Medicine Bow Landscape Vegetation Analysis monitoring field trip planned for September 29

On Thurs., Sept. 29, 2022, the Medicine Bow National Forest will host its first annual monitoring field trip for the Landscape Vegetation Analysis (LaVA) project. The field day is open to the public.

This year’s monitoring field trip will look at the Troublesome focus area where the Forest, in cooperation with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Mule Deer Foundation, and Saratoga-Encampment-Rawlins Conservation District, recently completed 77 acres of shrub mowing to improve crucial big game winter range.

The Troublesome focus area is located on the northwest edge of the Snowy Range, about 12 miles east of Saratoga, in Carbon County, Wyoming.

Monitoring and reporting are the final phase for treatments in the LaVA implementation process. The primary intent of this phase is to answer questions: Did we do what we said we were going to do? Did we get the expected outcomes? Do we need to adjust future treatments?

Meeting time and location for the field day are to be determined. Those interested in participating in the field trip are asked to RSVP so that event day logistics can be developed. To RSVP or if you have any questions, please contact Matt Schweich, LaVA Implementation Coordinator at matthew.schweich@usda.gov or (307) 745-2422.

Participants will need to provide their own transportation for the day. Access to the Troublesome area is challenging, involving about 12 miles of dirt road driving (high clearance, four-wheel-drive vehicle recommended), followed by a hike of about three miles round-trip including about 600 feet of elevation loss/gain, between 8,300 and 8,900 feet in elevation. Weather can be highly variable at this time of year and we will be away from any shelter for up to three hours. Participants will need to bring appropriate clothing, footwear, food, and water for the trip. No stores, restrooms, or other facilities will be available for the duration of the trip.

We recognize this field trip may be challenging for some people. Monitoring results will be summarized in a LaVA project newsletter later this fall and detailed in the monitoring report scheduled for release next spring. In future years, we expect the monitoring field trips will visit more accessible locations.

The LaVA story map feature can be used to provide focus area/treatment feedback. Feedback helps with generation and refinement of focus areas and treatment proposals.

Those interested in project updates are encouraged to join our mailing list.

The Forest released its’ final Record of Decision and supporting documents for the LaVA project on Aug. 13, 2020.

The LaVA decision seeks to improve forest conditions in the Sierra Madre and Snowy Ranges using a wide range of tools. A maximum of 288,000 acres could be treated, spread over a 15-year period beginning in 2020.

Additional information about LaVA can be found on our website. Notices, links to news articles, and additional resources are available on social media: @FS_MBRTB on Twitter or @FSMBRTB on Facebook.

Story by Medicine Bow National Forest