The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Winnemucca District, will be applying herbicide to several existing fuel breaks within the District as part of normal maintenance. The treatments are scheduled to begin in late November and will continue through January.
The planned treatments will occur in the Winnemucca Wildland Urban Interface fuel breaks located to the east and west of Winnemucca; the Paradise Valley green strips located to the west and north of Paradise Valley; the Santa Rosa fuel break, which runs along the western side of the Santa Rosa Mountains from McDermitt to Paradise Hill Summit; and the Highway 95 fuel break which is located on both sides of Highway 95 from Sand Pass Road north to McDermitt.
The herbicide will be applied to the soil as a pre-emergent treatment which provides residual control of annual species, such as cheat grass and tumble mustard, for two to three years. Reducing the fine fuels within the fuel breaks makes them a more effective tool to slow or stop fire spread and reduce fire intensity.
“Maintaining effective fuel breaks is an important part of the BLM’s fire management program,” says Mark Williams, BLM district fire ecologist. “These fuel breaks protect homes in our communities, important wildlife habitat, and grazing allotments.”
For more information, call Derek Messmer at the BLM Winnemucca District at 775-623-1500.
