William Price

Wildland Resources

Mentor: Dr. Eric Thacker

Establishment of Fuel Breaks in Northwestern Utah

Frequent wildfires in the Great Basin have caused significant shifts in species composition. These frequent fires are driven by invasive annual grasses, particularly cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum). The annual grass fueled fires can permanently alter critical habitat for sage-grouse. Recently the Bureau of Land Management has implemented fuel breaks to help defend critical sage-grouse habitat. In an effort to reduce the impact of wildfire on critical sage-grouse habitat in Box Elder County, UT, two fuel breaks (13 miles total) were put in place in the spring of 2016. The fuel breaks were created using a chain-harrow and were also treated with Plateau herbicide, then seeded with a native mix. We assessed functional group frequency in 2017 and 2018 in late-summer. Analysis showed the two fuel breaks were dominated by bare ground and cheatgrass. While this is not the desired result, we will continue to monitor the fuel breaks overtime to assess the long-term impacts of the fuel breaks.