WINNEMUCCA - This past summer, wildfires moved across northern Nevada. The fires scorched private and public lands alike, including acreage in designated wilderness areas. These wildfires will greatly affect the community members of Winnemucca, Paradise Valley, McDermitt and other nearby locations. Friends of Nevada Wilderness (FNW) is a nonprofit organization that will be working closely with local volunteers, the BLM, the US Forest Service, Nevada Division of Forestry, NDOW, and Nevada Outdoor School throughout the next year, in an effort to rehabilitate the land burned by the Hanson Fire outside Paradise Valley. The lightning-caused Hanson Fire began on Aug. 10 and burned 12,469 acres, 1,206 of which were located in the designated Santa Rosa/Paradise Peak Wilderness. The effort will be to aid the burned land by re-establishing native species in the hopes that thriving plants can be used as additional seed sources in the future. Planting progress will also contribute to preventing erosion and minimizing invasive species. Wildlife habitat will also be restored over time with plant growth. Rehabilitating the Hanson burn area is an ongoing project for volunteers, Friends of Nevada Wilderness and partner organizations. Last spring, volunteers alongside Friends of Nevada Wilderness and Forest Service staff, helped to "Tackle Tom Basin," a burned area from a wildfire in 2011. In only three days of stewardship, hardworking volunteers were able to plant 1575 bitterbrush, over 600 sagebrush, and nearly 1000 willows. FNW is hopeful that the same effort will be made to rehabilitate Hanson this year. The first stewardship opportunity to plant on the Hanson burn area will take place Saturday, Nov. 17. One volunteer who joined Friends of Nevada Wilderness on a project doing fire rehabilitation on the Tom Basin burn area had this to say about her experience: "The weekend experience as a volunteer in the Santa Rosa Range doing restoration work definitely gave me an extra bounce in my step and sparkle in my eyes on Monday morning. It was great to be part of a team with the goal of restoring the wilderness in such a beautiful and pristine area...definitely a trip to remember." Visit the website for more project details at www.nevadawilderness.org, or contact Brenna at brenna.archibald@nevadaoutdoorschool.org to join the volunteer efforts and aid this land in recovery for future generations.[[In-content Ad]]
