During the summer of 2017, the Limerick Canyon Fire burned over 14,500 acres in the Humboldt Mountain Range in west-central Nevada – the same mountain range that Coeur Rochester calls home. The fire caused devastating damage to the natural wildlife habitat and created an environment that is susceptible to soil erosion.
Coeur Rochester and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) – Winnemucca District partnered to help restore the areas damaged by the fire. Together, they organized a volunteer day to plant native sagebrush seedlings in an area effected by the Limerick Canyon Fire. On Wednesday, November 14, over 60 volunteers helped handplant 6,000 sagebrush seedlings near the Sacramento Creek. The volunteer group consisted of representatives from Coeur Rochester, BLM and local community members.
Volunteers handplanted two types of sagebrush seedlings – Wyoming sagebrush and Great Basin sagebrush, the latter being Nevada’s state flower. These seedlings were produced from locally collected seeds and grown by the Nevada Division of Forestry’s Humboldt County Conservation Camp.
The volunteers worked in groups of three and covered 15 acres during the planting session. Coeur Rochester provided a mid-day BBQ lunch for the volunteers to thank everyone for their hard work and commitment to restoring the fire-damaged area.
“I would like to thank everyone for showing-up and helping out today,” stated Heidi Goetsch, Environmental Coordinator at Coeur Rochester, at the safety debriefing prior to the planting session. “The planting involves some tough, manual labor, but we appreciate your help restoring the Limerick Canyon and the Sacramento Canyon. This is a positive restoration effort for the damaged area.”
Immediately after the fire, the Winnemucca BLM developed and implemented an Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation plan. This volunteer planting day was the second-wave of burn area recovery efforts in the Sacramento Canyon. According to a BLM representative, they’ve seen success with the efforts thus far. These seedlings will help further the success with the burn area recovery efforts. Coeur Rochester is proud to be a supportive partner to the Winnemucca BLM, especially with their efforts to restore the natural habitat near the operation.