The Quarterly Newsletter of the

A BTWF General Assembly meeting was held on July 31^st. The topic for the evening was the Bobcat Gulch fire. Several representatives from the Burn Area Emergency Rehabilitation (BAER) Team were present to discuss the progression and suppression of the fire in addition to assessment and implementation of rehabilitation measures. Many thanks to Dave Gloss and Sarah Gallup of the US Forest Service, Todd Boldt of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and Erik Nilsson of Larimer County, for a very informative evening.

At 7:21 a.m. on Monday June 12, 2000, a citizen reported a fire in the vicinity of Bobcat Gulch. At 8:47 a.m. the fire covered about a quarter of an acre. Conditions in the area indicated extremely high fire danger: vegetation was dense, overgrown and drought stressed (very dry); the weather was hot and dry with winds from the southwest; and the topography was steep and complex, making the progression of a fire unpredictable and in some cases aiding in the speed with which a fire might spread. Fire fighters knew there was trouble ahead.

When it was all over 10,600 acres were burned. About two thirds of that acreage is National Forest System land; the other third is mostly privately owned. The predominant vegetation in the burned area is Ponderosa Pine. Bobcat Gulch, Cedar Creek, and Buckhorn Creek are involved. About $3.6 million was spent on fire suppression, and another $1.1 million on rehabilitation.

The BAER Team, a cooperative, inter-agency team with expertise in hydrology, soil science, engineering, botany, archaeology, wildlife biology, fire ecology, range management and economics, was assembled to determine whether emergency resource or human health and safety conditions exist, and to mitigate significant threats to soil productivity, water quality, life and property. The assessment was completed, and it was determined that the aftermath of the Bobcat Fire could present more threats to human health, safety and belongings than the fire itself. Without rehabilitation, the area could be subject to massive soil movement (mudslides), roads could be washed out, and water quality could be severely compromised. Even with rehabilitation measures, these threats would be only mitigated.

It was determined that the most intensely burned areas (areas in which there is no ground cover left and runoff is visible) should be treated. Components of the rehabilitation efforts included contour falling, seeding and mulching. Contour falling involved cutting down trees, placing them perpendicular to the slope of the ground, and then anchoring them to the ground using other trees, rocks, branches, and soil. Soil and rocks were then wedged against the uphill side of the logs in order to slow the rate of runoff over the hillside and allow water to infiltrate into the soil.

Rehabilitation crew members spread wheat straw
 mulch in burned area.

In areas that were easily accessible and where it was not easy or safe to fell trees, straw wattles, made of straw wrapped in biodegradable mesh netting, were used to serve the same purpose as logs. Mulching, which increases infiltration and reduces raindrop impact and erosion, was implemented on gentler slopes and in more easily accessible areas using certified weed-free wheat straw, covering about 200 acres. Seeding, which serves to increase ground cover and infiltration and decrease erosion, was accomplished by helicopter and by hand over about 2700 acres. It is now up to Mother Nature to send some light to moderate rain for the seed, and keep the winds minimal so the mulch will stay in place.

Rehabilitation team members place a
straw wattle.

A helicopter spreads seed
across burned areas.

Presently, monitoring programs are being designed by a number of entities to gather data in the fire area related to rainfall, erosion, infiltration, runoff, sediment yields, hydrophobic soils, water quality, the effectiveness of the emergency rehabilitation measures, and other related environmental factors. BTWF will serve as a central receiving point for reports and a clearinghouse for the data. We look forward to serving the community in this way, and to working together with all the entities involved in this process.

If you’d like more information, you can contact the following agency representatives: Ellen Hodges, USDA Forest Service, (970) 498-1369; Frank Lancaster, Larimer County, (970) 498-7004; Todd Boldt, NRCS, (970) 295-5650; Mike Babler, Colorado State Forest Service, (970) 491-8660. A map of the fire area can be found at the following web site address: http://www.fs.fed.us/arnf/fm/fire_info/wildland/bobcat_gulch_map.htm.