Rehabilitation efforts planned for burned sage grouse habitat

VALE, Ore. — It could take a few years to rehabilitate the habitat of sage grouse after wildfires in eastern Oregon this summer, say officials of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

Plans for the work on two fire areas totaling more than 650 square miles in Malheur and Harney counties are being developed, the Ontario Argus Observer reports.

Larry Moore, spokesman at the bureau’s office in Vale, listed some of the tasks in the wake of the wildfires: stabilizing the soil to prevent erosion; preserving unburned spots within the fire areas as a source of seeds to rehabilitate sage grouse habitat; fending off invasive species; and then for two or three years after the fire, rebuilding fences, replacing signs and making other repairs to infrastructure.

The federal government is considering listing the sage grouse as an endangered species.

One of the two fires, known as Buzzard, was by far the larger, burning more than 625 square miles in the sparsely populated region. That’s about 400,000 acres, all of it habitat for the bird.

“Some of our priority sage grouse habitat was burned up,” Moore said. “It takes priority, but the goal is to rehabilitate the entire burned area.”

Emergency stabilization and rehabilitation plans for both fire areas are being evaluated in Washington, D.C., for compliance with environmental regulations, he said.

Tight budgets govern what the bureau can accomplish, and sometimes burn areas don’t get any money at all, Moore said. Sometimes, fire areas burn again before the work is done, he said.