![\"11800068_10153492103743756_3257846883525427524_n\"](\"https:\/\/dev-clm-blog.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/11800068_10153492103743756_3257846883525427524_n.jpg\")
<\/a>Vegetation monitoring at a fire rehab site<\/p><\/div>\n
Here\u2019s where it gets interesting. As I\u2019ve mentioned before, wildfires are a huge issue out here. They burn hot and fast, and scorching all of the good plants like sagebrush and native bunch grasses in their paths. In the past, these plant communities would\u2019ve bounced back naturally; however, with the introduction of invasives like cheat grass and Medusa head, the natives just can\u2019t compete. Which means that if the fire sites are left to their own devices, cheat grass and Medusa head will completely take over (no animals will eat them and no other plants will grow back). That\u2019s why the BLM uses non-native plants in their seedings – they do a better job at competing with and blocking out the invasives, whereas the native plants would never have survived. By preventing the invasives from taking over, there is a better chance that the native plant communities will eventually regrow and live cohesively with the desirable non-natives.<\/p>\n
<\/a>A fire site overrun with invasive cheat grass<\/p><\/div>\n
That\u2019s still hard for me to swallow. I am disappointed that the only way to prevent the spread of invasives is to plant non-natives, but I suppose that is the lesser of two evils. And I\u2019m happy to know that they don\u2019t plant things like crested wheatgrass because they want to make the cows happy, but rather because it\u2019s the only choice they have. However, I still think more research is needed on how to control the invasives, and while the BLM does a good job stabilizing and rehabilitating the land after a fire, there really is no push to restore the native plant communities. So in that regard, I do wish the BLM put a little more emphasis on conservation and preservation, not just grazing.<\/p>\n
All in all, I had a lot of misconceptions about how things are run out here. I\u2019m not saying that I\u2019ll be cooking myself a juicy T-bone steak anytime soon, but I\u2019ve certainly learned a lot about fire ecology and beef production in the West. I hope to continue having my opinions challenged and horizons widened during my time here. Because that\u2019s the beauty of exploring new places \u2013 you may not recognize how close-minded you are until you truly open your mind to the thoughts of others.<\/p>\n
On a lighter note, here are some pictures from the past two (exceptionally muddy) weeks:<\/p>\n
<\/a>We were headed out of the field just as a huge storm rolled through…<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>…and things got messy real fast.<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>The very next day our truck got thoroughly stuck in the mud.<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>This week, we did stream restoration. Hauling all of those rocks was a dirty & tiring job!<\/p><\/div>\n
Austin Yantes<\/p>\n
Burns District BLM<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I\u2019m going to start out this blog post by openly admitting that I came to Burns with the mindset that beef is the root of all evil. I stopped eating beef when I was 15 years old because of the … Continue reading