Applying Fire to Pinyon-Juniper Communities of the Green River Corridor, Daggett County, Utah

Between 1984 and 1993, prescribed fire was applied to about 3,900 acres of pinyon-juniper woodland on the Ashley National Forest in the Green River corridor of Daggett County, UT. Prior to burning, much of the area was covered by mature and old stands of pinyon and juniper with little understory. Most of the burning required creating crown fires. Methods, results, and management implications of burning are discussed. Prior to a burning program that began in the 1980's, the pinyon-juniper belt on the Ashley National Forest in the Green River corridor of Daggett County, UT, was dominated by about 20,000 acres of nearly continuous stands of mature and old pinyon-juniper. Young stands of pinyonjuniper were advancing across the few areas where sagebrush-grass and mountain brush-grass communities were present. Objectives of burning included reducing pinyonjuniper in parts of the corridor with the intent of creating greater diversity of plant communities and more favorable habitat for wild sheep, elk, deer, and other wildlife.