Feb
29
2008
Scientists Test Herbicides on Invasive Cheatgrass
Posted: Feb 29, 2008 07:45 PM
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Kellene Stockwell
Channel 2 News
Scientists in Reno are searching for the newest weapon in the war on cheatgrass.
On a one-acre plot in Somersett, scientists laid down several herbicides Friday to try and kill cheatgrass without harming the native plants.
Cheatgrass is very invasive; it can take over areas that used to be sagebrush after a fire.
The experiments are being run by the Nevada Fire Safe Council and the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension.
Thanks to new technologies, herbicides might be a cheaper solution. “The herbicides that we have today are a lot more effective than they have been in the past. We’re using them at almost microscopic applications rates yet they do a great job at controlling things,” says weed specialist Earl Creech.
Some of the herbicides they’re testing are commonly used on ranches, but others are newly developed for specific crops like wheat.
If nothing else, they’d like to kill the cheatgrass and be able to seed something else in its place.
We should see the results this spring, but they’ll monitor the site for years to see which herbicides last longer.
Feb
27
2008
Fire Safe Council gets early start on wildfire prevention
Adam Jensen, ajensen@tahoedailytribune.com
February 27, 2008
While winter’s snowfall puts wildfire out of the minds of many Lake Tahoe Basin residents, the Nevada Fire Safe Council will hold several meetings next week to educate residents ahead of the upcoming fire season. The meetings will include tips on what makes properties less prone to burning in a wildfire and explain the process for creating a Fire Safe chapter. By organizing South Shore neighborhoods into Fire Safe chapters, the nonprofit organization hopes to see better implementation of defensible space, which are specific measures taken around a building to help firefighters protect it during a wildfire. A lack of defensible space was one factor blamed for the level of destruction in last summer’s Angora fire.
Continue Reading »
Feb
26
2008
The regularly scheduled meeting of the Nevada Fire Safe Council Board of Directors will meet at 9:00 on February 28, 2008, at the UNR Cooperative Extension Office, 2621 Northgate Lane, Suite 15, Carson City, Nevada. Upon request, individuals may participate via compressed video at UNR Cooperative Extension offices throughout the State. The meeting is open to the public. Chapter leaders, chapter members and local, state and federal Fire Safe partners are encouraged to attend. The agenda and materials can be downloaded by clicking here: NVFSC Board Meeting 02/28/08.pdf.
Feb
22
2008
$4M in lands act money earmarked for Lake Tahoe wildfire prevention – Tahoe Daily Tribune
Staff reports
February 20, 2008
An infusion of money from the sale of public lands in Southern Nevada will be used to step up efforts to reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfire at Lake Tahoe, a coalition of fire officials and government agencies announced today.
About $4.1 million will be used from Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act money to jump start the efforts of the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team, according to a press statement announcing the plan. Continue Reading »
Feb
21
2008
Secretary of Interior Dirk Kempthorne signed off on $78.9 million in projects on February 20 2008, including $14.6 million for hazardous fuels reduction projects. Funding for the projects is generated from sales of federal lands in Clark County pursuant to the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act. The following Nevada Fire Safe Council projects have been funded:
- $1.87 million for fuels reduction projects on the Sierra Front;
- $4.4 million for fuels reduction efforts in the Lake Tahoe Basin; and
- $231,990 for projects in the Spring Mountain Range
A complete listing of Round 8 projects funded by SNPLMA can be found here.
