CC Waterfall Fire Fuels Management

Carson City Waterfall Fire Fuels Management Plan/Carson City Public Works

Beginning in the spring of 2005, Resource Concepts, Inc. provided technical assistance to Carson City in organizing several partnering agencies in the creation of a fuels reduction plan, primarily focused on strategically employing sheep grazing at critical periods of plant growth. The primary target species for the project was cheatgrass, which was well established on the slopes west of Curry Street, on C-Hill, and at varying densities in the interface area along the wildlands interface of west Carson City extending north to Lakeview. Perennial grasses, including pubescent wheatgrass and crested wheatgrass, survived the Waterfall fire on C-Hill also made good recovery last year. Because of the exceptional moisture during late 2005 and early 2006, those perennials, along with cheatgrass, produced large amounts of biomass available for carrying fire.

The Carson City Fire Dept, Nevada Division of Forestry, and US Forest Service developed a fuels management prescription for the interface locations along C-Hill. Resource Concepts, Inc. developed a fuels management plan utilizing sheep grazing to reduce the fuels according to the fuel reduction prescription. RCI coordinated with several interested agencies and the sheep producer to assure that a coordinated effort in meeting the project objectives. RCI conducted utilization monitoring during the entire length of the grazing project and worked with Carson City to complete an end-of-growing season evaluation of the fuel conditions.