Onaqui Mowing and Herbicide Treatments

Mowing
The Bureau of Land Management Salt Lake Field Office implemented the mowing treatment on the 75-acre core plot over the course of five days in mid-October 2006. All sagebrush in the plot was mowed to approximately 12-15 inches, while the understory remained primarily in tact.

A tractor pulls the mower.	Sagebrush plant after being mowed with un-mowed plants in the background.

Herbicide
Tebuthiuron (Spike 20P) was applied at the Onaqui site in early November 2006. Pellets were dropped from a fixed-wing aircraft using an onboard shapefile and fence lines for navigation at a rate of 1.5lbs/acre to acheive a 50% sagebrush reduction. This treatment took between 1/2 hour and an hour to complete on the 75-acre plot.

Application of Plateau pre-emergence herbicide also took place in early November 2006 on 48 subplots. This treatment was crossed with the four main treatments (prescribed fire, tebuthiuron, mowing, and control). The herbicide was applied by hand at a rate of 6 to 8 oz/acre depending on the amount of litter and understory on each plot. An ATV was used to transport the herbicide to the subplots, and its 60-gallon tank was sufficient to complete two subplots at a time.

BLM employees spray Plateau on the Onaqui sagebrush/cheatgrass burn plot.

For more information about these treatments, contact Jeff Burnham.