As the spring has slowly shifted to the summer, GBCA’s Restoration crew members have been hard at work learning the essential skills they need for the field season to come. From the fundamental principles of invasive species management to wildlife safety, the knowledge necessary to conduct restoration within the Great Burn safely and effectively is broad. The Kelly Restoration Crew (Marilynn Mehmke and Maureen Bricker), the Lolo Restoration Spray Crew (Joch Wolfolk and Clare Smith), and the Roving Restoration Survey Crew (Ella Bradley and Reed Cotthaus) have worked hard to prepare for the diverse and often challenging work that they will conduct in the coming months within the Great Burn. Here is a brief retelling of what we have been up to.
University of Montana Training and Partnership
The University of Montana has played a pivotal role in the Restoration Crews' training, particularly in the area of invasive species management. This unique partnership has equipped our crews with crucial knowledge of safe herbicide application procedures and best practices. In collaboration with the University of Montana, GBCA Restoration Crews successfully treated approximately 70 acres of Mount Sentinel. We extend our heartfelt thanks to Marilyn Marler for her invaluable contributions to our crew's education on restoration and safe invasive species management.
Monitoring Protocols
The use and establishment of monitoring protocols are essential for GBCA to track restoration project effectiveness. The Great Burn’s diverse landscape requires a combination of different inventory techniques to understand treatment progress over time. Currently, the Restoration Program utilizes the Line-Point-Intercept (LPI) and Standardized Impact Monitoring Protocol (SIMP) monitoring methods. LPI is used to systematically determine plant diversity and general presence within established areas, allowing for the determination of herbicide application impact and plant types present. SIMP is used to monitor biological control agent presence and effectiveness within previously established agent release areas. Special thanks to Nez Perce Bio Control in Lapwai, ID, for teaching our GBCA Crews the principles of SIMP, biological controls, and plant identification.
Plant Identification
The identification of both native and non-native plants is critical for both monitoring and appropriate treatment application within the Great Burn. The fast and accurate identification of plants requires both practice and observation of local flora, especially for many of the GBCA Restoration Crew members who are from faraway parts of the country. The Kelly Crew participated in a special grass identification training hosted by the University of Montana’s O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West. During this training, Marilynn and Maureen practiced the use of dichotomous keys to confidently identify different species of grasses and forbs. These newly acquired identification skills will be used to better understand grass species prevalence within the Kelly Creek area.
Looking Forward
By the end of June, all crews will transition into their formal restoration work within the Great Burn. The end of this training period represents a time of excitement and anticipation, with many crew members finally experiencing the Great Burn area for the first time. Yet the end of training also marks a sad time as the three Restoration Crews will go their separate ways within the Great Burn, completing vital restoration projects within the Lolo, Nez Perce-Clearwater, and Idaho Panhandle National Forests, hopefully, to meet again sometime down the trail.