August 5, 2002
Maureen Oltrogge 928-638-7779

National Park Service Announces a Finding of No Significant Impact for Research on Wildfire Hazard Reduction in Ponderosa Pine Ecosystems at Grand Canyon National Park

The National Park Service has issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the Research on Wildfire Hazard Reduction in Ponderosa Pine Ecosystems at Grand Canyon National Park project. Intermountain Regional Director Karen Wade approved the FONSI based on the environmental assessment/assessment of effect (AE/AEF) recommended by Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Joseph F. Alston. With the EA/AEF completed, work on the project should begin later this summer.

Of the three alternatives considered in the EA/AEF, the approved action (preferred alternative) is a research project that 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. Experimental treatments would be assigned randomly within the units on these sites and would include:

1. 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.
2. Minimal thinning and burning treatment - Under this treatment, thinning of small trees would be targeted around individual older trees (generally 120 years old or more). Small 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.
3. 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.
4. Control - Under this treatment no trees would be thinned, and fire would continue to be excluded from the unit.

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 type, while the North Rim is a pine/fir type. No mechanized equipment would be used for thinning on the North Rim site, which is located in a proposed wilderness area. All thinned material will be left on-site and would be broadcast burned or burned in piles, eliminating the need for any skid trails, landings or additional roads. Prescribed fire activities would occur when conditions allow.

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.

For additional information regarding this project or to obtain a copy of the FONSI, contact Don Bertolette, Project Leader at (928) 556-7449. The FONSI will also be available on the Park's website at www.nps.gov/grca/compliance.