Single Publication

US Department of the Interior Burned Area Rehabilitation Program Overview
 
The Burned Area Rehabilitation Program supports efforts to repair or improve burned landscapes unlikely to recover without human assistance.


Invasive plants can transform landscapes in ways that negatively affect local businesses, recreation, and wildlife. Replanting native species on burned landscapes, Share U.S. Department of the Interior   Office of Wildland Fire like this site from the 2017 Thomas Fire, gives them the advantage they need to recolonize an area. (Robyn Gerstenslager, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)

Quick Facts

• $20.5 million: money spent by this program in Fiscal Year 2021
• 55: number of FTE* dedicated to the program in Fiscal Year 2021
• 883,000: acres treated in Fiscal Year 2021
• 728,000: acres treated for invasive species in Fiscal Year 2021

* FTE (full-time equivalent) is the annual number of "work years" produced by employees. A "work year" is roughly 2,080 hours. Reporting personnel in this way enables a common view of the workforce across government agencies.

Fire plays a natural and necessary role in many landscapes. Periodic low-intensity fires speed up the process of forest decomposition and deliver nutrients to the plants that remain. They build resilience to fires by clearing brush (a.k.a. ladder fuels) and creating a mosaic of burned, partially-burned, and unburned areas (which makes it less likely that future fires will torch an entire landscape). Some trees, like lodgepole pine, require the heat of flames to open up their cones and disperse new seeds.

Not all fires follow this paradigm, and not all landscapes react to fire in the same way. Sometimes wildfire burns so hot it incinerates everything over a large area, including the plant roots and other organic matter that stabilize the topsoil. This type of disturbance leaves an area vulnerable to erosion by floods or mudslides that can delay plant recovery for decades (or longer), reduce water quality in nearby streams, disrupt reservoirs and water treatment systems, and possibly damage homes located in the wildland urban interface. Invasive species pose another threat to destabilized areas if they gain a foothold, outcompete native plants, and transform a landscape in ways that affect local businesses, recreation, and wildlife.

In the first five years after a wildfire, our rehabilitation program works to prevent these problems and jump-start the landscape recovery process by:

• Spreading native plant seeds or planting native seedlings.
• Applying herbicides to kill invasive plants, removing them by hand, or introducing bacteria to control them.
• Using heavy equipment to disrupt the growth of targeted plant species or contour landscapes to control runoff.

This program also funds the repair or replacement of minor infrastructure damaged by a wildfire, such as small trail bridges, handrails, campgrounds, boat ramps, stock tanks, or informational kiosks.

Evaluation

The Department of the Interior establishes and implements monitoring protocols to assess the effectiveness of rehabilitation treatments, frequently in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Forest Service, and other scientific institutions.

Recent Projects

• Treated 214 acres affected by the Cowbell Fire (Florida) to reduce the incidence of exotic species.
• Planted tree seedlings on 1,250 acres affected by the Carpenter Road Fire (Washington).
• Drill seeded 4,320 acres affected by the Cherry Road Fire (Oregon) to stabilize soil and increase the number of native plants in the burned area.
• Aerial seeded 4,000 acres affected by the Dead Dog Fire (Colorado) to introduce vegetation on the burned area.
• Repaired 20 miles of hiking trail damaged by the Berry Fire (Wyoming)
• Detected noxious weed infestation on 128 acres burned in the Chimney Fire (California).

 
For more information visit: https://www.doi.gov/wildlandfire/burned-area-rehabilitation