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Study uses drones and scanners to determine impact of fall grazing on wildfire

Livestock grazing and technology work together to reduce cheatgrass and other wildfire fuel

Tiffany Kozsan

Rangeland Ecologist Joseph Domer prepares a drone to gather data from a pasture in Jacks Valley, Nevada, where sheep are grazing. Photo by Tracy Shane.

A widespread problem on Nevada rangelands is frequent and large wildfires, often due to cheatgrass. Doctoral student Tracy Shane, with the College, recently began a project using cutting-edge technology to see how sheep and cattle grazing might help control cheatgrass.

Shane's project team uses drones and terrestrial laser scanners to monitor and collect data before and after livestock graze on cheatgrass during the fall, rather than in the spring. Previous research showed that this has the potential to prevent fires.

With high-tech data on the impact of fall grazing, the team can create more accurate prediction models for future rangeland management practices and fire fuel reduction.

Fresh apples for students and research will spring from new Memorial orchard

Valley Road Experiment Station is home to new Jessica Younger Dickens Memorial Orchard

Claudene Wharton

University staff and volunteers plant the new memorial apple orchard at the Valley Road Experiment Station. Photo by Robert Moore.

A half-acre organic apple orchard consisting of 127 semi-dwarf cider and table apples has been planted at our  Valley Road Experiment Station. The orchard will serve many purposes, including identifying and propagating “antique” cider apples from Washoe Valley, as well as providing table apples for students. But to those who knew Jessica Younger Dickens, who passed away in March 2020, the Jessica Younger Dickens Memorial Orchard will provide a place to gather and reflect on the exceptional person she was, and a way to honor her memory. Shortly after she was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2017, she said she’s always wanted an edible garden on campus.

Students in need will get apples through the University’s food pantry, Pack Provisions, from 31 table apple trees. The cuttings from these trees were provided by trees from the personal orchard of Neil Crowley, son of Joe Crowley, who was president at the University from 1978 to 2001. The excess from these trees will be sold to help fund the orchard’s maintenance.

The Experiment Station’s Desert Farming Initiative, which conducts research, provides hands-on learning for students, and donates and sells certified organic produce to the community, will be maintaining the orchard. The Experiment Station and gifts made in memory of Jessica Younger Dickens are funding the orchard.

Wildfire Awareness Campaign kicks off with online speaker series

Extension and partners team up to provide Nevadans with information and resources

Tiffany Kozsan

Extension’s Wildfire Awareness Campaign and Living With Fire Program encourage residents to be prepared for wildfires year-round. Photo courtesy of Bureau of Land Management - Nevada.

Extension and local, state and federal firefighting agencies are on a six-month-long “Nevada Wildfire Awareness Campaign,” which runs through October. As part of the campaign, Extension’s Living With Fire Program will be offering a series of webinars on wildfire-related topics.

“With the number of wildfires occurring in the West and the havoc they have wreaked in recent years, we just really feel that we need keep the drum beating strong all summer and into fall,” said Jamie Roice-Gomes, manager of the program.

Upcoming webinars include:

• Protect, Prevent and Prepare With NV Energy, June 24, noon – 1:30 p.m.
• Wildfire Smoke and Health, July 8, 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.
• Home Hardening Q&A, Aug. 12, 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.
• Reseeding and Flood After Wildfire, Sept. 9, 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.
• Prescribed Fire in Tahoe and Nevada, Oct. 14, 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

4-H youth and Bureau of Land Management work together to give wild horses homes

Extension’s 4-H youth prepare wild horses and a burro for adoption

Tiffany Kozsan

4-H member Alexis works with her wild horse foster, Vinnie, on tight turns and forward and backward movement. Video courtesy of High Sierra Riders 4-H Club.

This spring and summer, youth in the Nevada 4-H Youth Development Program are preparing wild horses and a burro for adoption. The youth, part of Extension’s Washoe County 4-H Horse Program, received the animals, all not yet a year old, from the Bureau of Land Management in March as part of a program between Extension and the bureau to place wild horses with adoptive families.

Sarah Chvilicek, 4-H program coordinator, said, “They want to find a way to rehome wild horses because the horses are healthy animals, and they want to give these animals a chance.”