Category Archives: Kaibab National Forest

Williams Ranger District considers managing two fires for resource benefit

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WILLIAMS — The Williams Ranger District of the Kaibab National Forest is considering managing two lightning-caused fires to benefit forest resources. Both fires are producing smoke that is visible from nearby communities and highways.

The 1-acre Smith Fire is located by Smith Tank just north of the City of Williams and Interstate 40. The Key Hole Fire has grown to six-tenths of an acre in size and is located just north of Key Hole Sink near Duck Lake.

Fire managers are on scene at both fires and are considering whether they are appropriate to manage for resource objectives such as fuels reduction, wildlife habitat improvement, and community protection. There are many factors considered in any decision to manage a fire for resource benefit including potential risk to firefighters and the public, potential impacts to archaeological and other sensitive forest resources, and the availability of fire personnel and equipment.

“With the onset of the monsoon season, it is a great time for us to look at managing fire across the landscape to improve overall forest health conditions,” said Mike Uebel, fuels assistant fire management officer for the Williams Ranger District. “These two fires appear to be good candidates for management, and we will make that determination soon. In the interim, we want the public to know that we are aware of them and have resources at each site to take any actions that might be necessary.”

As the management strategy for each fire is defined, additional information will be provided.

Locust Fire update: June 27, 2015 at 8 pm

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forestFREDONIA — When the Locust Fire was first discovered on June 15, fire managers met to discuss plans to manage the fire for the benefit of forest health and determined a planning area boundary that would be limited to 3,282 acres in size.

Today, the lightning-caused Locust Fire on the North Kaibab Ranger District near Fredonia, Ariz., reached 2,160 acres, resulting in improved overall forest health, wildlife habitat and community safety in an area that was deemed safe for firefighters to manage wildfire in a forest type identified by the Kaibab National Forest Land and Resources Management Plan as appropriate for management actions.

“We are extremely pleased with the progress of the Locust Fire and the resource objectives that were accomplished to date, including managing this fire in a safe and effective manner in which every firefighter returned home safely,” said North Zone Fire Management Officer Ed Hiatt. “By allowing fire to play its natural role in the forest, we are able to actively build resiliency, improve forest health and help reduce the risk of future high-severity fire in the area.”

Based on a 4-year average, the North Kaibab Ranger District has about 80 lightning-caused fires annually.

“When conditions are right, it is always nice to know that the community understands why we do what we do,” said North Kaibab District Ranger Randall Walker. “When we have the opportunity to make a significant and positive impact in the management of the Kaibab Plateau landscape, it is always good to know that we have positive community support, and today we are pleased with the results our firefighters have achieved over the last 12 days.

Management of the fire is expected to transition from the current Type 3 Team under command of Incident Commander James Pettit, Williams Ranger District Fire Management Officer, Kaibab National Forest, to a Type 4 Team under the command of Incident Commander Justin Perkins on Tuesday. Over the coming days, the local Type 4 Team will continue to monitor and patrol the area while the majority of resource support will start to demobilize and return to their home units.

Forest managers would like to remind the general public that the Rainbow Rim remains open for recreational use. However, the roads within the Locust Fire planning area boundary remain barricaded and motorists are asked not to enter this 3,282-acre area until further notice. The Locust Fire planning area is bounded by Forest Service Road (FSR) 214 on the north, FSR 206 on the east, FSR 293 on the south and FSR 250 on the west.

Locust Fire update: Firefighters manage unplanned and planned ignitions

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FREDONIA — The operational period for Monday was unique for North Zone fire managers on the Kaibab Plateau. Firefighters were managing unplanned ignitions and planned prescribed fire ignitions simultaneously; the lightning-caused Locust Fire which was determined to be appropriate to manage for protection and resource management objectives, and at the same time, firefighters implemented prescribed fire in the vicinity of Mile-and-a-Half campground.

Although two distinctly different operations with separate management teams, both fires were managed to achieve similar objectives such as returning fire to a fire-adapted ecosystem, reducing fuel loads and the threat of uncharacteristic wildfires in the future while improving overall forest health.

On Tuesday, the Locust Fire increased slightly in size and is being managed in a predetermined area north of Forest Service Road (FSR) 293, east of FSR 250, south FSR 214, and west of FSR 206, and the Moquitch 4 prescribed fire consumed approximately 90 acres in pine litter and down woody debris fuels.

“Today’s accomplishments included extending our black-lining to the west and finishing up prep work along the boundary lines,” said Locust Fire Incident Commander James Pettit. “Managing natural ignitions allows us to do some good fuels reduction and help bring the forest back to a healthy state.”

Fire managers designed the Moquitch prescribed burn plan with similar goals in mind; to improve forest health and wildlife habitat on the Kaibab Plateau.

“All environmental prescriptions were within the parameters for the Moquitch burn and our objectives were met; however, fire managers decided not to move forward with additional burning until later in the year,” said North Zone Fire Management Officer Ed Hiatt. “Success was achieved, public and firefighter safety was achieved, fuels were reduced and adverse impacts to cultural and natural resources were prevented.”

In terms of benefits to forest health, prescribed fire and managed fires perform very similar roles. The difference is that managed fires are naturally caused, whereas prescribed fires must be planned, analyzed and approved as outlined by the National Environmental Policy Act. In the case of the 10,000-acre Moquitch Wildlife Habitat Improvement project area, a detailed burn plan was written and approved in 2013, which took several years to develop.

The Locust Fire operational plan for today is to continue monitoring weather and fire behavior while scouting and preparing for additional blacklining opportunities along the perimeter boundary. Firefighters on the Moquitch 4 prescribed fire will continue to monitor the planning area; no additional firing on this project is planned for the near future.

Salt River Project and National Forest Foundation address critical aspen restoration on the Kaibab National Forest.

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Aspens mix with oaks in fall on Bill Williams Mountain to create an image of stunning beauty.

Missoula, MT — Two trees that give Williams and Flagstaff their most beautiful fall image are the oak and the aspen. The Kaibab aspen lines Perkinsville Road—also known as South Road in Williams—and Forest Road 111 which leads to the top of Bill Williams Mountain. The road to Dogtown lake has a number of aspens and oak.

In the spring and summer, the fully-leaved oaks and aspens provide shade for many of the hiking trails and camping spots. In the fall, the color of the leaves of the aspens mix with the changing color of the oak to create images of beauty.

Last March, Neil Weintraub—Kaibab National Forest Archaeologist—held a field trip to the Keyhole Sink. The trailhead to the Keyhole Sink is across from the Oak Hill Snow Play area along Route 66 east of Williams. There are a few aspens at the Keyhole Sink and during the tour, he brought to light the plight of the endangered Kaibab aspens. The aspens are dying off for a number of reasons.

There are groups, however, attempting to bring the aspens back to life.

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National Forest Foundation photo

The National Forest Foundation (NFF) [Facebook] recently expanded its partnership with the Salt River Project (SRP) to restore imperiled aspen forests on the Kaibab National Forest in Northern Arizona. A leading partner of the NFF’s reforestation efforts, SRP has been supporting landscape-scale reforestation in Northern Arizona through their Trees for Change program since 2009. This year, customer contributions collected through SRP’s Trees for Change program will restore aspen stands, a unique and imperiled forest type in Northern Arizona.
Aspen forests currently comprise less than one percent of forests on the southern half of the Kaibab National forest. Aspens provide particularly high ecological value and diversity, but these important biodiversity hotspots have declined in recent years due to competition from ponderosa pine, browsing damage from elk and deer, and fire exclusion. To improve the health of these important ecosystems, the NFF and the Kaibab National Forest have partnered on an ambitious two-year long, comprehensive aspen restoration project across 200 acres of the Kaibab National Forest.

With funding from SRP, the NFF and the Kaibab National Forest are constructing temporary fencing to exclude elk and deer, which allows aspen forests to regenerate. Additionally, the partners are planting young aspen seedlings to expedite aspen stand restoration. The project, now halfway completed, is expected to regenerate approximately 200,000 young aspen seedlings.

300-apsen-2“Last year, the Forest Service on the Williams Ranger District was successful in reforesting thousands of aspens with the Salt River Project’s contributions. The funding that SRP and the NFF provided was put towards work that would have taken many years to get completed with the regular budget,” said Richard Gonzalez of the Kaibab National Forest.

Since 2009, SRP has been a leading tree planting partner of the NFF, expanding the Forest Service’s capacity to accomplish critical reforestation projects following wildfire. To date, SRP has planted nearly one million trees on the Kaibab, Coconino and Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests in Northern Arizona. Native seedlings planted through this unique partnership help re-establish wildlife habitat, sequester carbon dioxide and stabilize watersheds after wildfires.

“As a long-term partner of ours, the Salt River Project’s commitment to support important reforestation projects is helping restore Treasured Landscapes in Northern Arizona. We are proud to partner with SRP and admire their commitment to improving Northern Arizona’s National Forests through innovative partnerships,” said Bill Possiel, President of the National Forest Foundation.

Across the country, the forested headwaters of our National Forests and Grasslands provide water for 123 million Americans in more than 3,400 communities. The Phoenix metropolitan area is no exception, relying on water that is captured by National Forests in the Salt and Verde River watersheds. Recognizing the importance of these forested headwaters, SRP has invested in critical restoration projects on these National Forests. In addition to the Trees for Change program, SRP and the NFF developed the Northern Arizona Forest Fund. Dollars contributed through the Northern Arizona Forest Fund are invested in other important forest health projects on National Forests in the Salt and Verde River watersheds.

“Thanks to the generosity of our customers and their commitment to reforestation efforts, we are proud to support the efforts of the National Forest Foundation,” said Lori Singleton, Director of Emerging Customer Programs.

Locust Fire update: Continues to meet multiple objectives

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FREDONIA — Today the Locust Fire has increased to a little more than 200 acres. Weather continues to be a driving factor in helping fire managers determine the strategy for managing the fire for multiple objectives. Some of those objectives are: allowing natural fire to play its role as a disturbance factor in the ecosystem, enhancing wildlife habitat, improving forest health, and reducing potential for uncharacteristic high-severity wildfires in future years.

Today’s movement tracked east, northeast with prevailing wind gusts from south, southwest up to 25 miles per hour. Despite windy conditions, crews completed prepping the perimeter and are masticating smaller fuels into chips, which have a lower fuel classification. The mastication increases the efficiency of the prep-work and provides for firefighter safety.

Fuel classification is part of the National Fire Danger Rating System, in which fuels possessing common characteristics are grouped. Dead fuels are grouped according to 1-, 10-, 100-, and 1000-hour intervals; the time it would take for fire to completely consume that fuel source.

“The Locust Fire is meeting our objectives and behaving the way that we anticipated, thanks to the planning and prepping that was done, which is keeping us well ahead of the game,” said Brandon Allen, Locust Fire Incident Commander trainee. Fire behavior today continued to grow at a steady but persistent rate; roughly 132-feet-per hour.

Tomorrow, fire crews plan to continue chipping fuels around designated perimeter roads and implementing firing operations when necessary for managing the fire.

Tomorrow’s weather forecast calls for continued hot and dry conditions. Fire activity may likely increase as fuels continue to dry out.

Locust Fire grows slowly; continues to benefit forest resources

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FREDONIA — The Locust Fire continues to slowly grow near Rainbow Rim Trail on the North Kaibab Ranger District. The lightning-caused fire is located 39 miles south-southeast of Fredonia, Ariz., and northeast of Locust Point. The fire is approximately 37 acres in size and forest officials are managing the fire for resource objectives.

Over the coming weeks, fire crews will manage the fire within a 3,283-acre boundary. Roads, trails, and ridges will help crews maintain low to moderate fire spread within the management area.

The objectives fire managers are working to achieve include returning fire to a fire-adapted ecosystem, reducing accumulated fuels on the forest floor, recycling nutrients into the soil, enhancing wildlife habitat, and protecting the area from future high-intensity wildland fires. To help accomplish these objectives, fire crews are removing vegetation around designated perimeter roads. These and other predefined locations are known as Management Action Points (MAPs) where actions will be taken to slow, redirect, or prevent fire spread, to accomplish stated objectives.

Fire activity consists of low and slow surface fire with four to eight inch flame lengths. The Locust Fire is spreading in all directions but mainly to the east-southeast. For those planning a trip to this area of the forest, please be cautious as smoke may be present in and around the Rainbow Rim Trail during the day and overnight.

The weather forecast shows warm and dry conditions. Fire activity will likely increase as fuels continue to dry in the fire area and smoke may be visible from Arizona Highway 67 and Highway 89A. No road closures are in effect. Motorists are reminded to exercise caution when in the area.

Locust Fire being managed on Kaibab National Forest

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FREDONIA — Like the Jolly Fire, the Locust fire is a lightning caused fire in the Kaibab National Forest. The Locust Fire is located approximately 39 miles south-southeast of Fredonia, Arizona northeast of Locust Point near the Rainbow Rim Trail. The fire was discovered by fire personnel on June 15 at approximately noon during an aerial reconnaissance flight.

North Zone fire managers met yesterday to discuss strategies for managing a second fire in the North Kaibab Ranger District, and the possible impacts this managed fire could potentially have on forest visitors.

They plan to allow it to burn to rid the forest of Pine litter, down woody debris and grass fuels. The planning area is bound by Forest Service Road (FSR) 214 on the north, FSR 206 on the east, FSR 293 on the south and FSR 250 on the west. The Rainbow Rim will not be closed during this managed fire, and fire managers are aware of the anticipated increase in visitor use during this weekend’s scheduled bike festival.

Smoke may be visible from FSR 22, FSR 206 and Arizona Highway 67, Highway 89A and the scenic vista viewpoints on the Rainbow Rim. No closures are currently anticipated.

Kaibab National Forest manages Jolly fire for multiple objectives

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FREDONIA — Lightning activity on the North Kaibab Ranger District over the weekend resulted in several small fires, one of which is the Jolly Fire.

The Jolly Fire is located approximately 3 miles south of Jacob Lake. The planning area is bound by Arizona Highway 67 on the west, Forest Service Road (FSR) 200 on the east and FSR 634 on the north. The fire is currently less than 1 acre. Fire managers plan to keep the Jolly Fire within predetermined boundaries, and if the fire grows to the maximum boundary area it will reach about 1,514 acres in size. Smoke may be visible from Arizona Highway 67 and Highway 89A.

On Monday, fire managers met to discuss the likelihood of managing the fire to allow the fire to function in its natural ecological role within defined boundaries and reduce Ponderosa pine, aspen, and pine litter fuels within the planned management area.

Benefits of the burn include restoration of a fire-adapted ecosystem, reduction of accumulated fuels on the forest floor, recycling of nutrients into the soil, protection of the greater area from future high-intensity wildland fires.

Currently, the fire is a slow-moving ground fire, and fire managers are considering managing the fire for resource benefits as weather and conditions allow. No road or trail closures are in effect, but hazard signs are posted and motorist should exercise caution.

Northern AZ land managers recognized for leadership in fire management

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WILLIAMS — Managers of both the Kaibab National Forest and Grand Canyon National Park in northern Arizona were recently recognized for the leadership role they’ve played in managing wildland fire across the landscape and jurisdictional boundaries for the purpose of improving forest health conditions.

From the Kaibab National Forest, former Forest Supervisor Mike Williams, North Kaibab District Ranger Randall Walker, Tusayan District Ranger James Simino, and Williams District Ranger Danelle D. Harrison were honored with the “Excellence in Line Officer Commitment to Restoration of Fire Adapted Ecosystems” award by the Forest Service National Line Officers Team. The group award recognizes the efforts made by the leadership of the Kaibab National Forest in the restoration of forest ecosystems through the use of a variety of tools including wildfire, prescribed fire, and manual and mechanical fuel treatments.

“This group award represents well-deserved, national-level recognition of the significant work accomplished on a landscape scale by these line officers and by all the employees of the Kaibab National Forest,” said Art Gonzales, fire staff officer for the Kaibab. “These individuals have provided an unwavering level of support that has allowed the Kaibab National Forest and its employees to be national leaders in restoring fire-adapted ecosystems.”

In 2014, the Kaibab National Forest treated almost 29,000 acres with wildfire managed to achieve resource objectives, including the approximately 11,000-acre Sitgreaves Complex Fire that was active for two months in an area extremely visible by local communities and members of the visiting public. Of particular note, the Kaibab’s average cost per acre of wildfires managed to benefit forest resources was about $133 per acre, versus the average cost of $2,500 per acre for wildfire with a full suppression strategy. The forest also treated thousands of additional acres with prescribed fire and various vegetation treatments.

From Grand Canyon National Park, Superintendent Dave Uberuaga was the recipient of the “Superintendent Fire Management Achievement Award” from the Intermountain Region of the National Park Service. The award is given annually to an Intermountain Region park superintendent who actively supports and is fully engaged with their unit’s fire management program.

“Grand Canyon National Park is one of the most complex programs within the agency both in terms of park and fire management,” read the letter to Uberuaga announcing his selection for the award. “The park has recognized that wildland fire is an integral part of the landscape. … Without your leadership the 2014 fire season would not have been as successful as it was.”

During the 2014 season, the park managed both the Kanabownits and Galahad fires over an extended period of time and had identified large planning areas for the potential expansion of the fires. Also noted in the award citation were Grand Canyon National Park’s mechanical and prescribed fire applications used to manage vegetation, and the Slopes Prescribed Fire project on the North Rim that was highlighted for its role in enhancing the park’s ability to better manage large fires in mixed conifer fuels in the future.

“Dave is very deserving of this recognition,” said Jay Lusher, chief of fire and aviation for Grand Canyon National Park. “He takes a hands-on approach with our fire program by making the time to interact and engage with crews on the ground during fire operations. To me, this instills confidence and camaraderie and allows for shared vision and purpose as we implement projects.”

Not only do Kaibab National Forest and Grand Canyon National Park share borders both north and south of the canyon, but the managers of each share a commitment to restoring fire-adapted ecosystems on a landscape scale and providing the leadership necessary to accomplish that important work.

The forest and park work together daily across jurisdictional boundaries on a variety of projects and even share a fire management organization on the north side. The North Zone Fire Management organization includes personnel from both the North Kaibab Ranger District of the Kaibab National Forest and the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.

“Managing fire on a landscape scale and across administrative boundaries is key to building resiliency throughout the ecosystem,” said North Kaibab District Ranger Randall Walker, who was one of the recipients of the Forest Service award. “Together, we can maintain and build resilient landscapes; help protect the public, nearby communities and important infrastructure; and create a safe, effective and appropriate response to wildfire.”

Kaibab National Forest archaeologist honored with statewide award

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neil-weintraubWILLIAMS — A Kaibab National Forest archaeologist was recently recognized with a prestigious statewide award in public archaeology by the Arizona Governor’s Archaeology Advisory Commission.

Neil Weintraub, zone archaeologist for the Williams and Tusayan ranger districts, was named the 2015 “Professional Archaeologist” of the year by the commission for his significant contributions to the protection and preservation of, and education about, Arizona’s non-renewable archaeological resources.

“Neil’s commitment to public archaeology and education goes way beyond what is required of a federal archaeologist,” said Ann Howard, deputy state historic preservation officer and the person who nominated Weintraub for the award. “His dedication, commitment and enjoyment of sharing the stewardship message and ethic with the public make him stand out.”

Weintraub has been an archaeologist with Kaibab National Forest for 25 years. As part of his duties, he surveys National Forest lands for cultural resources, identifies and documents the sites that are discovered, and then ensures they are monitored and protected.

The Kaibab National Forest is particularly rich in historically and culturally significant resources, with more than 10,000 archaeological sites recorded on the forest. These historic properties, which Weintraub has helped locate and manage over his quarter-century-long tenure, are related to a long history of human occupation and use of the Kaibab National Forest dating back at least 12,000 years.

But it was for much more than his standard job duties that Weintraub was singled out by the Arizona Governor’s Archaeology Advisory Commission for excellence. Weintraub provides dozens of outreach and interpretive programs annually, reaching hundreds of people, including children, with his stewardship message. He also oversees many of Kaibab National Forest’s volunteer partners including Grinnell College interns, Arizona Site Stewards, rock art researchers, Passport in Time participants, and individual volunteers, who contribute thousands of hours each year toward the management, protection, documentation and interpretation of heritage resources across the forest.

“Given our challenging multiple use mission, protecting and preserving these sites would be nearly impossible if it were not for the relationships and mutual trust that have been built with our partners over many years,” Weintraub said. “We have countless examples in which permittees, seasonal employees, volunteers, local residents or others have told us about previously undiscovered sites. We investigate their discoveries by walking the landscape with them and having them help us with archaeological documentation. Forging these relationships has always brought mutual benefits, as I have often learned more from them than they do from me. Most importantly we have all those extra eyes helping us protect and preserve these ancient, fragile places.”

Weintraub’s contributions go beyond even cultural resource preservation, though, to a broader commitment to community, which Howard made sure to point out in her nomination of him. Specifically, she included Weintraub’s long-term work as a volunteer with the northern Arizona’s Big Brothers Big Sisters organization. She described how he always finds ways to get the youth involved in the program interested in Arizona’s precious past.

“Neil has a never-ceasing enthusiasm for raising the awareness of the citizens of Arizona, especially the children,” Howard said. “Making children sensitive to the fragility of our state’s non-renewable heritage resources is absolutely critical to the future protection and preservation of Arizona’s cultural resources.”

Weintraub was presented with his award in mid-May at an awards luncheon in Flagstaff as part of the 2015 Arizona Historic Preservation Conference.