ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Bureau of Land Management plans to treat about 3,775 acres of public land in Cibola and Sandoval counties this fall in an effort to improve vegetation conditions and reduce wildfire risk.
The BLM Rio Puerco Field Office, working with the U.S. Wildland Fire Service, will conduct aerial herbicide treatments through Nov. 30 on selected BLM-managed lands.
During the work, residents and visitors may see low-flying aircraft applying Tebuthiuron pellets to areas with dense sagebrush, juniper and rabbitbrush.
According to the BLM, the treatments are intended to thin – rather than eliminate – woody vegetation and give native grasses, forbs and other plants more room to grow. Officials said improved ground cover can help reduce erosion, strengthen wildlife habitat and watershed conditions and improve the overall resilience of rangelands.
Reducing dense woody vegetation can also lower the potential for rapid wildfire growth and give fire managers additional options for prescribed fire and wildfire response, according to the agency.
Tebuthiuron is a soilactivated herbicide that is applied in pellet form. Once dissolved by precipitation, it is absorbed into the soil and taken up through the roots of targeted plants, gradually reducing their density.
The BLM said pellets will not be applied near waterways or on slopes steeper than 10 percent in order to protect sensitive areas.
For more information, contact BLM Albuquerque District Project Coordinator Jeff Fassett at 575-8381245 or Wildland Fire Service Fuels Manager Pete Rivera at 505-7618943.