Native American Youths
Improve Sage-Grouse Habitat
Liz Warner, NRCS Nevada
January 10, 2012
An important meadow is
fenced to protect critical habitat for sage-grouse.
In the middle of
Nevada, miles from anywhere, eight Native American young adults spent
their summer working to improve sagebrush habitat for the greater
sage-grouse. Habitat for this ground-dwelling bird, native to much of
the American West, has been dwindling in recent years, due to fencing,
wildfires and invasive species.
The young adults, all
residents of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation and the Battle Mountain
Indian Colony, range in age from 18 to 26. They were happy to find work
that would let them be outdoors and physically active. Their employment
was made possible by a partnership between the
Bootstraps Program of
University of Nevada Cooperative Extension in Lander County and
USDA’s
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
The Bootstraps Program
teaches life skills and job responsibility by combining formal classroom
instruction with real outdoor work experience. NRCS’ role was to provide
technical guidance and financial assistance through its
Environmental Quality Incentives Program.
Pinyon and juniper
trees are cut to provide optimal growth conditions for native sagebrush.
The eight young people
are working to restore sage-grouse habitat on 1,000 acres of public land
and 400 acres of private land. Restoration means the removal of invasive
pinyon pine and juniper trees in order to provide optimal conditions for
the native sagebrush that provides food and cover for the greater
sage-grouse.
In June, the Bootstraps
workers received intensive training from Extension specialists covering
use of chainsaws, two-way radios, satellite phones and GPS units, as
well as safety, first aid and basic job skills. Once trained and
equipped, they started work.
They removed only
certain pinyon pine and juniper trees. They left old-growth trees
standing, as well as trees on steep slopes, because removing them would
create other problems, like erosion.
The cut trees were left
on the ground to protect the soil from erosion and provide shelter for
wildlife.
When the crew wasn’t
cutting trees, they were fencing springs and meadow areas to protect
them from overuse by livestock or wild horses. Meadows are critical
habitat for young sage-grouse.
All of the young adults
say they have enjoyed the experience—especially working outside, and
with their hands.
Most of the pinyon pine
and juniper will be cut this fall, and next year a new Bootstraps crew
will finish it and start work in other areas.
Bottomless Watering Facility Installed On Rock Creek
Ranch
Rock Creek Ranch, south
of Golconda, recently installed a watering facility using cost share
funding from the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP),
administered by the NRCS office in Winnemucca.
The system was designed
for approximately 300 head of cattle. A new submersible pump was
installed in an existing well, with electrical
power provided by new solar photovoltaic panels. The pumped water is
conveyed to two new bottomless troughs through a 1-1/2” diameter
pipeline. The troughs are composed of a 21 foot diameter corrugated
metal ring embedded in a circular concrete slab. To prevent ponding of
water around the troughs, gravel was placed around the perimeter of the
concrete slab. Steel pipe was used to construct a barricade around the
troughs. The barricade will prevent livestock from walking into the
troughs. Wildlife escape ramps were also installed in the troughs to
help wildlife escape if they fall into the water.
Contact Bill Pellersels
at (775) 623-5025 x 109 for more information about this project.
Saving Precious Water
Mark Twain said, "Whiskey is for drinking, water is for
fighting over." Those words are still true today in the driest state in
the Union and that’s why NRCS is working with farmers to install
high-efficiency irrigation systems. In FY 2010, NRCS worked with
agricultural producers to install 75 new systems, saving power and
water.
Art Villalobos increased his
irrigation efficiency by 30 percent, saving approximately 250 acre feet
of water. An acre foot of water is equivalent to a foot of water spread
of one acre, so that much water would be over 20 feet high. Villalobos
installed a new, high-efficiency irrigation system on his farm in
northern Humboldt County that is increasing his crop production as well
as saving water. His previous gated pipe irrigation system was about 60
percent efficient.
Villalobos also likes the fact that he
doesn’t have to manually adjust the irrigation system. "It’s all done
electronically, which frees me up to work on other things," he said.
Villalobos worked with the NRCS office in
Winnemucca to install the new system. Engineering Technician Bill
Pellersels evaluated the old irrigation system and made recommendations
on how Villalobos could save water and energy by installing the new
system. NRCS provided cost-share assistance under the 2008 Farm Bill.
Villalobos, along with his father and
brothers, grows alfalfa hay on several properties in Humboldt County.
This is the second high efficiency irrigation system they have installed
and he plans to install more.
Sustaining Working Ranches and Conserving Sage-Grouse
Populations
In 2010, USDA launched a new and exciting effort to
sustain working ranches and conserve greater sage-grouse populations in
the West. The NRCS is using popular conservation programs including the
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and Wildlife Habitat
Incentive Program (WHIP) to assist producers in Nevada and 10 other
western states to simultaneously improve habitat for sage-grouse and
improve sustainability and productivity of their native rangelands.
In just one year, NRCS Nevada, ranchers, and partners
have:
• Implemented twenty one (21) contracts for
conservation measures on both private and public land, obligating
more than $1.7 million. Of this amount, $1,661,234 was infused into
rural communities in labor, construction, and material costs.
• Engaged rural communities and partners in
proactively enhancing sage-grouse habitat, potentially reducing the
need for regulation under the Endangered Species Act.
• Removed 2,100 acres of pinyon and juniper
woodlands that had encroached on sagebrush areas.
• Restored over 77,000 acres of rangeland to improve
the quality and quantity of brood rearing and summer habitat for
sage-grouse and increase forage for livestock.
• Removed over 10 miles of fence near sage-grouse
lek areas to decrease mortality rates and installed over 9 miles of
new fence to manage grazing.
Sage-grouse are an umbrella species. If their diverse
habitat is protected, it protects other species, from pygmy rabbits to
mule deer and migratory birds. Healthy ecosystems benefit everyone.
Implementing these conservation measures will help keep sage-grouse off
of the endangered species list and improve the bottom line for ranchers.
Protecting Wildlife Helps Rangeland
Two central Nevada ranchers are restoring sage-grouse
habitat on public land, thanks to assistance through the NRCS
Sage-Grouse Initiative. Within the next 5 years, pinyon and juniper
trees will be removed from approximately 570 acres of key sage-grouse
habitat on the east and west sides of the Desatoya Mountains to enhance
sage-grouse movement from spring to summer range. Restoration efforts
are a cooperative effort between two privately owned and operated cattle
ranches, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Nevada Department of
Wildlife, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Nevada Division of Forestry, and
the NRCS.
The rancher on the east side of the mountains has
restored sage-grouse habitat on 150 acres of private land over the last
eight years. Land treated includes degraded riparian areas and upland
rangeland. Funding is providing an opportunity to expand pinyon and
juniper treatment to adjacent public land which is an important part of
the rancher’s ongoing effort to restore important wildlife habitat and
sustain an economically viable cattle operation. The rancher on the west
side of the mountains will remove pinyon and juniper trees that the BLM
identified for treatment several years ago. The BLM has begun treatment
on some of the identified acres.
High Tunnels Help Local Communities
A farmer in Douglas County is really pleased with the
results from the high tunnel he installed, thanks to financial
assistance under the Agricultural Management Assistance (AMA) program.
He installed the high tunnel, or "hoop house," in the
summer of 2010 to ward off the first frost the area typically receives
in mid-September. The high tunnel was very effective and extended the
growing season to mid-November, enabling the farmer to feed his family
fresh vegetables for about 6 weeks longer than usual. In addition, the
farmer improved the soil with compost and did not use any commercial
fertilizers or pesticides.
The landowner gave the extra produce to his
employees and to a local food bank, further benefitting the community in
the Carson Valley.
Almost
150 high school students from Yerington participated in a farmland restoration
day, organized by Michelle Langsdorf and sponsored by the Mason Valley
Conservation District, on April 19. Students learned
about noxious weeds, nonpoint source pollution, wildlife habitat, and soils (left).
They learned first-hand about the importance of water in soil during a
revegetation exercise. The students were tasked with planting shrubs along the
irrigation canal, but the ground was so hard, a power auger was finally brought
in to dig the holes (right). 
Washoe County Parks and Recreation conducted a
volunteer effort on April 21. Over 50 volunteers, including NRCS staff and
partners, participated in replanting areas of Bartley Ranch Park that were
burned during a wildfire in October 2011 (left). 
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