Published in The High Desert Advocate January 29, 2021.
Cody Coombs – fuels program manager – Williams Creek (Photo Archive/credit Ely BLM office)
The Bureau of Land Management Ely District burned slash piles of pinyon pine and juniper on public lands this past Tuesday through Friday/Saturday, January 26-29/30, near Cattle Camp, Quaky Spring, and Monument and Sawmill canyons in south Steptoe Valley.
The Cattle Camp, Quaky Spring, and Monument Canyon prescribed burns (RX) are about 25 miles south of Ely. The Sawmill Canyon RX is about 10 miles south of Ely. The BLM will burn slash piles on six acres near Quaky spring, 25 acres near Cattle Camp, and 138 acres in Sawmill Canyon. The BLM will complete the remaining 20 acres in Monument Canyon.
The piles are remnants of tree-thinning treatments that reduced pinyon-juniper encroachment within the Steptoe Valley watershed. The treatments are part of the multi-year South Steptoe Valley Watershed Restoration Project that restores watershed health and improves wildlife habitat and reduces the risk of a catastrophic wildfire.
