Task of Replanting Burned Nevada Acreage to Begin

Armed with tons of seed, crews are launching the Herculean task of replanting millions of acres of Nevada blackened in the state’s worst wilderness fire season on record.

About 17 tons of seed were on hand just in western Nevada, which was spared the worst of the devastating flames that swept across the north-central and northeastern parts of the state.

Eleven tons were delivered to a storage facility in Moundhouse, east of Carson City, for reseeding the area burned in the 6,500-acre Red Rock fire. Work is scheduled to begin Monday, weather permitting.

Another six tons of seed will be used to replant the 2,300-acre Mira Loma fire area in southeast Reno.

The work, involving fewer than 10,000 acres, is just the beginning of a daunting job that is expected to last three years, cost upward of $50 million and require thousands of tons of seed. It is aimed at reversing the destruction of 1.7 million acres of grass, brush and trees.

“The difficulties we face from this disaster are enormous,” said Gene Kolkman, the Ely district manager for the federal Bureau of Land Management.

In eastern Nevada, the far larger job of replanting blackened expanses of desert along a 200-mile stretch bordering Interstate 80 will be supervised by Jack Spencer, a Forest Service employee from the Ochoco National Forest in Oregon. He takes over as project manager on Monday.

“This seems to be a great opportunity: to be part of the effort to rehabilitate the land after the worst wildfires in Nevada’s history,” he said.

The crews want to reseed as much of the area as possible this fall to take advantage of the moisture from winter snow.

Sagebrush and other scrub plants that provide hiding places for small desert animals will have to wait until spring.