Emergency Response as well as good information available through the Bureau of Land Management. As I write this the Facebook page is updated at least every few days with photos and links to local media reports.

• BLM Idaho Soda Fire Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation
• Soda Fire 2015 -- Facebook
• Soda Fire November 10th Drill Seeding photos & Videos on Flickr

I have been promising to focus a little on some of the Soda Fire ES&R maps available to the public that may be found here. Each map is about 18 MB and is in a pdf file. I love maps and is this case it gives me an idea of what areas are being treated. I was especially interested in two maps which I downloaded and converted to smaller graphic files (jpeg) that I am sharing here. These are the map showing all vegetation treatments and 2015 drill seeding that I referred to on November 30th and December 2nd. The images below are not high resolution, if you want higher resolution files you will want to go the links in the preceding sentence and download them.

Obtained on December 2, 2015 from BLM Idaho -- https://eplanning.blm.gov/epl-front-office/eplanning/mapset_view.do?projectId=52963&currentPageId=68942&documentId=64055

Obtained on December 2, 2015 from BLM Idaho -- https://eplanning.blm.gov/epl-front-office/eplanning/mapset_view.do?projectId=52963&currentPageId=68942&documentId=64060

Soda Fire (2015): Burned Area Emergency Response: Drill Seeding

On November 30th I wrote about the challenges that invasive weeds pose after the loss of so much natural vegetation such as sagebrush that burned in the recent Soda Fire. If my understanding is correct, there may already be some established invasive weeds such as medusahead and cheatgrass. The concern here is how to prevent invasive weeds such as cheatgrass and medusahead from spreading to the sagebrush-steepe ecosystem that was burned in the Soda Fire. 

The BLM has recently begun to the crucial phase of emergency stabilization. The Soda Fire Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation (ES&R) Plan encompasses treatments for many threats, one of which is the threat posed by invasive weeds.  The treatment that I will discuss here involves seeding perennial grasses to prevent invasive weeds from taking over. Seeding will be done on the ground by drill seeding as well as aerial seeding from aircraft. Timing is crucial, the hope is that the perennial grass seeding that is being done this fall and early winter will germinate in the spring and thus prevent the invasive weeds from taking over. Perennial Grasses also make for good sage grouse habitat. Follow along as I share a few sources with you on the drill seeding treatment component of the Soda Fire ES&R. I don’t want to leave out aerial seeding operations which I understand are also going on, but I have no videos at the moment about the aerial seeding operations. If my understanding is correct, drill and aerial seeding will be going on for a total of five years including this year.

In the video from BLM Idaho that I am embedding below you will be introduced to the use of what are known as rangeland drills to begin to stabilize the burned areas to both stabilize the soil and prevent invasive weeds. As I understand it, the rangeland drills that the BLM is using are standard rangeland drills used in farming that are modified for use in this habitat. Rangeland drills prepare the land for seeding as well as spreading seed at appropriate depth.

Direct link to video from BLM Idaho on Youtube

BLM Idaho has a nice Flickr page with photos and a few short videos showing rangeland drills working on November 10th in the Soda Fire burn area.

On November 10th, at least two Idaho broadcast media outlets ran stories on reseeding areas burned in the Soda Fire, 7-KTVB and KIVI-TV6. I am never certain how long these links will be available, so if you are arriving at this post sometime later and these links are dead you will know why.  In the story from kivi-tv6 story and video from Kivi on drill seeding (video embedded below) Robert Bennett, a range technician for the BLM says:

When an area becomes dominated by invasive annuals, it does tend to burn more often. They are very fire prone.

And Cindy Fritz, a natural resource specialist for the BLM speaks about the Fall 2015 the drill seeding operations which are laying out perennial grasses in the burned area:

We’re putting them out this late in the year which is ideal. We want them to go through the winter and when they wake up and germinate in the spring, they are in perfect conditions.

Fritz goes on to speak to the fact that it will take 15 to 20 years to get back to the conditions that existed before the Soda Fire.

Here us a nice story with video from KIVI-TV6 about the BLM's emergency stabilization post Soda Fire.

In a report (with video) on drill seeding from 7KTVB,  Robert Bennet spaces about the threats to the sage grouse and how these threats are being addressed by the ES&R:

The two biggest threats for sage grouse are increase fire return and invasive annual grasses, which play into your fire return interval. So putting desirable plants out here to compete with invasive annuals will send this on a trajectory toward improved sage grouse habitat, or recovering the safe grouse habitat.

In addition to the sources that I have linked to above, you might also enjoy BLM Idaho's page devoted to the Soda Fire Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation and the 2015 Soda Fire Facebook Page (with pictures and comments about the Soda Fire ES&R efforts this fall.

I do hope to write more about the Soda Fire Burned Area Emergency Response this coming Friday, December 4th. Stay tuned. 

Soda Fire (2015): Burned Area Emergency Response: challenges ahead & invasive weeds

The Soda Fire burned tens of thousands of acres of sagebrush. Sagebrush is the habitat for the Sage Grouse, see my November 27th article to learn more about the Sage Grouse and U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Sally Jewell's secretarial order 3336 -- Rangeland Fire Prevention, Management and Restoration. Invasive plants (or weeds) pose a very real challenge to the post-fire recovery. With the loss of so much sagebrush from the Soda Fire, if nothing is done, the loss of so much sagebrush could give invasive weeds a foothold before the sagebrush and other natural vegetation have a chance to grow back. The Sage Grouse, a magnificent bird, needs sagebrush. Among the treatments under the Soda Fire ESR Plan are treatments aimed at preventing invasive weeds such as cheatgrass and medusahead from taking over.

In the video below, you will learn a little about more about the challenges facing the Soda Fire Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation. This will be the first test of secretarial order 3336.


Direct link to video from Idaho Statesmen on Youtube

The second video is also from the Idaho Statesmen and you will listen to learn a little about the strategy for protecting and restoring the sagebrush steepe environment from invasive weeds, go here to watch the video.

Here are a few more articles on the Soda Fire ES&R from last August and the visit of BLM Director Neil Kornze:

• Idaho Statesmen, August 17th, rehab starting before fire contained
• Idaho Statesmen, Letters from the West, Neil Kornze visit, August 27, 2015
• KBOI news 2, August 26th, Neil Kornze visit
• Idaho Statesmen, September 22nd, Sage Grouse decision, Fish & Wildlife Service decision that Sage Grouse can survive without endangered species status.

The BLM has a nice webpage on the 2015 Soda Fire Soda Fire Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation that may be found here, with links to more documents and maps (See the article that I wrote on November 25th for a short discussion on some of these documents. I'll be referring to some of the maps in later articles.

Here is a map that I obtained from the  Soda Post-Fire Rehabilitation Inciweb maps page on November 19, 2015. According to the description on the Soda Post-Fire Rehabilitation Inciweb maps page, this is a"Fire map showing Sage Grouse habitat posted on August 22, 2015 at 7:44 PM."

"2015_08_22-19.44.49.188-CDT" obtained on November 19, 2015 from http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/maps/4546/

I am still working on the remaining articles in this series, so stay tuned. I'll be posting the next article in this series on December 2nd. 

Soda Fire (2015): Burned Area Emergency Response - Intro (3 of 3)

My final post in my three-part introduction to the Soda Fire (2015) Burned Area Emergency Response concerns Secretarial Order 3336. A friend told me about Secretarial Order 3336 that applies to the ES&R treatments. Not knowing much other than it applies to the ES&R at the Soda Fire, I did a quick internet search. Fortunately, the first link that I came was a news release on the main NIFC page. I don’t know how to link to this, fortunately, the summary on the implementation of Secretarial Order 3336 — Rangeland Fire Prevention, Management and Restoration should still be on the main page. This is what NIFC has to say about Secretarial Order 3336:

This Implementation Plan (“Plan”) is the roadmap to accomplish the objectives of Secretarial Order 336 — Rangeland Fire Prevention, Management, and Restoration (“Order’) signed by Secretary Jewell on January 5, 2015. The plan provides a short background describing the importance of the sagebrush-steppe ecosystem and why the Order was issued.

Go here  for more information where you will see a discussion of the importance of the sage-steppe rangeland ecosystem as a breeding habit for the sage-grouse. One of the habitats for the sage-grouse is the area that was burned in the 2015 Soda Fire. As I understand it, one of the objectives of the Soda Fire Emergency Stabilization & Rehabilitation (ES&R) treatments referred to in the Soda Fire ES&R planning document is to restore the grasses and vegetation that the sage-grouse depends on.

I found more information for you on conserving the Sage-Grouse Habitat that may be found on this webpage from the BLM. Finally, I have never seen a Sage-Grouse, I enjoyed the two videos that I am embedding below and I hope that you do as well.

Direct link to video by Bob Wick, BLM

Direct link to video from BLM National

Next week I will continue with writing about the Soda Fire (2015): Burned Area Emergency Response by writing about some of the ES&R treatments.

Soda Fire (2015): Burned Area Emergency Response - Intro (2 of 3)

My introduction to the Soda Fire (2015): Burned Area Emergency Response has morphed into three parts. (Part 1 may be found here) Next week I will write more about some of the treatments and activities that are included in the Soda Fire Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation (Soda Fire ES&R). But first, I am going to spend a little time in this article giving a brief description of the Soda Fire ES&R planning document and a couple of documents tied into Federal and State regulations (discussed below). I will be referring to these documents in later articles so it is appropriate to provide this brief introduction. I will be posting my final introductory article (part 3) on November 27th on Secretarial Order 3336.

Before I go any further, for those of you who might want to bypass my brief description of the documents I discuss below and get right to learning more about the Soda Fire Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation, please go to the Idaho BLM page on the Soda Fire Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation and/or the Soda Fire (2015) Facebook Page (should be available to public without a Facebook account).

One of the many pieces of Federal and State Legislation and Regulations that those who prepared the Soda Fire ESR Plan (released on September 30, 2015) had to consider and be in compliance with is the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). See the Soda Fire ESR Final Decision (p. 4-5) for a full listing of Federal and State legislation and regulations as well as Land Use Plans that the Soda Fire ESR Plan conforms with.

NEPA and the various types of documents that NEPA requires are somewhat complicated. In searching for a simple explanation of NEPA, I came upon a nice webpage from the Colorado Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that briefly describes how the BLM uses NEPA. They refer to the Colorado BLM but I believe that their description applies to the Idaho and Oregon BLM:

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) assures that the BLM (and other federal agencies) will consider the impact of an action on the human environment before decisions are made and the action is taken. It requires that NEPA documents concentrate on issues that are significant to the action in question. The NEPA process is intended to help public officials make better decisions based on an understanding of environmental consequences, and take actions that protect, restore, and enhance the human environment.

When an activity or action is proposed on BLM administered public lands in Colorado, we conduct an interdisciplinary review of the environmental effects of the proposal so that the relevant environmental information is available to citizens and public officials. (obtained on November 24, 2015 from the Colorado Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

In regards to NEPA and the Soda Fire Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation, I believe that the other activity or action referred to above is the the Soda Fire ES&R planning document.

The first step in preparing the ES&R planning document is that an Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation (ES&R) team (aka the Soda Fire Interdisciplinary Team) started field work on or about August 20th. Recall that the Soda Fire was contained on August 23rd. The ES&R team did five days of field work, finishing on or about August 25, 2015. See these two news releases for more information:

• Soda Fire ES&R field work begins 
• Soda Fire ES&R field work ends

Public participation is an important part of this process. According to the news releases on the Inciweb Soda Fire Post Rehab news release page the ES&R team met with various members of the public including but not limited to Ranchers and other private landowners, the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes, and representatives of nearby State and Local agencies. The Soda Fire ESR Plan was released on September 30, 2015 (see below).

Note, the Inciweb Soda Fire Post Rehab page is still available as I write this, but is no longer being updated.

If you go to the document page for the Soda Fire ESR/BAER Plan there are three documents listed as of November 25, 2015. I will be referring to some or all of these documents in later documents.

• Soda Fire ESR Plan (released September 30, 2015) The ESR plan outlines costs and treatments under the Soda Fire ES&R Plan for Oregon and Idaho.
• Soda Fire ESR Plan Determination of NEPA Adequacy (DNA) (released October 19, 2015) "documents that previously prepared NEPA documents adequately describe the environmental consequences of a newly proposed action" (obtained on November 24, 2015 from http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/BLM_Information/nepa/definitions.html#documentation_of_nepa_adequacy. In our case, I believe that the newly proposed action is the Soda Fire Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation Plan.
• Soda Fire ESR Final Decision (released October 19, 2015). This is a notice of the BLM Manager’s Final Decision regarding the Soda Fire Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation Plan. That is, the Boise ID BLM District  and the Vale OR District determined that the an Environmental Impact Statement is not required (see this NEPA definition page from the Colorado BLM for a very brief defintion of an Environmental Impact Statement). Both Managers say: "With completion of DOI-BLM-ID-B030-2015-0016-DNA, I have determined that implementing proposed Soda Fire ESR treatments identified in this decision would have similar or the same effects as described in the NEPA documents identified above and does not constitute as a major Federal action that will not adversely impact the human environment.  Therefore the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement is not required" (Soda Fire ESR Final Decision, p. 6 and p 21).

Soda Fire (2015): Burned Area Emergency Response - Intro (1 of 3)

The Soda Fire, probably caused by lightning on or about August 10th of this year, burned 279,144 acres before it was controlled on August 25th. The fire was declared "out" on September 9th. See the Inciweb page for the Soda Fire and the Soda Fire 2015 Facebook Page for more information. If you are arriving on this page some time after I first posted this article, I am not quite sure how long either the Inciweb page for the 2015 Soda Fire or the Soda Fire 2015 Facebook page, probably for several months.

Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today did a great job reporting on the Soda Fire in this post (scroll to bottom for earliest information) and he shared a video of a fire whirl shot by Graig Fluer on August 17th.

Here is some footage of the Soda Fire shot on August 20th


Direct link to video

And a 48 hour time lapse of the fire (August 12th to August 14th)


Direct link to video

Shortly after the fire was contained planning begain for the burned area emergency response. I'll be writing a couple of articles on the plans for the emergency stabilization and rehabilitation of the burned area starting on November 20th. In the meantime, if you want to see my earlier posts on Burned Area Emergency Response, go to this link (posts tagged BAER).

Before leaving, here is some aerial footage of the burned area shot on August 18th.


Direct link to video