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Conservancy Begins Hells Canyon Restoration Effort

Staff, volunteers plant trees and grasses in areas burned by 2007 fires

Hells Canyon, Idaho — April 28, 2008— The tractor is unlikely to replace the jet boat as the favorite touring option in Hells Canyon. But when it comes to restoring burned areas in the rugged landscape, a new 4-wheel-drive Kubota may be the conservationist’s best friend.

The Nature Conservancy has begun an effort to restore Hells Canyon areas burned in 2007 fires, utilizing the tractor, disc seeder and lots of hand labor.  The restoration effort focuses on the Conservancy’s Garden Creek Preserve, which offers some of the canyon’s best wildlife habitat.

In July and August last year, the Chimney Complex Fire raged through 80 square miles of Hells Canyon, burning much of the best remaining native bunchgrass as well as trees along streams and waterways.

While fire is a natural part of the landscape, these fires burned extremely hot, killing many trees. The fires also pose another threat: They increase the likelihood of non-native weeds taking over native habitat.

Enter the tractor.

Led by Western Idaho conservation manager Art Talsma, Conservancy staff utilized the tractor and rugged rangeland seeder to plant native bunch grasses and forbs on the lower elevations to benefit wildlife and control non-native weeds.

The Conservancy also planted 600 native trees, including cottonwood, serviceberry and ponderosa pines. Native cottonwood trees were planted along Garden Creek to prevent soil erosion. More trees will be planted this fall.

The Nature Conservancy has been working in Hells Canyon for twenty years, acquiring 15,000 acres of land so that future generations could enjoy the scenic vistas, abundant wildlife and world-class recreation opportunities. In 1995, the Conservancy transferred 12,000 acres to the Bureau of Land Management. Today the Conservancy continues to own and manage the 1500-acre Garden Creek Preserve. All of these lands are open to the public.
 

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.