salt wells NATIVE BUNCHGRASS
RESTORATION EVALUATION

Vulcan Power has a geothermal development project at Salt Wells, south of Fallon, Nevada.  Other activities in this area in the past have resulted in the spread of invasive weeds that now occupy significant portions of the surrounding landscape.  The Federal government wants to ensure that new geothermal development will not aggravate this problem and at other locations has sponsored bunchgrass restoration studies and projects.

Vulcan CEO Steve Munson considers it important work to expand the rangeland restoration policy goals developed by the university-government consortium where he and Sandy Lonsdale were the two public interest members.

The Native Restoration Fund has done an initial site evaluation of the plant community in the vicinity of Salt Wells.  A consultant has mapped areas where experimental weed control and native plant revegetation work is possible.  The NRF has funded this evaluation.

The NRF plans to work with local ranchers in the area to attempt to gain control of the spread of noxious weeds and reestablish native plants beneficial to both livestock and native wildlife.  Project planning and restoration work will be carried out in conjunction with site exploration work at Salt Wells at the direction of the BLM.  If the initial restoration work proves successful, these treatments could be extended to other areas with similar problems.