On the Arizona Strip with IWJV's Sage Capacity Team
Perhaps no partnership of field-based individuals has had the breadth of impacts on the sagebrush biome as IWJV’s Sage Capacity Team (SCT). During the week of May 16th, the SCT convened in St. George, Utah, and after more than two years of virtual meetings many SCT members were meeting in person for the first time. They were joined by multiple IWJV staff and Management Oversight Group members Gordon Toevs and Tanya Thrift to celebrate accomplishments, share ideas, and tour several project sites. The week’s events were located on the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Arizona Strip District where BLM biologists, range specialists, fuels specialists, and other staff are finding ways to create resilient habitats.
Cliff rose at the Buck Pasture Canyon project site.
The first stop on the field tour was the Buck Pasture Canyon, a range improvement project completed approximately 10 years ago. The goal of the project was to remove thick stands of encroaching juniper, while continuing to provide important habitat for key species like mule deer and pinyon jays. Cliff rose, a critical food source for migrating mule deer, has come back in abundance across this project site, along with bunch grasses and forbs. Managers noted that after 10 years, juniper trees are beginning to move back into the project site, prompting plans to re-enter and remove trees in the future.
High on a plateau, with the red rocks of the Vermillion Cliffs on the horizon, the group stopped at the second field site of the day where post-fire treatments are beginning to show effects. The Pine Hollow Emergency Stabilization & Rehabilitation project is located in a burn scar from a 2020 wildfire. Management practices at Pine Hollow included chaining and winter seeding following the fire, which provided an opportunity to boost preferable plant growth in the years after fire.
Management Oversight Group member Gordon Toevs and Sage Capacity Team member Jason LeVan admire results at the Shuttleworth-Suicide project site.
With the strong desert sun high above, the group rolled down a picturesque dirt road and stopped at the final field site of the day, the Shuttleworth-Suicide project. This project was a collaborative effort between the BLM and Arizona Game and Fish Department to remove thick stands of juniper by lopping and scattering the trees, giving native grasses, forbs, and shrubs an opportunity to rebound. Gazing out at the vast carpet of globe mallow, native bunch grasses, and shrubs, it was apparent their work was making an incredible impact for the wildlife and humans who rely on this landscape.
“Each member of the Sage Capacity Team goes about their work in such a unique but impactful way. Getting on the ground to see the impressive work happening across the Arizona Strip makes it clear that this partnership of individuals is irreplaceable in working across boundaries for people and wildlife in the sagebrush biome,” said Mandi Hirsch, IWJV’s Sagebrush Collaborative Conservation Specialist.
Through various management challenges, many fueled by a hotter and drier climate, BLM staff, SCT member Kaitlyn Yoder, and additional partners are making strides across the Arizona Strip for wildlife in the sagebrush biome.
Thank you to the following Arizona Strip District BLM staff for helping to coordinate and lead the field tour:
Brian Tritle - Acting District Manager and Acting Grand Canyon Parashant Monument Manager
Stephanie Grischkowsky - Wildlife Biologist
Ben Ott - Range Specialist
Jenna Moore - Integrated Vegetation Management Coordinator
Justin Reeve - Range Technician
Greta Hyland - Natural Resource Specialist Fire (not able to attend - called out on a fire)
