BLM-Alaska Post Fire Stabilization and Rehabilitation, Vegetation Monitoring, Planting, and Treatments (including herbicides), Mined Watershed Assessment, Restoration, and Outreach

Implementation of actions to meet management goals can require specialized training, experience and /or equipment. Each year thousands of acres are burned by wildfire in Alaska. Fire may alter the conditions such that other resources are threatened either in the short or long term and should be addressed immediately after the fire. In order to reduce impacts or prevent changes that may be irreversible it is desirable to address some fire effects very soon after the burn is contained. This may include the development of rehabilitation plans, engineering of remediation or protection projects, and implementation of planned activities to prevent undesirable degradation. Invasive species (terrestrial and aquatic) and other activities are increasingly affecting the natural landscape and should be addressed through integrated management pest plans (IPMP) which may be part of a fire rehabilitation plan or simply to address invasive species in other settings. Vegetation management aside from invasive species may assist with fire prevention (hazard fuels reduction), promote forest and land health, or provide information to support management decisions. Inventory and monitoring of vegetative resources may be necessary to plan treatments or future management of various resources in hundreds of watersheds across Alaska have been mined in the past or are currently being mined or proposed for future mining. Stream reclamation/restoration in Alaska is complex and has often failed to achieve stability goals within 10 years post construction. The protracted recovery periods and limited success are due in large part to the absence of baseline data needed for channel design and an over reliance on natural processes to facilitate recovery of disturbed streams. To enhance the probability of restoration success, baseline data on stream function and stream functional lift potential need to be gathered. In addition, regional hydraulic geometry curves need to be developed for Alaska�s mining districts. Coupled with site specific baseline geomorphic data, these information can greatly enhance stream restoration success and the rehabilitation of fish and wildlife habitat. The testing and adoption of proven stream design techniques, such as Rosgen�s Natural Channel Design, in Alaska is also essential to developing an effective approach to improving conditions with watersheds degraded by historic or ongoing placer mining.