Post-fire seeding of Slinkard/Little Antelope Wildlife Area

Post-fire seeding of Slinkard/Little Antelope Wildlife Area

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is proposing to seed and plant up to 1,800 acres within the 11,700-acre Slinkard/Little Antelope Wildlife Area that were impacted by the Slink Fire in 2020. Seeding will occur using aerial and mechanical methods in areas of high fire severity where resprouting and seed germination from the seed bank are expected to be insufficient for timely natural site recovery, and the risk of conversion to more fire-prone annual invasive grasslands of lower wildlife value is high. The following species may be seeded in the formerly shrub dominated (prior to fire) portions of the Slinkard Valley Unit and Little Antelope Valley Unit burned areas: Purshia tridentata var. tridentata, Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyana, Elymus elymoides, Poa secunda, Ericameria nauseosa, Elymus triticoides, Lupinus argenteus, Chrysothamnus nauseosus, Balsamorhiza sagittata, Ceanothus velutinus, Cercocarpus ledifolius, Elymus cinereus, and Achillea millefolium, depending on the availability of regionally appropriate seed sources and site characteristics. The species were selected based on their importance as winter forage for mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), their presence pre-fire, ability to prevent erosion and invasive species spread, and expected success of germination and establishment. Preference will be given to seeding with native species; however, the limited use of nonnative noninvasive plants will be considered on the agricultural fields of the Little Antelope Valley Unit for their ability to suppress highly invasive grasses such as cheatgrass, provide high quality forage for wildlife, and reduce fire danger. In addition to the native plant species, a combination of the following desirable nonnative species may also be seeded in agricultural fields: Bromus marginatus, Linum lewisii, Agropyron cristatum, Agropyron fragile, Elymus lanceolatus ssp. lanceolatus, Elytrigia intermedia, Kochia prostrataI, Onobrychis viciifolia, Poa secunda, and Sanguisorba minor. These fields have been heavily impacted by invasive non-native plants in recent years and most of these species, or closely related varieties, have been previously seeded in this location to improve forage.

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