Between October 21^st and 30^th, 2003, monitoring of aspen was completed within 3 drainages of the Sanford Fire burn area. A total of nineteen sites were sampled in all burn severities (4 unburned, 7 low, 3 moderate, and 5 high), and the 3 photo points established in 2002 were re-photographed. All sites that received any burn severity produced more stems per acre than unburned sites. All sites, except 2 high severity burn sites, produced more than 15,000 stems per acre. Sites located near Cottonwood Creek Road (FS-125) received 20% or less of their stems damaged by browsing, however, 4 of the 7 sites within the Hunt Creek drainages received greater than 30%. Additionally, the one site located in the North Fork of Deep Creek also received greater than 30% of its stems damaged by ungulates. At this time, none of the sites have grown to 6 feet (1.83 m) in height. Stems will need to be at least 6 feet tall to have their leader-tips be beyond the reach of grazing/browsing domestic sheep¹ and cattle², and will need diameters at breast height of at least 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) to withstand stem breakage by elk³. Five sites (CWS-12, CWS-08, CO-01, WHZ-02, and NFDC-01) will require monitoring in the fall of 2004, and they may require additional management strategies to ensure they do not become converted to a non-aspen ecosystem type.

Note: On April 22, 2002, the planned 1,500-acre Sanford Prescribed Fire was ignited on the Dixie National Forest's Powell Ranger District. On May 13, eleven miles southeast of the Sanford prescribed fire project, the planned 2,000-acre Adams Head prescribed fire was ignited. By June, these two prescribed fires escaped their containment boundaries and became the 78,000-acre Sanford Wildland Fire. Extreme fire activity was uncharacteristic of past fire behavior here. Fire records for this area dating from 1970 indicate the largest wildfire on the Powell Ranger District previous to 2002 was only 100 acres in size.

See also the Upper Sevier River Community Watershed Project's Sanford Fire 2002 web site at http://www.uppersevier.net/resource/sanfire/sanfire.html. This link discusses fire's effects on the area burned by the Sanford Fire.

References Cited

1. British Columbia Ministry of Forests. 2000. Silviculture Note 26: sheep grazing in Forestry. British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Silviculture Practices Section, Forest Practices Branch, P.O. Box 9513, Stn. Prov. Govt., Victoria, B.C. V8W 9C2, Canada. 5 p.
   Available online at http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfp/publications/00127/SN26.pdf
2. DeByle, Norbert V. 1985. Animal Impacts. Pages 115-123. In: DeByle, Norbert V.; and Winokur, Robert P. (editors). Aspen: Ecology and management in the western United States. USDA Forest Service GTR-RM-119. Fort Collins, Colorado. 283 p.
3. Rolf, James M. 2001. Aspen fencing in Northern Arizona: a 15-year perspective. In: Sustaining Aspen in Western Landscapes: Symposium Proceedings; 13-15 June 2000; Grand Junction, CO. Shepperd, Wayne D.; Binkley, Dan; Bartos, Dale L.; Stohlgren, Thomas J.; and Eskew, Lane G. (compilers). Proceedings RMRS-P-18. 460 p. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station.
   Article available online at http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_p018/rmrs_p018_193_196.pdf.
   Book available online at http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_p018.html

 

Click on the above image for a larger view.

 

Summary of Sanford Fire Sites Sampled
Site ID	Burn Severity	Location	Elevation	Slope	Aspect	Date Sampled
CW-04	Low	N 37º 56.632', W 112º 07.772'	8,207 ft.	3%	125º	21 Oct 03
CW-05	High	N 37º 56.327', W 112º 08.691'	8,374 ft.	8%	valley bottom	21 Oct 03
CWS-05	Moderate	N 37º 56.170', W 112º 11.086'	8,818 ft.	8%	30º	22 Oct 03
CWS-06	Low	N 37º 56.283', W 112º 118.134'	8,856 ft.	21%	195º	22 Oct 03
CW-06	Unburned	N 37º 56.944', W 112º 12.343'	9,439 ft.	21%	215º	22 Oct 03
CWS-07	High	N 37º 57.174', W 112º 12.704'	9,639 ft.	10%	50º	27 Oct 03
CWS-08	High	N 37º 57.204', W 112º 12.749'	9,706 ft.	30%	140º	22 Oct 03
CWS-09	Low	N 37º 57.716', W 112º 13.104'	9,844 ft.	12%	210º	27 Oct 03
CWS-10	Moderate	N 37º 57.789', W 112º 12.902'	9,966 ft.	15%	90º	27 Oct 03
CWS-11	Unburned	N 37º 58.461', W 112º 12.949'	10,064 ft.	45%	270º	27 Oct 03
CWS-12	High	N 37º 59.234', W 112º 13.519'	9,865 ft.	33%	221º	27 Oct 03
EH-01	Unburned	N 37º 51.279', W 112º 10.055'	8,100 ft.	57%	60º	29 Oct 03
CO-01	Low	N 37º 51.994', W 112º 11.613'	8,435 ft.	38%	145º	29 Oct 03
CO-02	Unburned	N 37º 51.601', W 112º 12.304'	8,549 ft.	12%	335º	29 Oct 03
WHZ-01	Low	N 37º 48.179', W 112º 11.470'	8,271 ft.	1%	334º	28 Oct 03
WHZ-02	Moderate	N 37º 48.705', W 112º 11.778'	8,129 ft.	3%	83º	28 Oct 03
WHZ-03	Low	N 37º 50.031', W 112º 11.905'	8,165 ft.	1%	155º	28 Oct 03
WHZ-04	Low	N 37º 51.128', W 112º 12.778'	8,458 ft.	18%	117º	28 Oct 03
NFDC-01	High	N 38º 00.814', W 112º 09.989'	9,318 ft.	flat	55º	30 Oct 03