Rangeland wildfire and the human response to them continue to be one of the most extensive and intensive efforts in sagebrush-steppe rangelands. There are substantial challenges and opportunities made during post-fire response that require an �all hands, all lands� approach.� Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation (ESR) efforts that followed the 2015 Soda Wildfire represent an improved effort to understand, and restore resistance and resilience in sagebrush-steppe landscapes.� The fire burned approximately 113,000 topographically varied hectares in the Owyhee Mountains.� This included priority sage grouse habitat, portions of two states, and >100 grazing allotment/pasture.� The fire followed Secretarial Order #3336 on Rangeland Fire Prevention and Restoration, and thus a larger investment into invasive plant control and post-fire treatments were made. ��Treatment objectives and grazing resumption objectives were developed by BLM with input from interagency partners with a focus on resistant and resilient landscapes.� Monitoring results continue to be shared with an interagency partner�s group.� Monitoring data are reported with a focus on 1) treatment/vegetation responses effectiveness 2) re-treatment needs or opportunities, and 3) grazing resumption determination.� During periods of livestock rest vegetative data was collected by monitoring >2000 plots across the burn area. The partners have worked together to substantially advance organization and documentation of data and create unparalleled learning opportunities.� The monitoring data combine with complementary research efforts on topics such as identifying thresholds and tipping points in resistance and resilience (changes in exotic-annual and perennial grass cover and roots), assessing bunchgrass readiness to withstand grazing resumption, identifying suitable sites for sagebrush recovery, benefits of multiple-layered treatments, and other aspects of ecosystem response.� While information collected on the Soda Fire is most applicable to the Soda Fire itself, there are many gained insights that will be useful for developing post-fire responses to other large rangeland fires.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.