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Historical Overview of Vegetation Management on Fort Huachuca

AZ Section SRM meeting Ft Huachuca, 14 Jan 2009

Sheridan StoneWildlife Biologist

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Fort Huachuca Vegetation

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Fort Huachuca Soils

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Fort Huachuca Military Reservation

• 73,142 ac• East Reservation 28,544 ac• West Reservation 44,598 ac

• 5,720 ac in housing, offices, training & ops facilities, airfield

Domain use: Agency is land owner & land user

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Establishment & frontier period

• 1877~1883: Military Reservation withdrawal & boundary changing• 1881 & 1883 Exec Orders

• Strategically located in area of basin & range topography, but

• Site selected for natural resources: grass, water, wood

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Establishment & frontier period (cont)

• Sawmill in Huachuca Canyon 1879• Not much saw timber • railroad brought it in cheaper

• Wood cutting for heating & cooking

• Grazing: Army horses & mules, likleysome private cattle

• First plant list for Fort Huachuca • MAJ Timothy Wilcox; published

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Establishment & frontier period (cont)

• 1879 photo

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1880 – Huachuca Canyon

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1893 – Huachuca Canyon

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Homesteading & ranching period

• Some timber cutting• Firewood cutting for cooking &

heating• Grazing: Army horses & mules,

some cattle for dairy & beef• Apache scout patrols for fire

detection, trespass for unauthorized use of natural resources

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1918 - Cavalry era & World Wars

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Cavalry era & World Wars (cont)

• 1924, June 5 EO 4246 (Calvin Coolidge) transferred administration of the mountainous portion of Fort Huachuca from the Army to the Coronado NF & named Huachuca Ranger District, with the provision that the lands remain “subject to the unhampered use of the War Department for purposes of National defense.”

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Cavalry era & World Wars (cont)

• 1929, July 1 Executive Order 5147 (Herbert Hoover) revoked the Coronado NF administration of the mountainous portion of Fort Huachuca that had been established by E.O. 4246.

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1929 - Cavalry era & World Wars

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1940 - Cavalry era & World Wars

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1940 - Cavalry era & World Wars

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1942 - Cavalry era & World Wars

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Cavalry era & World Wars (cont)

• 1930 Fort determined cattle grazing on Post was no longer compatible with military activities, and fencing would be installed to keep cows out

• CCC & WPA conservation activities:• rock check dams for gully

erosion• likely boundary fencing

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AGFD Wildlife Area 1949-1951

• PL 537 5/19/1948 authorized transfer of real property for wildlife & other purposes

• 1/26/1949 14 Fed Reg 355 Wildlife Order 2 • Transfer of Portion of Fort Huachuca to

the State of AZ Game & Fish Comm

• 1st Vegetation map developed – Wallmo

• Plant surveys – Goodding

• Bison introduction: inc to 400 in 2 yrs

• Army reclaimed in 1952

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Cold War era

• East Range acquisition & end of ranching

• Grazing history early 1900s-1950s• Start of natural resource

management by the Army• Wildlife & habitat mgmt• Shrub treatment: topping mountain

mahogany to stimulate palatable regrowth within reach of browse deer

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Modern era (cont)

• Mesquite clearing: (200 ac) ~1965• Wildlife food plots - millet• Fire: wildfire & prescribed burning• Some post-fire conifer replanting at

higher elevations• Pilot study effects of fire on density

of agave flower stalks • 1990 Survey for sensitive plant

species potentially on the fort

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Integrated natural resource managementVegetation management for: • wildlife habitat • fire risk and fuel reduction • watershed and vegetation cover

rehab, &/or • military training land management

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Fire Frequency

Map

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Integrated natural resource management, cont.

• East Range • Land rehabilitation: contour

rootplowing lanes & reseeding through 1989

• Watershed rehab to decrease erosion and off-post sedimentation

• Prescribed burning to reduce woody plants (e.g. mesquite, desert broom) not effective: fire doesn’t carry well & heat release/ fire intensity insufficient to kill shrubs

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Burning in light fuels

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Integrated natural resource management, cont.

• Vegetation/habitat protection• Agave Management Areas in

grasslands (for Lesser long-nosed bat) & Agave Mgmt Plan

• burning allowable once per decade • no tactical vehicles off the dirt

roads• no pyrotechnics or firing blanks

w/in 0.25 mi of AMA

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Integrated natural resource management, cont.

• Mexican Spotted Owl Protected Activity Centers, > 600 Ac of suitable habitat• 11 PAC, covering 6279 Ac• No treatments during breeding

season (including some helipad maintenance)

• Critical Habitat for Endangered Huachuca Water Umbel

• 3.8 miles along Garden Cr

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Protected vegetation/habitat

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Liliumparryi

LemonLily

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Erigeronlemmonii

Lemmon fleabane

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Burning for archeology survey

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2008 - Masticating invasive woody plants

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Mastication of invasive woody plants

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Mastication of invasive woody plants

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Mastication of invasive woody plants

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Mastication of invasive woody plants

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Non-indigenous Invasive Plant

GrasslandSurvey

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Integrated Training Area Management

• Range Training Land Assessment• Monitoring soil, vegetation &

other natural resources that might be affected by military missions

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Land Rehabilitation & Management

• road closures in training areas, signage, ripping roadbed, reseeding

• road improvement for tactical and test operations

• identifying prescribed burns for:• risk reduction for training activities• clearance for unexploded

ordinance or cultural resources

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Land Rehabilitation & Management (cont’d)

Fire prevention:• no pyrotechnic use or firing blanks

w/in 0.25 agave areas