The Virginia Highlands subdivision is located in Storey County, Nevada, approximately 20 miles south of Reno, and 10 miles north of Virginia City (Figure 1). The subdivision, established in 1972, encompasses 12,000 acres of privately owned land. The Community consists of 1,169 one-acre lots clustered in the interior of the subdivision, with ten-acre parcels concentrically located around the one-acre core, and 40-acre parcels in the outer most extents of the subdivision. This project addresses the area occupied by the one and ten acre parcels.

Climate and Topography

The climatic conditions are typically arid, averaging 10-14 inches of precipitation annually. The area is much drier than the Sierra Nevada Range to the west. The majority of the annual precipitation comes in the form of snow. Dry lightning and thunderstorm build-up without accompanying precipitation is not uncommon. Afternoons are frequently windy.

Terrain in the project area is relatively steep. Elevations range from approximately 5800 feet at the Highlands Fire Station #2 to almost 7000 feet at Geiger Summit on Highway. 341 (Geiger Grade). Except for Fivemile Flat and the large flat near the Fire Station, the area is hilly with steep forested slopes. Slopes range from 0 to 80 percent with an average slope of about 17 percent. Minor ridges run in a southwest to northeast direction. Aspects are generally northwest and southeast. The terrain has many canyons with steep slopes and saddles that are conducive to extreme fire behavior.

Land Ownership

The Highlands is a private residential community consisting of roughly 454 homes. It is a fast-growing area with approximately 20 additional homes currently under construction. The majority of the residences are clustered in the interior of the subdivision on one-acre lots. Most of the land surrounding the Virginia Highlands is also privately owned.

The subdivision is bound by Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&R’s) that control land uses on private property. Two separate homeowner organizations have been formed. The Virginia City Highlands Property Owners’ Association (VCHPOA) includes one-acre parcel owners. The ten-acre parcel owners are organized under the Highland Ranches Property Owners’ Association (HRPOA).

Other Existing Land Uses

Feral Horses

Information provided by the Nevada Department of Agriculture estimates the current number of astray (feral) horses in the Virginia Range at 1,200 head. The Nevada Department of Agriculture, the agency responsible for management of feral horses in the Virginia Highlands, determined the appropriate management level (AML) for the herd to be 550 horses. Approximately 250-300 horses were gathered from this herd in 2001. The current population number is more than double the AML.

If the horse population was maintained at the AML of 550 horses, they would consume approximately 2,400 TONS of dry forage per year (based upon one horse eating 800 pounds of forage per month in a 12 month grazing period). The arid ecological characteristics of the Virginia Range cannot produce sufficient preferred forage for 1,200 horses on a sustained basis. As a result, the horses utilize less desirable vegetation, including sagebrush, to meet forage demands. This continual pressure on the native vegetation does two things with regard to the normal course of wildfires:

1. Continual removal of herbaceous vegetation keeps fine fuels under control, but changes the site’s ability to revive its native bunchgrass and wildflower components once grazing pressure is removed. A permanent conversion of vegetation composition will occur, replacing native perennial grasses and flowers with cheatgrass, an introduced annual.
2. Continual heavy pressure on sagebrush (a grazing habit not normally seen unless range conditions are so deteriorated as to warrant it) will allow singleleaf pinyon to invade the shrublands at an accelerated rate resulting in significant increases in wildfire fuel.

If the horses are ever managed at or below the AML of 550 horses, cheatgrass could quickly dominate the existing interspaces between shrubs, the road shoulders, and other surface disturbances, thus filling the Highlands Community with flash fuels.

Recreation

The Virginia Highlands Community is in close proximity to Virginia City, a major tourist attraction for the Reno – Lake Tahoe Region. Highway 341 is the primary access route to Virginia City from Reno and Lake Tahoe. High-volume traffic on Highway 341, especially during peak visitor days in the summer, increases the risk of accidental, human caused fires when other risk factors such as low fuel moisture and high winds are greatest.

Off Road Vehicles, horseback riders, and mountain bikers also regularly use the area. Many visitors travel off the main roads to view petroglyphs. Motorized vehicles have frequently and unintentionally started wildland fires especially when dried fuel conditions are high. Increased human presence in the wildlands increases the risks of accidental fires.