3.0 Description of the County
3.1 Demographics, location, topography, and climatic data
White Pine County is located in eastern Nevada and is approximately 5.7 million acres in size. Federal public land management agencies administer most of the land in White Pine County. The Bureau of Land Management alone administers 78 percent of land in the county. The federal agency policies and decisions on lands located near the wildland-urban interface may have direct effects on private landowners within White Pine County. A jurisdictional summary of land management administration and coverage including water is provided in Table 3-1 and presented in Figure 3-1.
| Land Administrator | Approximate Acreage | Percent of County |
|---|---|---|
| Bureau of Land Management | 4,440,593 | 78 |
| US Forest Service | 856,871 | 15 |
| Private | 236,035 | 4 |
| National Park Service | 77,180 | 1 |
| Bureau of Indian Affairs | 66,194 | 1 |
| State of Nevada | 7,066 | <1 |
| US Fish and Wildlife Service | 1,644 | <1 |
| Department of Defense | 8 | <1 |
| Other (water) | 7,903 | <1 |
Approximate values derived from the BLM land ownership GIS database.
The most recent population estimate for White Pine County is 8,842 persons (Nevada State Demographer 2003). The largest employers in the County include the State of Nevada, the White Pine County School District, service industries, and trades. While mining played a major part in White Pine County’s economy in the past, it now accounts for only about five percent of the economic base.
Elevations within White Pine County range from 5,375 feet along the White River near the boundary with Nye County to 13,063 feet at Wheeler Peak in Great Basin National Park. Primary mountain ranges include the Schell Creek Range, Snake Range, Egan Range, and the Butte Mountains.
3.2 Wildfire History
Extensive wildfires occurred in White Pine County between 1980 and 2003 in White Pine County (BLM Nevada State Office 2002). Between 1980 and 2003, approximately three percent of White Pine County, 154,109 acres, burned in wildland fires. Figure 3-2 summarizes the large fire history and fire ignitions recorded by year for public lands within White Pine County. The largest fire recorded in the county occurred in 1995 and burned approximately 46,175 acres in eastern White Pine County. The database records include 217 ignitions that were not recorded by year. Additional wildland fires have occurred on private lands within the county that were not reported to federal agencies and therefore are not included in Table 3-2 or Figure 3-2.
| Year | Number of Fire Ignitions | Total Fire Acreage |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 51 | 10 |
| 1981 | 71 | 1,442 |
| 1982 | 31 | 916 |
| 1983 | 27 | 2,542 |
| 1984 | 33 | 4,228 |
| 1985 | 107 | 4,387 |
| 1986 | 88 | 4,971 |
| 1987 | 76 | 11,724 |
| 1988 | 98 | 1,875 |
| 1989 | 63 | 244 |
| 1990 | 53 | 529 |
| 1991 | 68 | 271 |
| 1992 | 94 | 147 |
| 1993 | 41 | 423 |
| 1994 | 48 | 4,562 |
| 1995 | 26 | 50,277 |
| 1996 | 74 | 624 |
| 1997 | 27 | 474 |
| 1998 | 66 | 1,627 |
| 1999 | 83 | 2,204 |
| 2000 | 92 | 40,274 |
| 2001 | 210 | 18,736 |
| 2002 | 54 | 171 |
| 2003 | 102 | 541 |
| N/A | 217 | 910 |
| TOTAL | 1,900 | 154,109 |
| Source: Fire history data provided by the National Interagency Fire Center, Boise, Idaho. Fire acreage is derived from BLM and USFS fire perimeter data and specific to acreage within White Pine County. | ||
3.2.1 Ignition Risk Factors
Ignition risks for wildfires fall into two categories: lightning and human caused. Human caused ignitions can come from a variety of sources such as burning material thrown out of vehicle windows, sparks from auto accidents, off-road vehicles, railroads, arcing power lines, agricultural fires, campfires, debris burning in piles or burn barrels, and fireworks.
In White Pine County, 1,765 fire incidents were recorded as to ignition source between 1980 and 2003; 1,548 were lightning caused and 217 were human caused. The cause of remaining 135 fires was not reported.
3.2.2 Fire Ecology
The science of fire ecology is the study of how fire contributes to plant community structure and species composition. A “fire regime” is defined in terms of the average number of years between fires under natural conditions (fire frequency) and the extent to which dominant vegetation is replaced by fire (fire severity). Natural fire regimes have been affected throughout most of Nevada by twentieth century fire suppression policies. Large areas that formerly burned with high frequency but low intensity (fires more amenable to control, suppression, and rehabilitation) are now characterized by large accumulations of unburned fuels, which once ignited, will burn at higher intensities.
Big sagebrush communities are the most common vegetation types in Nevada with an altered fire regime, now characterized by infrequent, high-intensity, catastrophic fires. Sagebrush requires ten to twenty or more years to reestablish on burned areas, and most often these areas provide the conditions for establishment and spread of invasive species before sagebrush reestablishment can occur. Cheatgrass is the most common invasive species to reoccupy sagebrush and pinyon-juniper burned areas in northern Nevada.
Effect of Cheatgrass on Fire Ecology
Cheatgrass is a common, introduced annual grass that aggressively invades disturbed areas, especially burns. Replacement of a native shrub community with a pure stand of cheatgrass increases the susceptibility of an area to repeated wildfire ignitions, especially in late summer when desiccating winds and lightning activity are more prevalent. The annual production, or volume of cheatgrass fuel produced each year is highly variable and dependent on winter and spring precipitation. Plants can range from only a few inches tall in a dry year to over two feet tall on the very same site in wet years. In a normal or above normal precipitation year, cheatgrass can be considered a high hazard fuel type. In dry years, cheatgrass is generally sparse and low in stature and poses a low fire behavior hazard because it tends to burn with a relatively low intensity. However, in both wet and dry years, dried cheatgrass creates a highly flammable fuel bed that is easily ignited with the propensity to rapidly burn into adjacent cover types that may be characterized by more severe and hazardous fire behavior. The ecologic risk of a fire spreading from a cheatgrass stand into adjacent, unburned native vegetation is that additional disturbed areas are thereby opened and vulnerable to cheatgrass invasion. Associated losses of natural resource values such as wildlife habitat, soil stability, and watershed functions are additional consequences.
Eliminating cheatgrass is an arduous task. Mowing defensible space and fuelbreak areas annually before seed maturity is effective in reducing cheatgrass growth. In areas where livestock may be utilized, implementing early-season intensive grazing up to and during flowering may aid in depleting the seed bank and reduce the annual fuel load (BLM 2003, Davison and Smith 2000, Montana State University 2004)[1]. It may take years of intensive treatment efforts to control cheatgrass in a given area, but it is a desirable conservation objective in order to revert the landscape to the natural fire cycle and reduce the occurrence of large, catastrophic wildfires. Community-wide efforts in cooperation with county, state, and federal agencies are necessary for successful cheatgrass reduction treatments.
Fire Ecology in Pinyon-Juniper Woodlands
Singleleaf pinyon and Utah juniper are the dominant components of a plant community commonly referred to as Pinyon-Juniper (P-J). P-J woodlands were primarily confined to the steeper slopes commonly found at higher elevations in the Great Basin prior to European settlement. These woodland communities were characterized by a discontinuous distribution on the landscape and a heterogeneous internal fuel structure: a mosaic pattern of shrubs and trees resulting from the canopy openings created by small and frequent wildfires.
Both pinyon and juniper trees have relatively thin bark with continuous branching all the way to the ground. In dense stands, lower tree branches frequently intercept adjacent ladder fuels, e.g. shrubs, herbaceous groundcover, and smaller trees. This situation creates a dangerous fuel condition where ground fires can be carried into tree canopies, which often results in crown fires. A crown fire is the most perilous of all wildfire conditions and is usually catastrophic in nature since the danger to firefighters is generally too great to deploy ground crews.
3.3 Natural Resources and Critical Features Potentially at Risk
Critical features at risk of loss during a wildfire event can be economic assets such as agricultural and industrial resources or cultural features, such as historic structures, archaeological sites, and recreation-based resources.
3.3.1 Historical Registers
Eleven sites in White Pine County are listed on the National Register of Historical Places. The Nevada State Register of Historical Places lists four sites, one of which is also listed on the National Register (Table 3-3). Effects of fire on cultural and historical resources depend upon fuel and resource characteristics that vary from place to place. Archeological sites and historic trails are not as vulnerable to wildfire impacts. Historic districts, historic buildings, and resources that lie in the wildland-urban interface and could be negatively impacted (damaged or destroyed) by wildfire are summarized in Table 3-3 and shown on Figure 3-2.
| Site Name | Location | Source Register |
|---|---|---|
| Rhodes Cabin | Great Basin National Park | National Register of Historic Places; Nevada State Register of Historic Places |
| American Legion Hall | McGill | National Register of Historic Places |
| Baker Ranger Station | Baker, Great Basin National Park | National Register of Historic Places |
| East Ely Depot aka Nevada Northern Railway Company East Ely Depot | East Ely | National Register of Historic Places |
| Fort Ruby National Historic Landmark |
Hobson | National Register of Historic Places |
| Areline’s | Ely | Nevada State Register of Historic Places |
| Lehman Caves National Monument | Great Basin National Park | Nevada State Register of Historic Places |
| Ward Charcoal Ovens | Approx. 20 miles south of Ely | Nevada State Register of Historic Places |
3.3.2 Flora and Fauna
Potential habitat is present in White Pine County for two species listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. An additional twenty species are protected by state legislation (Nevada Natural Heritage Program database; last updated for White Pine County March 18, 2004). These species are identified in Table 3-4. The Nevada Natural Heritage Program, the Nevada Division of Forestry, and the Nevada Department of Wildlife should be consulted regarding specific concerns and potential mitigation to minimize impacts to these species prior to implementing fuel reduction projects and prior to the occurrence of a catastrophic wildfire.
| Scientific name | Common name | Legislation |
|---|---|---|
| Plants | ||
| Castilleja salsuginosa | Monte Neva paintbrush | NRS 527.260.300 |
| Frasera gypsicola | Sunnyside green gentian | NRS 527.260.300 |
| Optunia pulchella | Sand cholla | NRS 527.060.120 |
| Spiranthes diluvialis | Ute lady’s tresses | NRS 527.260.300 |
| Fish | ||
| Catostomus clarki intermedius | White River desert sucker | NRS 501 |
| Crenichthys baileyi albivallis | Preston White River springfish | NRS 501 |
| Empetrichthys latos latos | Pahrump poolfish | ESA - Listed Endangered NRS 501 |
| Gila bicolor newarkensis | Newark Valley tui chub | NRS 501 |
| Gila bicolor ssp. (unnamed) | Railroad Valley tui chub | NRS 501 |
| Oncorhynchus clarki henshawi | Lahontan cutthroat trout | ESA-Listed Threatened NRS 501 |
| Relictus solitarius | Relict dace | NRS 501 |
| Mammals | ||
| Brachylagus idahoensis | Pygmy rabbit | NRS 501 |
| Euderma maculatum | Spotted bat | NRS 501 |
| Birds | ||
| Accipiter gentilis | Northern goshawk | NRS 501 |
| Athene cunicularia hypugaea | Western burrowing owl | NRS 501 |
| Buteo regalis | Ferruginous hawk | NRS 501 |
| Buteo swainsoni | Swainson’s hawk | NRS 501 |
| Centrocercus urophasianus | Greater sage-grouse | NRS 501 |
| Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus | Western snowy plover | NRS 501 |
| Chlidonias niger | Black tern | NRS 501 |
| Cygnus buccinator | Trumpeter swan | NRS 501 |
| Otus flammeolus | Flammulated owl | NRS 501 |
3.4 Previous Fire Hazard Reduction Projects
The Bureau of Land Management Ely Field Office has completed assessments and is planning several fuels reduction projects throughout White Pine County. Projects currently in the planning process include:
| Cherry Creek | 13,388 acres | Prescribed burn and mow |
| Bull Canyon Fuels Reduction Project | 5,400 acres | Prescribed burn |
| West Schell Bench Greenstrips | 890 acres | Mow and seed |
| Bullwhack | 385 acres | Prescribed burn and mow |
| Gleason Creek | 3,500 acres | Prescribed fire, mow, and thin |
| Thirty Mile Summit | 2,000 acres | Prescribed fire and hand thin |
| Sampson Creek | 14,900 acres | Various treatments |
A majority of the proposed projects are in non-wildland-urban interface areas, except for the Cherry Creek and West Schell Bench Greenstrips. The Cherry Creek proposed project is described in greater detail in the Cherry Creek section of this report. The West Schell Bench Greenstrips are proposed for the area on the east side of US Hwy 93, north of McGill, between the Duck Creek turn off and Lages Station. The planned greenstrips are designed to break up the continuous sagebrush fuels, reduce the risk of a catastrophic fire, and protect the numerous, but scattered, homes throughout the area (Coombs, pers. comm.).
For additional information on the proposed fuel reduction treatments in White Pine County, contact the BLM Ely Field Office Fire Management Specialist/Fuels Program Manager.
Figure 3-1Community Locations and Land Ownership, White Pine County, Nevada |
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Figure 3-2Fire History and Critical Features Potentially at Risk, White Pine County, Nevada |
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