Some hard deadlines, too much field time, disconnected from the internet and a vacation has limited posting much on the Washington landscapes. Travel and work out of state though is an opportunity to gain new perspectives.
Earlier this winter I noted that junipers are not a common tree in Washington State (juniper-dunes-wilderness), but elsewhere in the western United States junipers are taking over large tracts of the land.
I noted an odd shape shaped forest feature while flying over the Mountain Home Range in Utah.
The view of this one square mile section is of Utah State owned land. Utah did some juniper clearing on the land to improve grazing but leaving some trees in a shape that stood out when viewed from above. The clearing was done about three years ago. The surrounding land is managed by the BLM with another Utah section just over the ridge. It appears that Utah is being a bit more aggressive on Juniper management, but some of the BLM land has also been treated.
Earlier this winter I noted that junipers are not a common tree in Washington State (juniper-dunes-wilderness), but elsewhere in the western United States junipers are taking over large tracts of the land.
I noted an odd shape shaped forest feature while flying over the Mountain Home Range in Utah.
The view of this one square mile section is of Utah State owned land. Utah did some juniper clearing on the land to improve grazing but leaving some trees in a shape that stood out when viewed from above. The clearing was done about three years ago. The surrounding land is managed by the BLM with another Utah section just over the ridge. It appears that Utah is being a bit more aggressive on Juniper management, but some of the BLM land has also been treated.
ReplyDeleteFor the life of me, I couldn't recall where the Mountain Home range was in Utah. I've always called this the Pine Valley Mountains, and it is a USFS unit. In Utah history, the area north of this range is also the location of the Mountain Meadows Massacre, notorious in Utah history. And since UT got four sections out of every 36, and there have been few exchanges to block up ownership, the mischief caused by juniper management (and in this area, Pinyon management--both monophylla and edullis) is pretty obvious, from the air and ground.