Zinke the Troll speaks

[BrentD]

Possibly we will burn out a bunch of wilderness and then settle into a new norm with better hunting and less fires for a while . But you are right its been terrible here as well with all the ash and smoke .

Perhaps, but definitely not likely. Much of NE Minnesota was "overgrown" in the 1970s (though this was all second growth post the big logging boom times of the early 20th century. Fires in the 70s consumed a bunch, logging consumed some more. Hunting got better, but then so did a lot of other things. The snows of the 70s were replaced with balmy winters for the most part. Wolves increased tremendously, and yet, so did the deer herd. Now things are trending back towards fewer deer from what I've heard, though nothing like the 70s.

 

[Irrelevant]

Possibly we will burn out a bunch of wilderness and then settle into a new norm with better hunting and less fires for a while .

The biggest two fires currently burning in WA are burning in areas that burned <20 yrs ago. At that interval there is no "better" time, even for a while.

 

[Ben Lamb]

If only we could log the desert.

http://www.whig.com/article/20180820/AP/308209854

 

[BrentD]

If only we could log the desert.

http://www.whig.com/article/20180820/AP/308209854

aye, but strip mining it and grazing it to nubbins should do the trick.

 

[Ben Lamb]

aye, but strip mining it and grazing it to nubbins should do the trick.

With the direction that Interior has been headed related to the Grouse plans of 2015, there will be less money for restoration and fighting cheatgrass than there was before. So not only do we lose that habitat now to fire, but we lose it in the future to cheatgrass.

Strong work, DOI. Strong work.

 

[Irrelevant]

We'll have the upper hand on cheatgrass in our lifetimes. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/06/...-fight-cheatgrass-a-western-scourge.html?_r=1

 

[BrentD]

We'll have the upper hand on cheatgrass in our lifetimes. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/06/...-fight-cheatgrass-a-western-scourge.html?_r=1

That's a darn cool article and idea, but I'm doubtful. It is also from 3 yrs ago. I wonder what's been happening since.

 

[1_pointer]

That's a darn cool article and idea, but I'm doubtful. It is also from 3 yrs ago. I wonder what's been happening since.

When I was in UT, ARS was trying a biological control (can remember if it was a bacteria or fungus) that was showing some promise. Not sure where that's gone. I do know some of the places they tried it on BLM seemed to work almost too well.

You can greatly reduce the competitive advantage of cheatgrass with sugar. Just very expensive to do so on a meaningful scale...

 

[BrentD]

When I was in UT, ARS was trying a biological control (can remember if it was a bacteria or fungus) that was showing some promise. Not sure where that's gone. I do know some of the places they tried it on BLM seemed to work almost too well.

You can greatly reduce the competitive advantage of cheatgrass with sugar. Just very expensive to do so on a meaningful scale...

I went looking at her website at the ARS. She was there, but her papers were all missing and "no longer available". Pretty odd. I might poke around a little more. Beating Cheat would be huge, but it may come with some other hidden costs. Silver bullets are very rarely just specific to vampires.

 

[BigHornRam]

Here's something more recent.

https://ravallirepublic.com/news/local/article_5e00911b-b63f-5877-a204-07d582a95e31.html

Also Kurt Alt was telling me about a Bozeman area guy that was getting ready to patent a cheat grass remedy that he stumbled across accidently. It involved some mineral application and I'm not at all sure how effective it will turn out to be.

 

[TheJason]

Here's something more recent.

https://ravallirepublic.com/news/local/article_5e00911b-b63f-5877-a204-07d582a95e31.html

Also Kurt Alt was telling me about a Bozeman area guy that was getting ready to patent a cheat grass remedy that he stumbled across accidently. It involved some mineral application and I'm not at all sure how effective it will turn out to be.

Kurt is a great guy. A cheat grass remedy would be a Godsend to range conditions across the west. It really is amazing how poor some of them are.

 

[Irrelevant]

the irradiation of cheat grass would be great for everyone except chukars.

 

[TheJason]

the irradiation of cheat grass would be great for everyone except chukars.

I'm not sure it would be that detrimental. Some of my best areas have very strong stands of native bunch grasses with very little cheat. There typically enough other broadleaf plants to provide a food source. In addition, the bunch grasses are very valuable nesting and ground cover for the birds. Watch a hawk try to get chukars when they are in native bunch grass stands. It's pretty futile.

 

[Irrelevant]

I'm not sure it would be that detrimental. Some of my best areas have very strong stands of native bunch grasses with very little cheat. There typically enough other broadleaf plants to provide a food source. In addition, the bunch grasses are very valuable nesting and ground cover for the birds. Watch a hawk try to get chukars when they are in native bunch grass stands. It's pretty futile.

I have pounded miles of native grasses with 0 chukars seen, but hills of cheat are hills of chukar. Every crop is full of cheat seeds. But maybe you're right, I just haven't seen it.

 

[Elkmagnet]

the irradiation of cheat grass would be great for everyone except chukars.

It likely wouldn't be good for the "graze it or watch it burn" crowd

 

[1_pointer]

I went looking at her website at the ARS. She was there, but her papers were all missing and "no longer available". Pretty odd. I might poke around a little more. Beating Cheat would be huge, but it may come with some other hidden costs. Silver bullets are very rarely just specific to vampires.

The stuff I got to see was out of the Forage and Range Lab in Logan, UT. IIRC one of the things they were experimenting with was dubbed "black fingers of death"!

The sugar just rebalances the C:N ratio to help the natives.

A good step in fighting cheatgrass would be to be reduce some of the requirements of "natives" on stabilization and rehab. Stabilization is easy to get funded, rehab not so much. At least 9 years ago.