SUSANVILLE – Volunteers, federal officials and representatives of Field and Stream magazine will converge on burned-over habitat Saturday in a hands-on, all-day conservation project.
Led by the staff of the federal Bureau of Land Management's Eagle Lake field office, volunteers are scheduled to plant up to 1,000 bitterbrush seedlings across more than 8 acres in eastern Lassen County scorched in last summer's Rush fire.
Each seedling will need protection from grazing, so the volunteers will also help to install Vexar tubes around the new plants, said Ken Collum, manager of the BLM field office.
The project is part of Field and Stream's "Hero for a Day" program, a collaboration that includes the Mule Deer Foundation and Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc.
Now in its third year, the program connects volunteers with workdays across the country to raise awareness of conservation groups' local efforts, said Amanda McNally, a spokeswoman for the special-interest outdoor magazine.
The Lassen County project is one of 10 that the publication will spotlight throughout the spring online and in its print magazine, she said.
The workday is being held on a portion of the lightning-sparked Rush fire, which in August burned 318,400 acres in eastern Lassen County and northwestern Nevada.
The extent and severity of the blaze forced the California Fish and Game Commission to cancel all hunting permits for sage grouse in Lassen County.
Sage grouse, a candidate for listing under the federal Endangered Species Act, share the range with chukars, mule deer and pronghorn antelopes, said Collum.
Following the fire, the Mule Deer Foundation donated 11,600 pounds of seed, valued at $253,000, to replant native grass and shrubs.
Volunteers participating in the Susanville "Hero for a Day" event should meet at 8 a.m. Saturday at the BLM's Eagle Lake office, 2950 Riverside Drive in Susanville.
They should dress for mud and dirt in closed-toe shoes, and bring gloves and rain gear.
Snacks, water and ear protection will be provided but volunteers should bring their own lunches and provide their own transportation in vehicles capable of handling dirt roads, Collum said.
In the event of rain, the project will be rescheduled to April 6.
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