Pilot Scatters Seeds Across N.M. Burn Scar to Prevent Erosion

Aug. 06--With precision skill, helicopter pilot Christy Carlson-Frisby dropped load after load of barley seed near Redondo Peak in the Valles Caldera National Preserve on Saturday, part of an effort to restore land burned by a summer wildfire.

In total, the Salmon River Helicopters pilot flowed 14 loads of the seed across the peak's west side, over the area most severely burned by the Thompson Ridge Fire in June. Barley seed germinates quickly and with any luck will put down roots in the next week to help hold down soil wiped clean of vegetation by the intense heat of the fire.

About 397 acres of steep slopes in the Deer, Mormon and Freelove canyons were seeded, according to John Barksdale, incident commander for the federal interagency Burned Area Emergency Response team that's been working in the Valles Caldera. The seed is weed-free and each 2,000-pound bag of seed can be tracked by lot number from its Arkansas Valley Seed supplier in Denver, Barksdale said.

Barksdale said wildlife will like the barley. Squirrels, prairie dogs and elk will all gravitate to the reseeded areas as the plants grow. "They'll have a field day," he said.

The Thompson Ridge Fire, which was ignited by a downed power line, burned 23,965 acres. So far, the Forest Service has set aside $271,000 to protect historic structures and roads from flooding around the burned areas.

Barksdale said no straw mulch will be laid on top of the seeds because it is so late in the monsoon season. A heavy rain Sunday night have washed some of the freshly sewn seeds off the slopes, he said, but the hope is that most of the seeds will take hold in the moist soil.

In addition to seeding, crews have protected historic structures in the Valles Caldera with sandbags and are working to improve drainage away from the buildings. They've also cut burned trees that posed a hazard along roads. Others are building sediment catchment basins out of logs to prevent artifacts such as pottery shards and obsidian tips from washing off of archaeological sites in the preserve.

Gov. Susana Martinez declared the portion of Sandoval County where the fire burned a disaster area, which opens up funding possibilities, Barksdale said. "We're working now with Sandoval County to protect downstream properties," he said. "I've ordered in a BLM road crew to work on some emergency road structures and debris removal."

The risks of flood damage will last until the end of the monsoons in the fall and could reoccur next year, he said.

Contact Staci Matlock at 986-3055 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @stacimatlock.

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