Gambel Oak Grazed Fuel Breaks

Evaluating the effectiveness of targeted cattle grazing in the long-term maintenance of fuel breaks in Gambel oak woodland

Collaborators: Utah State University Extension and a private landowner

Forest or Woodland Type: Gambel oak and pinyon-juniper woodland

Management Objective: Use targeted cattle grazing to maintain a fuel break protecting homes and other infrastructure

Location: Near Mt. Pleasant, Sanpete Co., Utah

Project Area: 60 acres

Status: Ongoing

Phase: Publication written and ready to submit

A UFRI research associate collecting fuels data in an established fuel break in Gambel oak woodland, Sanpete Co., Utah.

Project Summary

UFRI collaborated with USU Extension and a private landowner to determine how targeted cattle grazing can maintain an established fuel break over time. The fuel break has been grazed annually since 2017. We compared grazed areas of the fuel break with a portion that has not been maintained with grazing.

We found evidence that grazing significantly reduces herbaceous, litter, and Gambel oak fuel when we compared the grazed and ungrazed sections of the fuel break.

We also simulated potential fire behavior to determine whether annual cattle grazing effectively reduces fire spread and intensity within the fuel break. Our simulations showed notable reductions in fire spread and intensity in all the grazing scenarios compared to the ungrazed scenario. However, we note that the untreated fuel surrounding the fuel break had the potential for extreme fire behavior in our simulations, which suggests that reducing fuels in a larger footprint would be beneficial.

Significance and Potential Impact

This project highlights the utility of targeted cattle grazing as a cost-effective, long-term fuel break maintenance strategy.