Grand Canyon National Park Seeks Public Comment on Research on Wildfire Hazard Reduction in Ponderosa Pine Ecosystems

Grand Canyon National Park (GRCA) Superintendent Joseph F. Alston today announced the release of an Environmental Assessment and Assessment of Effect for Research on Wildfire Hazard Reduction in Ponderosa Pine Ecosystems at Grand Canyon National Park. The National Park Service (NPS) is soliciting comments from those who may have suggestions or concerns regarding the proposal.

Wildfire programs are administered in National Parks in a manner that will scientifically manage wildfire using the best available technology, as an essential ecological process to restore, preserve, or maintain ecosystems, and use resource information gained through research to evaluate and improve the program. In addition this program is administered in a manner as to protect life and property and accomplish resource management objectives, including returning the natural role of fire in fire-dependent ecosystems.

The purpose of this research is to compare four fire management approaches in GRCA. The proposed treatments are aimed at safely managing hazardous forest fuels while protecting old trees and other resources. This research would compare fire suppression and prescribed fire to two levels of thinning of small diameter trees followed by prescribed burning.

The Environmental Assessment/Assessment of Effect (EA) analyzes the impacts of three fire management research alternatives at GRCA: A) a no-action alternative; B) the alternative based on a research design developed by Northern Arizona University; and C) the agency preferred/environmentally preferred alternative.

The preferred alternative is a revised set of treatments designed to address public comment received on an EA titled Grand Canyon Forest Restoration Research, released for public comment in January 1999. The preferred alternative also reflects park manager's objectives to develop appropriate management strategies through carefully monitored, long-term scientific experiments that meet both fire and resource management objectives.

The NPS proposes to complete experimental treatments on a total of 160 acres (80-acre blocks on both the North and South Rims of Grand Canyon National Park). Each 80-acre block will be divided into four 20-acre experimental units. One of four treatments would be randomly assigned to each unit. Treatments under the preferred alternative would include:

Intermediate thinning and burning treatment - Under this treatment, most trees less than five inches diameter at breast height (dbh) would be cut. The thinning would be followed by prescribed fire treatments.
Minimal thinning and burning treatment - Under this treatment, thinning would be targeted around individual trees that are generally 120 years old or older. Trees with a dbh of five inches or less, within a predetermined distance around the older trees, would be cut. The thinning would be followed by prescribed fire treatments.
Burn-only treatment - Under this treatment no trees would be cut except when required to mitigate specific hazards to safely burn. The units would be treated with prescribed fire.
Control - Under this treatment no trees would be thinned, and fire would continue to be excluded from the unit.

All treatments would be carried out under NPS supervision.

The South Rim experimental site is located in the Grandview area east of the Grand Canyon Village. The North Rim site is located on Swamp Ridge northwest of the North Rim developed area. These two sites represent different forest types within the Park; the South Rim site is primarily a ponderosa pine/oak site, while the North Rim is pine/fir. Although the North Rim site is located within a proposed wilderness area, the NPS has a responsibility to support appropriate scientific activities in wilderness and to use science to improve wilderness management. The NPS also recognizes that appropriate scientific activities may be critical to the long-term preservation of wilderness. This research has been designed to reduce impacts within the North Rim proposed wilderness by limiting the cutting of trees to less than 5 inches dbh; using only hand tools for cutting trees on the North Rim; retaining all cut trees with no wood leaving the experimental site; and not requiring any skid trails, landings or additional roads.

Results of this research would be used to evaluate and refine techniques for reducing hazardous fuels for wildland-urban interface fuel treatments; preparation of defensible perimeters for burn units; reducing wildfire spread beyond Park boundaries; and protection of sensitive and cultural resources.

The NPS will hold a public open house in Grand Canyon National Park, Flagstaff, Arizona and Kanab Utah to provide information, answer questions and collect comments. The open house schedule is as follows:

May 7 - Grand Canyon National Park, South Rim Village, Community Building, Classroom A: 6:30 - 9:00 pm.
May 8 - Radisson Woodlands Hotel, 1175 W. Route 66, Flagstaff, Arizona, Canyon Room: 6:30 - 9:00 pm.
May 9 - Shilo Inn Suites, 296 West 100 North, Kanab, Utah, Conference Room: 6:30 - 9:00 pm.

For a complete description of this research project please visit our web site at www.nps.gov/grca/forest or send a written request for a copy to Superintendent, Grand Canyon National Park, P.O. Box 129, Grand Canyon, Arizona 86023: Attn: Sara White, Compliance Officer. Comments will be accepted for 45 days and should be submitted to Sara White at the above address by June 5, 2002.