07/06/05 Burning junipers

Juniper Burn Fire can be a useful tool for range management. I'm Jeff Keane. I'll tell you about the fire tool in one minute. Controlled burns on rangeland infested with junipers looks to be a very effective way to bring grasslands back to a healthier state. Junipers have become a problem in Oregon, northern Nevada, northern California and southwest Idaho  about 8.5 million acre problem. Near Reynolds Creek, Idaho a 200 acre project burn was completed in 2002. A recent tour of this area showed plenty of grass, a variety of shrubs, bitterbrush, and sagebrush instead of a juniper monoculture. To conduct a success burn, it takes cooperation between researchers, landowners and all stakeholders. Tony Svejcar from the Agricultural Research Center in Burns, Oregon says the juniper expansion problem seen today is a combination of several factors including livestock overgrazing between 1885 to about 1920, the departure of the Native Americans who burn the range land frequently and active fire suppression starting in the 1940s. Studies conducted at the Reynolds Creek site include return time of livestock grazing, effects of burning on different age groups of junipers and how burning affects water quality and erosion. Most of the rangeland users that toured the site are encouraged the results of the burn, the return of the more useful grazing plants, and the diversity of plants that contribute to a healthy rangeland. I know controlled rangeland burning sure has positive benefits in our sagebrush and bunchgrass pastures. I'm Jeff Keane Capital Press 6/17/05