Kaibab National Forest 

2010 Accomplishment Report

United States

Department of

Agriculture

Forest Service

Southwestern

Region

MB-R3-07-13

www.fs.usda.gov/kaibab
Allen’s lappet-browed bats, some 

weighing the equivalent of just three 

Hershey’s kisses, fly distances longer 

than a marathon each night from 

lower elevation canyons to drink 

water and eat insects at ponds atop 

the Kaibab Plateau.

That was one of the findings 

from a weeklong bat survey 

conducted on the North Kaibab 

Ranger District in early July by a 

group of government agencies 

and volunteers. Members of 

the Forest Service, the Arizona 

Game and Fish Department, 

Northern Arizona University 

and volunteers from Bat 

Conservation 

International, who came from as far 

away as Oregon and Washington, 

DC, spent the week of July 5 studying 

the elusive nocturnal creatures. 

Using a technique called mistnetting, the group caught and 

released hundreds of bats 

at more than 25 water sources 

around the plateau.

 These bats are roosting in the 

crevices of cliff faces in canyons and 

traveling great distances each night 

to these ponderosa lakes,” said 

North Kaibab Biologist Angela 

Gatto, adding that one bat 

had travelled 14.5 miles and 

another 17.5 miles from 

roost to water.

 Previous studies 

have produced 

similar findings, 

such as 

greater western mastiff bats and 

spotted bats that travel from the 

Grand Canyon each night to forage 

at meadows atop the Kaibab Plateau 

for nightly nourishment at distances 

of more than 25 miles each way.

The Kaibab Plateau is home 

to at least 13 species of bats, a 

diversity likely made possible by the 

significant elevation changes and 

accompanying variety of habitats 

in the area. “Various mountains and 

plateaus provide these sky islands 

near canyon habitats across Arizona 

that make ideal conditions for bats,” 

Gatto said. Arizona is home to 28 

species of bats, second only to Texas 

in diversity.

This year’s bat survey on the Kaibab 

focused on the Allen’s lappet-browed 

bat, named for the large, lobelike 

lappets curling around its head. The 

bat is designated a sensitive species 

by the Forest Service. The group 

wanted to learn where lactating 

females are living with their newlyborn pups.

Researchers glued a small radio 

transmitter, about the size of a 

pinto bean, to the hair on each bat’s 

shoulders, making it easy for the 

animals to shed the device within a 

few months of the tracking. The radio 

data indicated that the mother 

bats leave their pups each night in 

crevices high up the cliffs of Kanab 

Creek Canyon to seek out water 

sources miles away in the ponderosa 

pine forests atop the plateau.

“Amazingly, a bat we radio tagged 

this year and tracked to a roost in 

Kanab Creek used the same roost as 

[a bat] we captured and radio tagged 

in 2005,” said Carol Chambers, 

professor of wildlife ecology at 

Northern Arizona University. 

“By reusing the same roost over 

several years, this seems to indicate 

high quality roosts.”

Statewide bat coordinator Angie 

McIntire of the Arizona Game 

and Fish Department said one 

reason bats merit the attention of 

researchers is because they are the 

number one predator of nighttime 

insects, such as moths, beetles and 

mosquitoes. “They really help keep 

insect populations in check,” McIntire 

said. “They’re a very important 

component of the ecosystem.”

Each little brown myotis bat can 

eat up to 1,200 mosquitoes per 

night, Chambers said. McIntire added 

that widespread misperceptions 

exist that bats often carry rabies. 

In fact, they are no more likely to 

carry rabies than any other wildlife 

species, she said. 

WildliFe

The Kaibab National 

Forest strives to have habitat 

available at the appropriate 

spatial, temporal, compositional, 

and structural levels for a variety of 

vertebrate and invertebrate species. 

Specifically, wildlife biologists work 

in an integrative fashion with other 

resource specialists to provide adequate 

opportunities for breeding, feeding, 

nesting, and other critical life-cycle needs 

of various wildlife species. An emphasis is 

placed on the protection of key habitats 

that contain threatened, endangered, and/

or sensitive species of plants and animals.

Large wildlife projects in 2010 included the 

North Kaibab Ranger District bat survey, a 

weeklong study focusing on the Allen’s lappetbrowed bat, and the North Canyon Creek 

habitat restoration project, which restored 29 

failing dams that create pools in the shallow 

creek where trout can live during the winter or 

during periods of low water flows.

Other projects undertaken in 2010 with a 

focus on wildlife included:

•	 Ida Grassland Maintenance Project – About 

1,800 acres were treated in 2010 in order to 

improve habitat for pronghorn antelope, elk, 

Research Finds Bats Commute Great lengths to the Kaibab Plateau

Each little brown 

myotis bat can 

eat up to 1,200 

mosquitoes 

per night

What Forest Service employees do is truly important work and it affects 

not only the here and now, but how our forests will be in the years to come. 

 It affects the future health of the forest, the diversity of wildlife habitat, and 

 outdoor recreational opportunities for millions of people across the Nation. 

 

 – Earl Bassett, Lead Park Ranger Williams and Forest Service Visitor Center, Forest Service employee for 34 years

2
In 1934, during the Great 

Depression, workers from Fredonia, 

Arizona, and Kanab, Utah, built 68 

log dams along the North Kaibab 

Ranger District’s North Canyon 

Creek—the district’s only perennially 

flowing stream—in an effort to make 

suitable habitat for introduced trout. 

The project was funded through the 

National Industrial Recovery 

Act (NIRA), a New Deal era 

program to create jobs 

during a time of 

high unemployment.

Now, 76 years later, a group 

of volunteers led by the Arizona 

Game and Fish Department have 

restored 29 failing dams, using the 

same construction methods and 

many of the same hand tools used by 

the original workers.

“To be part of a group doing the 

same work, using the same tools in 

the same place, really gives you a 

sense of history,” said Scott Rogers, 

Arizona Game and Fish Department 

Region II fisheries program manager 

and the project leader.

During September, about a 

dozen volunteers from American 

Conservation Experience joined 

Arizona Game and Fish Department 

staff to reconstruct log check-dams, 

which create pools in the shallow 

creek where trout can live during 

the winter or during periods of low 

waterflows. Because the creek is 

now within a designated wilderness, 

no motorized tools can be used. 

Crews packed in tools and supplies 

on horseback, felled fir trees using 

2-person hand saws, chipped away 

bark with axes, and rearranged logs 

and boulders using crow bars and 

muscle.

To create the dams, logs were 

buried beneath rock ballast at right 

angles to the streamflow to produce 

a steady trickle of water into pools 

below. A non-woven geotextile 

fabric was applied to the upstream 

side of the log dams to seal and help 

hold fine sediment material from 

downstream movement. In some 

places, downed trees were moved 

across the pools to increase shade 

for the fish.

The remote North Canyon Creek is 

used as a refugium for a genetically 

pure population of Apache trout, 

classified as a threatened species 

by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

In 1963, the Arizona Game and Fish 

Department planted the fish in North 

Canyon to provide genetic protection 

and population stability for the 

threatened trout that have suffered 

hybridization with nonnative species 

and habitat loss in other parts of 

Arizona. The fish are derived from 

the Ord Creek stock of Apache trout, 

which are native to the headwaters 

of the White Mountains, including 

the Little Colorado, Salt and 

San Francisco Rivers.

According to government records, 

the 1934 North Canyon work 

crews were led by foreman Walter 

McAllister of Kanab. NIRA work 

crews were typically supervised 

by the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Park 

Service or U.S. Grazing Service (now 

the Bureau of Land Management). 

Work camps were administered by 

the War Department, with a local 

Army Reserve officer and physician 

typically assigned to each camp. 

Enrollees received $30 a month for 

their work, and were required to allot 

$25 of this to their dependents at 

home (parents and siblings). Those 

without families were required 

to allot $25 to a savings account 

available to them upon discharge. 

Room, board, health care, education, 

and uniforms were provided. The 

remaining $5 a month salary was 

available to the enrollees for their 

personal needs. The enlistment 

period was 6 months, not to exceed 

2 years total.

efforts to comply with requirements 

set forth in the National Forest 

Management Act and other statutes 

and regulations. Finally, it contributes 

to Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory’s 

broader landscape-scale breeding bird 

monitoring program, which includes 

many different states in the U.S. 

•	 GoshawkNoise Study – North 

Kaibab Ranger District employees

worked in collaboration with the 

Rocky Mountain Research Station and 

the U.S. Army Engineer Research and 

Development Center/Construction 

Engineering Research Laboratory to 

and other wildlife species by thinning 

junipers and pines to maintain an open 

grassland/savanna habitat structure in 

historic grasslands on the north part of the 

Williams Ranger District. The project area 

serves as important habitat for pronghorn 

and elk, and provides habitat connectivity 

to state and private lands to the north 

where other grassland maintenance 

treatments have been occurring. In addition 

to pronghorn and elk, this project provides 

long-term benefits to many species of 

wildlife associated with grassland and 

savanna habitats, including Gunnison’s 

prairie dog, badger, spotted ground 

squirrel, vesper sparrow, horned 

lark, northern harrier, western 

meadowlark, barn swallow, barn 

owl, and burrowing owl. 

•	 Bird Monitoring	–	The Kaibab 

National Forest continued its multiyear project with Rocky Mountain 

Bird Observatory to gather long-term 

trend data for populations of most 

diurnal, regularly breeding bird species 

in the forest. In the short term, this 

program provides information needed 

to effectively manage and conserve 

bird populations in Kaibab National 

Forest. It also supports the forest’s 

gather information on noise impacts 

to northern goshawks from logging 

trucks and recreational OHVs. The goal 

is to test sufficiently to establish critical 

thresholds for timing, distance, and 

noise levels. 

•	 Small Mammal Survey – Forest 

biologists provided support for a 

survey of small mammal use in areas 

of the forest dominated by pinyon 

pines and juniper trees. The study 

will provide valuable data on how 

management activities might affect 

small mammals in this habitat type.

Crews Rebuild Historic Trout Habitat on the North Kaibab

Pronghorn Migration

Some fences can negatively impact pronghorn herds because they may be cut off from valuable resources and 

needed migration or escape routes. This fragmentation of habitat can have serious consequences. 

The Kaibab National Forest is working to reduce impacts to pronghorn herds by removing unnecessary 

obstacles to migration. To that end, Williams Ranger District biologists removed 2 miles of fence in a pronghorn 

migration corridor during fiscal year 2010. The work, which was completed in consultation with the Arizona Game 

and Fish Department, should facilitate use of these important corridors.

Natural lakes Fencing Project

A project started several years 

ago to protect wildlife waters on the 

Kaibab Plateau was completed in 

2010 thanks largely to the efforts of 

volunteers.

As part of the 2001 decision 

associated with the Kane Ranch 

Environmental Assessment, 17 natural 

lakes were identified in the Central 

Summer Allotment to be fenced to 

exclude cattle. The last one, East Lake, 

was completed in 2010. 

All of the 17 lakes have been fenced 

completely or repaired thanks in 

large part to volunteers from Grand 

Canyon Trust and the Arizona Deer 

Association. The purpose of the 

project is to maintain the water 

sources for wildlife by preventing 

cattle from affecting the water and 

aquatic vegetation.

“Water sources that are open 

to cattle tend to become turbid 

and anaerobic,” said Angela Gatto, 

North Kaibab Ranger District wildlife 

biologist. “These natural lakes support 

deer, of course, but are also important 

for migratory birds, waterfowl, marsh 

birds, amphibians, and more.”

J D Dam Lake, Williams Ranger District

3
Archaeological Databases

Archaeologists on the North Kaibab Ranger District developed two 

computer databases that will help facilitate research on the Arizona Strip. 

One database is a catalogue of the district’s artifact collection, and the 

other provides information on the district’s collection of stone projectile 

points. The databases are searchable by a number of criteria and can 

visually display the information using GIS technology. 

 Archaeological technician Colleen Nicholas catalogued the district’s 

entire collection of artifacts, including pottery fragments, stone tools and 

flakes, and several hundred stone projectile points used by prehistoric 

hunters around the plateau. She sorted the artifacts by type, style, time 

period, and location. Photos of unique items were also included in the 

databases.

 While Forest Service archaeologists don’t typically 

collect artifacts anymore, explained North Kaibab 

Assistant Archaeologist Britt Betenson, existing 

collections are maintained as a tool to help 

researchers understand the past. L e t t e r f r o m a n a r c h a e o L o g y I n t e r n

Written by: Marianne Olney-Hamel, Grinnell College student. As submitted to the Grinnell College Web site, www.grinnell.edu. 

Grinnell College is located in Grinnell, Iowa.

Noah Fribley and I are archaeology interns and spend most of our days with Neil Weintraub 

(Grinnell College, 1986) and Erin Woodard, archaeologists on the south zone of the Kaibab 

National Forest. One of the big projects is an archaeological survey of tanks throughout the 

Williams Ranger District. The forest allows cattle and sheep ranchers to lease land to graze 

their livestock, and tanks are low points, natural or manmade, where water collects and the 

livestock drink. Archaeologists have to make sure there 

aren’t any sites that would be damaged, so we’ve 

visited tanks all over the forest looking for pottery 

sherds, flakes, structures, bone, or any sign of prehistoric 

settlement. We›ve also been working on site mapping 

in the Tusayan Ranger District, just south of the 

Grand Canyon. 

 Neil and Erin are fantastic supervisors, and they really care about us doing something new 

and exciting every day. We’ve also had the opportunity to work with some of the tribes living 

in the area at summer camps. Today, for example, we went to a summer camp on the Hualapai 

Reservation and threw atlatls (ancient hunting tools) with the Hualapai kids there. 

I have learned so much in my past 6 weeks on the Kaibab: how to identify the local materials 

ancient people used to make points (arrowheads), about the high desert ecosystem, how to use 

a compass and portable GPS unit, how to throw an atlatl and a rabbit stick (ancient hunting 

tools), how to weave twine from yucca fiber, how to measure the height of a tree using a 

clinometer, and how to hoot like a spotted owl. The list goes on! It’s been a great internship and 

a wonderful opportunity for Grinnell students over the years, as Neil has been hosting interns 

for 15 years!

 When you think about archaeology, do blue corn and green chile pancakes 

come to mind? Or, how about sweet potato quesadillas? Well they would 

if you had participated in the volunteer archaeology projects—known as 

Passport in Time—hosted by the Kaibab National Forest over the last 20 

years. Next to helping preserve the Nation’s past, food has been the top 

priority on these weeklong volunteer adventures.

 For the 2010 Passport in Time (PIT) project, which was held on the forest’s 

Tusayan Ranger District, Forest Service archaeologists and volunteers 

camped out and dined on green curry shrimp stew, Southwestern egg 

scramble, and golden graham cracker encrusted French vanilla toast, 

amongst other delicacies.

 At the end of each long day of archaeological survey and monitoring, 

Passport in Time volunteers and professional Forest Service 

archaeologists came together in camp for cooking and camaraderie. 

Of course it isn’t just the food that makes the Kaibab PIT projects 

memorable. It is also the important work accomplished 

toward protecting and preserving the forest’s 

unique cultural sites. During a week 

in late September, Forest Service 

archaeologists and PIT 

volunteers recorded 

51 new sites, 

which included 6 sweat lodges, nearly 50 brush shelters, and 6 pueblos. Most 

of the brush shelter camps also had earlier prehistoric components, many 

with projectile points. 

 “We logged 500 volunteer hours in accomplishing the 2010 Passport in 

Time project,” said Neil Weintraub, a Kaibab National Forest archaeologist 

who has been involved with PIT since it became an official Forest Service 

program in 1991. “What is truly amazing is that over the past 20 years, 

more than 14,000 hours have been contributed by PIT volunteers. 

That equals nearly 7 person years of work.” And, a lot 

of really delicious meals served up around a campfire. 

4

Volunteer Archaeology event Offers Opportunities for History and Food Buffs Alike
A Kaibab National Forest employee was awarded 

the President’s Volunteer Service Award for his 

ongoing commitment to community service. 

Archaeologist Neil Weintraub, who has worked 

on the Kaibab National Forest since 1990, has 

been a longtime volunteer in northern Arizona 

communities including serving with Big Brothers 

Big Sisters of Flagstaff both on their activity 

board and as a mentor in their Flagstaff and 

Williams school-based programs.

The award, which was officially announced 

in August as part of the USDA Secretary’s 

Annual Honor Awards ceremony, serves 

as a way to thank and honor Americans 

who, by their demonstrated commitment 

and example, inspire others to engage in 

volunteer service. 

As part of his recognition, Weintraub 

received a congratulatory letter from 

President Barack Obama. The letter 

reads, in part, “While government can 

open more opportunities for us to serve 

our communities, it is up to each of us 

to seize those opportunities. Thank you 

for your devotion to service and for doing all you can 

to shape a better tomorrow for our great Nation.” 

 Fiscal year 2010 was another busy year for the heritage program on Kaibab National Forest. 

Forest archaeologists continued to work in support of high-priority projects such as travel 

management, forest plan revision, and the “Proposed Mineral Withdrawal Environmental 

Impact Statement.”

 Using funding from the Recovery Act, the forest completed restoration projects on 

a number of historic cabins and facilities. Kaibab archaeologists also conducted 49 

heritage presentations and tours for more than 1,000 participants from school 

groups, Forest Service organizations, local tribes, archaeological societies,

professional archaeological organizations, and universities. Forest archaeologists 

received several awards for this interpretive work. 

 In all, archaeologists authored 67 heritage resource clearances for forest 

projects. More than 51,000 acres of inventory were conducted, and 

archaeologists identified 426 new archaeological sites. Archaeologists also 

monitored and documented the condition of 197 sites on the forest. 

These included 23 priority heritage assets monitored and 

managed to standard. Finally, 250 acres of non-project 

related survey were conducted identifying 49 new heritage properties. 

local Nonprofit Receives National Preservation Award

The Kaibab Vermilion Cliffs Heritage Alliance (KVCHA) received a letter signed by First Lady Michelle 

Obama announcing that it received a Preserve America Steward designation. “It’s not every day you get 

something in the mail from the White House. But ... a large envelope arrived with that return address,” said 

Rose Houk, KVCHA coordinator.

Houk said the letter announced the group’s designation as a Preserve America Steward, “for all that 

you do to care for our Nation’s important historical resources.” Preserve America Stewards, part of a 

national initiative of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the U.S. Department of the Interior, 

and other Federal agencies, is a designation program that began in 2008 to recognize programs that have 

demonstrated “a successful use of volunteer time and commitment in order to help care for our historic 

heritage,” according to the program’s Web site. The Web site lists only 13 programs besides KVCHA as having 

received the stewardship designation. 

KVCHA is a nonprofit with the mission of helping preserve cultural resources of the eastern Arizona Strip 

region. In recent years, KVCHA has partnered with the North Kaibab Ranger District to perform work on the 

Warm Fire Recovery Project, the Passport in Time project, at a field school for university students studying 

archaeology, and in the Saddle Mountain Wilderness.

Kaibab employee Receives Presidential Service Award

Kaibab National Forest Celebrated earth day with local Students

The Kaibab National Forest celebrated Earth Day 2010 by hosting the third annual Williams 

Science Camp on April 22. About 35 sixth graders from the Williams Elementary-Middle 

School participated in the event, which received rave reviews despite cold temperatures

and occasional snow showers.

Students rotated through six hands-on learning stations set up in and around the

Williams Ranger District office – The Fire Triangle; A Paleontological Adventure; Split Twig

Figurine Making; Orienteering with Maps and Compass; The Early Cultural History of

Northern Arizona; and Measuring Tree Height, Diameter, and Age.

Erin Woodard, Archaeologist, Williams and Tusayan Ranger Districts

5

Archaeologist Gathering 

Focused on the Arizona Strip

More than 120 people attended a firstof-its-kind symposium in Page, Arizona, in 

late 2010 that focused on the vast cultural 

resources of northern Arizona.

Titled “Discovering the Arizona Strip: 

Learning from the past, planning for 

the future,” the event brought together 

archaeologists and enthusiasts from 

universities, government agencies, Native 

American tribes, and other organizations 

to share the results of various research 

projects and to generate ideas for future 

study.

“Basically, it was a look at all the work 

that’s taken place on the Arizona Strip, 

what’s been learned and what things we 

still don’t understand,” said Connie Zweifel, 

archaeologist on the North Kaibab Ranger 

District.

Presenters came from universities 

in Oregon, Utah, Arizona, and Nevada, 

and the Museum of Northern Arizona, 

in addition to a variety of government 

agencies. Archaeologists who worked on 

the original Glen Canyon Dam Project in 

the 1960s were also present to share their 

perspectives. Ideas resulting from the 

event will be gathered by a Ph.D. candidate 

and summarized into a general plan to 

guide future research work on the Arizona 

Strip.

Nearly 8,000 square miles, the Arizona 

Strip describes all lands in Arizona north 

of the Colorado River and generally west 

of Page to Colorado City, Arizona. The 

area includes the Grand Canyon National 

Park, Kaibab National Forest, Pipe Spring 

National Monument, Kaibab Paiute Indian 

Reservation, Arizona Strip District of the 

Bureau of Land Management, Lake Mead 

National Recreation Area, Vermilion Cliffs 

National Monument and Grand CanyonParashant National Monument, in addition 

to the towns of Fredonia, Colorado City, 

and Beaver Dam. The area is bordered to 

the east by the Navajo Indian Reservation 

 and to the north and northeast by 

 the Grand Staircase-Escalante 

 National Monument and 

 Glen Canyon National 

 Recreation Area. 
During fiscal year 2010, the Kaibab National Forest 

continued to work closely with tribes on a variety of issues. 

Forest managers attended 12 government-to-government 

consultation meetings and field visits. Tribal relations staff 

conducted an additional 13 meetings and field visits. 

Significant accomplishments stemming from this consultation 

work included the following: 

•	 In responsetorequestsfromtheCameron Chapterofthe

Western Navajo Agency, the Kaibab implemented a firewood 

permit program at the Kaibab Navajo liaison’s office in Cameron, 

Arizona. The Kaibab Navajo liaison issued more than 100 permits 

for free-use, personal, and ceremonial use firewood. 

•	 The Kaibabworkedwith fivetribestoproduce	a	traditional

cultural property (TCP) determination for Red Butte, a site of 

cultural and religious significance to these tribes. Since 2007, 

the Kaibab has been working with the Havasupai Tribe, 

Hopi Tribe, Hualapai Tribe, Navajo Nation and Pueblo of Zuni 

to assess the cultural significance of Red Butte on the Tusayan 

Ranger District. A TCP is defined as a cultural resource “that 

is eligible for inclusion to the National Register because of 

its association with cultural practices or beliefs of a living 

community that (a) are rooted in that community’s 

history, and (b) are important in maintaining the continuing 

cultural identity of the community.”

•	 The Kaibabworkedtofacilitatetraditionaluseofthe

forest by tribal members, including facilitating collection of 

medicinal plants and other forest products. 

trIbaL reLatIons

Northern Arizona land Management Agencies Host 2010 intertribal Meeting The fourth annual intertribal meeting brought together representatives from Federal land management agencies and tribes to 

share information and discuss topics of interest to all including traditional perspectives on Federal land use, forest 

restoration efforts, recent wildfires and rehabilitation work, and traditional ecological knowledge.

 The meeting, which was held in mid-September, was hosted by the Kaibab National Forest, Coconino National 

Forest, and Grand Canyon National Park and 

included field visits to locations and projects on 

each hosting unit.

“A lot of times you go to these kinds 

of things and you stay in a meeting room,” said 

Lee Lomayestewa, a staff member of the Hopi 

Cultural Preservation Office and an attendee at 

the intertribal meeting. “I really liked going out 

to visit sites and actually seeing some of 

the projects being done on the ground.”

Field visits included a tour of the 

Forest Service/Grand Canyon office in 

Cameron, Arizona, that focused on outreach to the Western Navajo Nation; a visit to the area burned by 

the Schultz Fire in Flagstaff, Arizona, to see the effects of the fire and the rehabilitation work occurring; a 

stop at Red Butte on the Tusayan Ranger District to discuss the “Northern Arizona Proposed Withdrawal 

Environmental Impact Statement” that relates to proposed exploration for uranium; and a tour of the 

Mather Point area on Grand Canyon National Park.

“Visiting the landmark feature in the newly designed Mather area was a wonderful opportunity for 

tribal representatives to see it completed and in place,” said Janet Cohen, tribal program manager for 

Grand Canyon National Park. “Tribes were integral in its development and it highlights the important 

connection tribes maintain with the Grand Canyon.”

A focal area for the meeting was a discussion about traditional uses of Federal lands and ways to 

accommodate them. These uses could range from conducting ceremonies in areas of special tribal 

significance to collecting traditional plants. 

“We visited numerous places and, along the way, discussed a wide range of issues related to management 

of lands in northern Arizona,” said Mike Lyndon, tribal liaison for the Kaibab National Forest and a key 

organizer of the intertribal meeting. “We felt it was a very valuable 2 days and we hope all the participants 

did too.”

Other topics included the Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004, which authorizes the Secretaries of 

Agriculture and Interior to give special consideration to tribally-proposed projects on agency lands bordering 

or adjacent to Indian trust land, and the Four Forest Restoration Initiative, which seeks to restore fire-adapted 

ecosystems across northern Arizona.

 “Everybody benefits from all of the things that the Park Service and Forest Service are trying to preserve for the 

future – not just for us [tribes] but for everyone,” Lomayestewa said. “It is good to be working together.”

Forest Supervisor Receives Recognition for Work with Tribes

Mike Williams, Kaibab National Forest supervisor, received an award for his personal support of the forest 

tribal relations program and regional contributions to the program. 

 The award was presented at the Kaibab All Employees Appreciation Event held on the Williams Ranger District. 

During the event, Dan Meza, Southwestern Region tribal relations, presented Williams with a Navajo 

wedding basket. The basket is used to recognize the union of a relationship. “Mike recognizes the unique 

relationship between the forest and tribes,” Meza said. “He values 

their opinions, perspectives and participates in dialogue because 

he genuinely feels the relationship is valuable and important.”

Williams travels widely to consult with tribal representatives at 

Havasupai, Navajo, Zuni, Hopi and Hualapai. He went to Havasupai 

and Hualapai to commemorate the signing of memorandums 

of understanding with these two tribes. He also toured with Hopi 

representatives to look at potential kiva reconstruction projects at 

their villages using forest timber products.

 According to Meza, district rangers on the Kaibab National 

Forest have strong relationships with tribes because of Williams’ 

encouragement and support, despite challenging issues. He 

supports tribal relations program managers by listening 

to issues and their recommendations for resolutions to 

difficult problems. Mae Franklin, Kaibab Navajo liaison; Mike Williams; Dan Meza

George Prehn, Facilities Maintenance, Williams and Tusayan Ranger Districts

6
The forest also continued to collaborate with tribes to 

incorporate tribal concepts and issues into the revised “Kaibab 

National Forest Land Management Plan.” Since 2007, the Kaibab 

has met 27 times with tribes to discuss the revised plan. Many 

issues of concern for tribes are currently addressed in the revised 

plan including management of important resources such as 

seeps, springs, and plants, management of traditional cultural 

places, and management of ski areas and other recreational sites. 

Also in 2010, the Kaibab held a series of meetings and 

field visits with the Navajo Forestry Department to develop 

a collaborative approach to managing Forest Service lands 

adjacent to the Navajo Nation. The goal for this project is to 

develop a management approach that promotes landscape 

restoration while providing for traditional use of the area by 

Navajotribalmembers. In addition,the Kaibab Navajoliaison

worked with the Natural Resource Conservation Service to host a 

conservation day at the Cameron Chapter House. At the event, 

the Forest Service and other government agencies presented 

information on various topics including livestock management, 

crop preparation, and resource management. 

Finally, the Kaibab Navajo liaison is working with Navajo 

seniors to document oral histories regarding places and resources 

of the Kaibab. 

Kaibab National Forest and the Hopi Tribe 

Cultural Preservation Office worked with 

internationally-recognized Hopi filmmaker Victor 

Masayesva, Jr., to produce a 12-minute video that 

is available on the Kaibab National Forest Web site 

at: www.fs.usda.gov/goto/kaibab/snake_gulch_

video.

The video was completely produced by Mr. 

Masayesva with support from the Kaibab National 

Forest and Hopi Tribe. The video documents some 

of the work being done by the forest and tribe to 

collaborate on land management issues. Many of 

these efforts are currently focused on incorporating 

tribal concepts into the forest’s land management 

plan revision process. 

Native American environmental Youth Camp

To the north of Nanaz ah ha, which is the name used by Navajos for Coconino Rim, about a mile and half from 

the Grand Canyon is Grandview Lookout Tower. That was the site of this year’s first-ever youth camp for tribal 

members from Navajo, Hopi and Zuni the week of August 2. 

Native youth participants between the ages of 10 and 14 started the weeklong camp, which was sponsored by 

Dine College, at Tuba City Boarding School. After 2 days there, the students headed out to the woods. On August 

4, after a 3-mile morning hike on Bright Angel Trail at Grand Canyon National Park and lunch, the campers were 

greeted by Forest Service employees Michelle Begay and Mae Franklin. Kaibab National Forest archaeologists 

Neil Weintraub and Erin Woodard talked with the kids about the role of archaeologists in the Forest Service and 

challenged them to try the atlatl, an ancient hunting tool. 

Rachael Biggs, a Kaibab forester, showed the students how to determine the age of a tree using an increment 

borer and how to identify dwarf mistletoe invading a pine tree. Kimberly Begay and Richard Piane, Forest Service 

fire prevention officers, demonstrated how to use various firefighting tools and taught the campers about the 

complex instruments on fire engines and trucks. Tusayan District Ranger Angela Parker shared her perspective on 

the unique characteristics of the Tusayan district and answered student questions. 

After participating in these learning sessions, the campers climbed into Grandview Lookout Tower, from which 

they could see Dook ‘o’oosli’i’d (San Francisco Peaks) to the south, Dzil Dilhili (Red Butte) to the east, Tse l che’e 

kooh (Grand Canyon) to the north, and beyond the lower basin to the east, Dine bikayah (Navajo land). 

Forest and Navajo Nation Archaeologists Team to Record Petroglyphs

On April 28, Kaibab National Forest heritage program employees conducted a petroglyph documentation 

class for members of the Navajo Nation Archaeology Department. During the hands-on training, Kaibab and 

NNAD archaeologists documented about 75 percent of the petroglyphs located near a recently-discovered 

Cohonina village site on the Williams Ranger District.

The archaeologists recorded 20 separate panels of petroglyphs with hundreds of individual images 

representing a variety of distinct design styles. The group, which included Kaibab employees Neil Weintraub, 

Mike Lyndon, Erin Woodard, and Mae Franklin, also monitored another nearby petroglyph site, which has 

remained undisturbed for 20-plus years. 

All told, the four NNAD archaeologists contributed 32 hours of volunteer labor to the project while also 

receiving valuable training in site documentation. According to a letter from the NNAD supervisory archaeologist, 

Neomie Tsosie, “For everyone, this exercise was a useful introduction to Cohonina rock art and field recording 

methods.” As part of the Kaibab National Forest’s ongoing work with tribes, a special emphasis has been placed 

on this kind of joint training and collaborative field work.

The Cohonina village site was originally discovered during the summer of 2008 when a forest archaeologist was 

collaborating with fire managers on the proposed location of a dozer line associated with a wildfire. The 

Cohonina was a group of early people who arrived in today’s Kaibab area around A.D. 700. The Cohonina lived 

in small groups, hunted game, gathered wild foods, and probably farmed in drainages.

When Kaibab archaeologists returned to record the Cohonina village site in 2009, they noticed hundreds of 

petroglyphs on a nearby cliff. Now, thanks to the recent combined effort of Kaibab and NNAD archaeologists, 

those petroglyphs have largely been documented.

environmental education Program Plants 

Stewardship Seed in local Sixth Graders

Kaibab National Forest Geologist Jessica 

Lopez Pearce and Archaeologist Erin 

Woodard found themselves in a sticky mess 

demonstrating geology concepts to sixth 

grade students at Camp Colton this summer. 

Lopez Pearce and Woodard used food to 

simulate the three types of magma and 

demonstrate how each type of lava forms a 

different type of volcano. Peanut butter was 

used for highly viscous rhyolite magma, corn 

syrup for intermediate andesite magma, 

and vegetable oil represented non-viscous 

basalt magma. “I try to keep my programs 

as hands-on as possible,” said Lopez Pearce. 

“But maybe not as messy!”

Each spring and fall the Forest Service 

partners with Project LIFE (Life in the 

Flagstaff Environment) through Camp 

Colton. Project LIFE is an award-winning 

environmental education program operated 

by the Flagstaff Unified School District at 

Camp Colton. The program challenges 

Arizona children to learn and experience 

nature outside the classroom.

“I feel it is important to participate in 

Camp Colton because geoscience education 

is a wonderful way for children and adults 

alike to understand the local landscape,” 

said Lopez Pearce. “Camp Colton provides a 

wonderful opportunity to create experiential 

and inquiry-based educational programs. I 

am proud to have been a part of it.”

7
Bill Williams Cap 

Fuels Reduction Project

The Bill Williams Cap Fuels Reduction Project authorizes 

hazardous fuel removal on top of Bill Williams Mountain 

to protect a critical communications site, fire lookout, and 

sensitive tribal shrines, and a ceremonial area from fire. 

In the fall of 2010, Williams Ranger District fire managers 

accomplished several portions of the project including 

thinning, piling, and hazard tree removal. Arizona State 

Forestry crews assisted district fire personnel on these 

operations. 

After prescribed burning is completed, potentially next 

fall, the project will set the way for the next phase of fuels 

treatments on the mountain. These future treatments 

will help protect Williams, the watershed, and natural 

and cultural resources from severe fire occurrence. 

silviculture

Silviculture work completed in fiscal year 2010 included vegetation 

management activities such as thinning, hand and machine piling, 

dwarf mistletoe removal, aspen fencing, and tree planting. 

Thinning is the selective removal of trees within a stand in order to 

meet specific resource objectives. 

Thinning creates down woody debris called slash, which then 

needs to be piled for later burning or other treatment. Some 

piling is done using hand crews, while other piles are created 

using heavy equipment.

Dwarf mistletoe is a parasitic plant that increases the vulnerability 

of host trees to insect infestation, drought and disease. Tree stands 

heavily infected with dwarf mistletoe contain deformed, stunted, 

dying, and dead trees. The control measure for major dwarf mistletoe 

infection is the removal of the infected trees, which occurred in 

2010 on the Tusayan Ranger District in a stand affected by the 

parasitic plant.

On the southern two districts of the Kaibab, there has been a 

serious decline in aspen. Forest resource specialists have been 

working to protect and restore aspen sites using two methods. One 

is to remove competing tree species in and around aspen sites, which 

is known as aspen release. The other is to fence aspen sites to prevent 

elk and deer from browsing on new aspen sprouts. Overall, 2010 

proved to be a good year for aspen regeneration due to the efforts of 

district employees and the increased precipitation. Also in 2010, the 

Williams Ranger District began a monitoring program with the goal of 

determining the effectiveness of past aspen release projects.

 

Kaibab Vegetation Types

The Kaibab National Forest has a diversity of vegetation types due to the range of elevation and soil types. Pinyon-juniper woodlands cover 40 percent of the 

Kaibab. Other vegetation types include mixed conifer, grasslands, sagebrush shrublands, Gambel oak shrublands, and desert communities. Aspen, riparian, 

Forest Plan Revision

Forest employees continue to work on revising 

the “Kaibab National Forest Land Management 

Plan.” The land management plan guides the 

Kaibab National Forest in fulfilling its stewardship 

responsibilities to best meet the needs of the 

American people. The plan provides a framework 

to support social, economic, and ecological 

sustainability, and is intended to provide 

guidance and information for project and activity 

decisionmaking on the forest over the next 5 to 

15 years. 

Forest managers expect a draft environmental 

impact statement (DEIS) to be available to the 

public in summer 2011. Four alternatives have 

been developed for detailed analysis in the DEIS. 

The selected alternative will become the new 

“Kaibab National Forest Land Management Plan.” 

Four Forest Restoration initiative

Employees of the Kaibab National Forest continue to play a key role in planning and preparations related to the Four Forest 

Restoration Initiative (4FRI). 4FRI is the largest landscape-scale restoration effort in the history of the Southwest.

4FRI endeavors to implement ecological restoration treatments at strategic locations within 2.4 million acres of four Arizona 

national forests—the Kaibab, Coconino, Apache-Sitgreaves and Tonto. The goal is to treat approximately 50,000 acres per year over 

a 20-year span using mechanical thinning and fire as primary methods to restore health and resilience across the four forests.

4FRI is a cooperative effort between the Forest Service and a large group of public and private stakeholders such as local 

government, research, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, environmental organizations, private industry, and more.

Before Treatment (2003)

After Treatment (2005)

8
forest products are available 

 on a sustainable basis within 

 the capacity of the land.

Wood products examples:

• wood pellets for home and 

industrial heating

• oriented strand board 

• animal bedding 

• wood molding 

• pallets

• structural lumber 

• firewood 

• post and poles

• biomass to electricity

Otherforest products

examples:

• mushrooms

• wildflowers

• seeds

• nuts

• cones

• Christmas trees

• boughs

Warm Fire Recovery

In November 2009, the U.S. District Court in Phoenix ruled in favor of the U.S. Forest Service and 

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in a lawsuit that challenged the North Kaibab Ranger District’s 

Warm Fire Recovery Project. The project calls for the harvest of fire-killed trees on approximately 

9,000 acres and replanting conifer trees on approximately 10,000 acres that were burned during the 

2006 Warm Fire. 

In 2010, the Kaibab National Forest moved forward with both replanting and the harvest of 

fire-killed trees. In May, crews working with the forest planted about 250,000 ponderosa pine and 

Douglas-fir seedlings on 900 acres that were moderately to severely burned during the fire. The 

North Kaibab Ranger District also prepared and sold timber salvage sales covering nearly 3,000 

acres of fire-killed trees. 

Crews Replant 900 Acres of 

Warm Fire Restoration Project

Despite heavy snow accumulations and strong spring winds, 

crews working with the North Kaibab Ranger District of the 

Kaibab National Forest replanted about 900 acres that were 

moderately to severely burned during the 2006 Warm Fire.

This year’s replanting effort combines with 1,600 acres 

replanted in 2008 for a total of 2,500 acres to date that have 

been replanted as part of the Warm Fire Restoration Project. The 

project calls for replanting 10,000 acres in all, and the district plans 

to plant another 300 acres in the spring of 2011.

The prevalence of standing dead trees across the landscape 

raised safety concerns, especially during periods of high wind, 

and a heavy snow season pushed back planting dates from April 

into late May. Despite challenging weather conditions, crews 

planted about 246,000 ponderosa pine and nearly 7,000 Douglas-fir seedlings in an effort to accelerate the 

process of reforestation.

Replanting is a high priority for a number of reasons, said North Kaibab Silviculturist Garry Domis. “There are 

really positive benefits to replanting, such as maintaining the watershed through soil stabilization, providing 

wildlife habitat, and providing forest products into the future,” Domis said.

The planting work was funded by a $140,000 grant from the National Forest Foundation, the official 

nonprofit partner of the Forest Service. Much of the grant money was donated to the National Forest 

Foundation by the Salt River Project Trees for Change Program. Through Trees for Change, the Phoenix-based 

utility provides matching contributions for customer monetary donations.

timber Production

National Forest System lands were reserved 

with the intent of providing goods and services to satisfy public needs over the long term. 

Among these goods is the production of a 

sustainable supply of forest products. 

Timber production activities are tools that 

economically contribute to restoring and 

maintaining ecosystem diversity and supporting 

a viable wood products processing industry over 

the long term. The loss of the region’s wood 

harvesting and utilization infrastructure has 

been a critical impediment to implementation 

of large-scale mechanical thinning treatments 

necessary for restoration of fireadapted forests. 

Despite this major challenge, the 

Kaibab National Forest continues to 

use timber production when possible 

to reduce fuels, improve forest health, 

enhance wildlife habitat, and contribute to 

other important resource goals. In fiscal year 

2010, Kaibab National Forest sold 

almost 26,000 CCF (hundred 

cubic feet) of wood products 

allowing for treatment of 

thousands of acres.

forest and are found at lower elevations. As elevation increases, pinyon-juniper woodlands transition to ponderosa pine forest, which covers 35 percent of the 

 and wetland vegetation is present in small, yet important areas.

Bob Blasi, Prevention Officer, Tusayan Ranger District

forest products are available 

 on a sustainable basis within 

 the capacity of the land.

Wood

• 

9
in Fire, We All Work Together

One of the five National Fire Communication themes is, “In fire, we all work together.” 

Not just an idea, the theme is working on the ground at the Tusayan Ranger District. 

For the past several years, Tusayan Ranger District fire specialists have offered 

important hands-on training to the local Tusayan Fire Department on various wildfires 

and prescribed burns. These cooperative efforts provided Tusayan Fire Department 

important experience in wildland fire management. 

With the training they received alongside Kaibab National Forest fire managers, 

Tusayan Fire Department firefighters were able to implement a hazardous fuels 

reduction project last fall with assistance from their Tusayan Ranger District neighbors. 

This was the second fuels reduction project initiated by the Tusayan Fire Department 

since it was established. The project met goals set forth in the Tusayan Community 

Wildfire Protection Plan. 

Managing fire near communities is a critical and complicated endeavor. Working 

together and joining forces, we can build upon each other’s successes, reduce 

hazardous fuels, and achieve mutual fire management objectives. 

Back to the Basics

Students in the Northern Arizona University 

(NAU) S130/190 Basic Firefighting course took 

their new classroom knowledge to the field 

April 25. Fifty-two students had the opportunity 

for hands-on practice—with tools, hoses and 

pumps—under the guidance of their instructors 

from the Kaibab and Coconino National Forests.

The field day was the culmination of the basic 

firefighting class that involved two weekends of 

lectures, discussions, videos and presentations by 

subject matter experts in fire management. Each 

year, the Kaibab National Forest teams up with 

NAU to offer the class to students interested 

in firefighting. 

Some of the participants are forestry students 

looking for summer work as firefighters. Another 

group is comprised of students in the National 

Park Service Ranger Program. Many of these 

students will be working in national parks this 

summer. Kathy Dodd, director of the Park Ranger 

Training Program said, “Not only do the students 

gain skills to be prepared to respond to wildland 

fire incidents while on duty in the national parks, 

they also learn about the important aspect of 

interagency incident management.”

The course is designed to provide students the 

basic knowledge, skills, and techniques needed 

for entry-level wildland firefighting. Some of 

the lessons are weather, topography, fuels, fire 

behavior safety, incident management, radios and 

communications, hand tools, hazards and human 

factors on the fireline, and fire shelter training.

“It is important that we continue to partner 

with NAU to offer this course that lays the 

groundwork for firefighters to operate safely in 

the fire environment,” said Dave Bales, assistant 

fire management officer for the Williams and 

Tusayan districts of the Kaibab National Forest. “I 

look forward to seeing these students on a fire—

employing the training, techniques and skills they 

learned in the class.” 

Scientists, land managers, and firefighters are 

working to spread knowledge about fire more 

effectively with one another and create on-theground results for a healthier ecosystem. 

With more than $350,000 in funding awarded 

this summer from the Joint Fire Science Program, 

those working in fire will be able to ask their 

burning questions and ignite useful research 

projects through the Southwest Fire Science 

Consortium. 

The consortium is being developed as a 

mechanism to bring scientists and land managers 

together to share new research findings and 

management ideas, and to facilitate the funding 

of those ideas. 

“In the past, the best science available did not 

always make its way into practical results on the 

ground,” said Dr. Andrea Thode, Northern Arizona 

University School of Forestry fire ecologist. “But 

with the loss of lives, forests, and wildlife habitat, 

along with the exorbitant cost of fire suppression 

in recent years, the consortium will benefit 

all those involved in wildland fire and lead to 

healthier ecosystems.” 

Consortium partners include the following: 

Northern Arizona University, Forest Service, 

University of Arizona, Ecological Restoration 

Institute, Rocky Mountain Research Station, the 

Forest Guild, National Park Service, Bureau of 

Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, Arizona State Forestry, 

and the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center. 

fIre management 

Over the course of the season, fire managers responded to 87 fires. Many fires 

were quickly extinguished due to their location, cause, time of the year, current 

and predicted weather, and fuels conditions. Several fires, however, were managed 

across the landscape within designated areas over the course of many weeks. 

This year, fire was returned to the ecosystem on 1,924 acres of the Kaibab National 

Forest. This may not seem like a significant amount of land; however, each acre is 

important in a fire-adapted ecosystem.

The Juniper, Wash, Tank, and Saffron Fires were managed on the three districts 

of the forest from June into September. The Juniper Fire was 16 miles northeast 

of Williams on the Williams Ranger District. The Wash and Tank Fires were 8 miles 

southeast of Tusayan on the Tusayan Ranger District. The Saffron Fire was on both 

the North Kaibab Ranger District and Grand Canyon National Park, and afforded 

the second opportunity in 2 years to manage fire across jurisdictional boundaries.

The decision to work with these lightning-caused fires across the landscape 

required input from all forest disciplines. Once the incident objectives were defined, 

a plan was developed identifying where the fire would be allowed to burn and 

what measures would be taken to protect and enhance resources. Importantly, 

each one of these fires was located near previously burned areas. 

This created effective fuel breaks to prevent rapid fire spread outside of the 

designated area. 

The objectives accomplished on these fires involved reducing hazardous fuels, 

recycling important nutrients, improving wildlife habitat, and protecting range 

improvements and cultural resources. Actions taken to meet the objectives 

included burning along boundary lines ahead of the fire, initiating fire in strategic 

locations to maintain low to moderate fire intensity, and removing burnable 

vegetation around cultural sites and range improvements.

While the total acreage treated may seem small compared with the total 

number of acres of the Kaibab National Forest, each burned area is very important. 

Each time fire is returned to the ecosystem, it provides another protective layer of 

defense against severe fire occurrence. Many fires on the Kaibab National Forest 

will continue to be extinguished when they threaten lives, property, 

10

Consortium Fires Up information exchange Between 

land Managers and Scientists for Healthier, Safer ecosystems
LINe 

OFFICeR TeAM

LeADeRSHIP 

AWARD

KaIBaB	

NatIONal	

FOreSt

reGION	3

MartIe	

SchraMM,	

tIM	ShOrt,

aNGela	

ParKer

From left to right: Jesus Valdez, Nick Behrends, and Dave Kempton

Presented to Martie Schramm,

tim Short, and	angela Parker

for	excellence in	line

Officer	commitment

to	restoration of		

Fire-adapted

ecosystems

Wildland firefighter 

apprenticeship Program

	 In 2010,threeWilliams Ranger Districtemployees

completed the Wildland Firefighter Apprenticeship 

Program. After meeting the requirements of the 

program, Nick Behrends, Dave Kempton and 

Jesus Valdez became permanent Forest Service 

employees. 

The Wildland Firefighter Apprenticeship Program 

was developed to provide workers with employment 

and training under actual job conditions. Using this 

approach, the apprentices learned the trade through 

participation in on-the-job training and related instruction. 

During the program, apprentices worked in a wide 

range of fire management areas including safety, 

preparedness, suppression, fuels management, helitack, 

businesspractices,prevention,anddispatch. In addition,

the apprentices were required to complete a significant 

amount of course work at the Basic Academy and 

Advanced Academy. 

Behrends, Kempton and Valdez said they appreciated 

the variety of experience they received and the new people 

they met during their apprenticeship programs. They are 

settling into their new positions on engines and in 

fire prevention. 

Joe Reinarz, Williams Ranger District fire management officer 

said, “The program provides a well-rounded and meaningful 

experience for firefighters. The Forest Service and the Williams 

district benefit greatly from the graduates of the apprenticeship 

program, and we look forward to rewarding careers in fire 

management for these individuals.”

and infrastructure. However, some fires like the four in 2010 will continue to be 

managed to reduce hazardous fuel accumulation, protect communities, and 

improve forest health. 

fueLs management

Fire managers on the Kaibab reduced hazardous fuel accumulations on 9,031 

acres in fiscal year 2010. Treatments included prescribed fire, thinning, and piling. 

Just over half the acres were accomplished using prescribed burns. Burning, 

under conditions that promote fires to spread across the surface, burning up 

accumulations of needles, leaves, twigs, and logs, greatly reduces the risk that a 

wildfire during hot, dry, or windy conditions will burn with high severity, causing 

high mortality in the forest canopy.

Moist conditions during the year decreased the number of acres that fire 

managers could treat with prescribed burns, but were favorable for burning a 

backlog of piles that had been created over the past several years. In all, 3,316 

acres of piles were burned in 2010. 

Thinning accounted for 67 acres of the forest’s fuels reduction budget. Thinning dense 

stands of trees, so they more closely resemble historic forest structure, also promotes 

fires to burn as surface fires. Thinning decreases the “ladder fuels” that enable a wildfire 

to move from the ground up into the canopy of trees. It also creates openings between 

groups of trees making it less likely for a single or an isolated group of torching trees to 

become a moving crown fire. 

Thinning from fuels projects and other forest projects creates down woody debris, 

called slash. This year, 782 acres of slash were piled. Some of this work was done with 

hand crews, while other piles were created using heavy equipment. 

Kaibab fire managers continue to use lightning-caused wildfires to accomplish 

hazardous fuel reduction objectives when weather and forest fuel moisture conditions 

are right. In fiscal year 2010, four fires on the Kaibab were managed to achieve resource 

objectives, burning a total of 1,924 acres. This is a fraction of the 44,568 acres that were 

treated from 12 wildfires in 2009. This decrease was due to late snowpack in the spring, 

the early onset of the monsoons, and an overall decrease in the number of lightingcaused fires. 

11
The public may reserve Hull Cabin and its shower house (pictured here) through the National Recreation Reservation System (NRRS) by calling 

toll free (877) 444-6777 or visiting www.recreation.gov. 

Kaibab lake Campground 

Receiving Upgrades

In 2010, major improvements began at Kaibab 

Lake Campground on the Williams Ranger 

District. The renovation work will continue 

through at least summer 2011.

Improvements to the campground include 

new pavement, new parking spurs, new 

campsite amenities such as fire rings and picnic 

tables, more day-use parking for improved 

fishing access, additional day-use picnic sites, 

improved ramadas, additional small group 

capacity, and a new camping loop with an 

additional 10 to 15 campsites. In addition to 

these planned improvements, the entrance road 

to Kaibab Lake Campground has also recently 

been improved.

“Kaibab Lake Campground is one of our 

most popular campgrounds,” said Deirdre 

McLaughlin, a recreational forester on the 

Kaibab National Forest. “We are very excited 

about all the new amenities that will be available 

after the reconstruction.”

Visitor Use Monitoring

Kaibab National Forest employees, in 

cooperation with Arizona State University’s 

School of Community Resources and 

Development, completed the third round of 

National Visitor Use Monitoring in 2010. 

The monitoring involved surveying forest 

visitors on all three of the forest’s districts to 

better understand what sites and facilities they 

use, how long they stay, and how satisfied they 

are with their experience.

The Kaibab National Forest surveys are 

part of the Forest Service National Visitor 

Use Monitoring Program, which provides 

information about recreation visitors to 

National Forest System managed lands at the 

national, regional, and forest level. Information 

about the quantity and quality of recreation 

North Kaibab 

Historic Building Renovations

Contractors carried out a number of historic 

renovation projects on the North Kaibab 

Ranger District with funds provided through 

the American Recovery and Reinvestment 

Act of 2009 (ARRA). The district received 

about $170,000 through ARRA to fund the 

renovations.

Jump Up Cabin, a former ranger station now 

used for recreation, received new flooring, new 

windows, a new stove, and exterior repairs. 

Situated at the trailhead for Ranger Trail 41 that 

enters Kanab Creek Wilderness, Jump Up Cabin 

is the oldest existing ranger station on the 

Kaibab Plateau.

Work also began to restore seven cabins and 

the original ranger district office located at 

Big Springs on Forest Road 22. The buildings 

received exterior, foundation and roof repairs, 

new windows, and new interior renovations, all 

keeping with historic materials and designs.

In 2011, contractors will also renovate the 

Dry Park Cabin, located next to the Dry Park 

Lookout Tower on Forest Road 22. Used to 

house summer fire lookouts, the cabin will 

have electricity and plumbing installed for 

the first time. 

12

visits is required for several purposes 

including forest planning and improving 

public service. National Visitor Use 

Monitoring information assists Congress, 

Forest Service leaders, and program 

managers in making sound decisions that 

best serve the public and protect valuable 

natural resources.

“The information we collect can impact 

important things like our budget for various 

recreation opportunities and the kinds of 

activities, sites, and facilities that we focus on 

as a forest,” said Charlotte Minor, landscape 

architect for the Kaibab National Forest.

Survey information is being compiled and 

will likely be available in mid-2011.

Historic Hull Cabin on the Tusayan Ranger District is the most recent 

addition to the “Rooms with a View” cabin rental program on Arizona 

national forests. 

Members of the public may reserve the cabin through the National 

Recreation Reservation System (NRRS) by calling toll free (877) 444-6777 

or visiting www.recreation.gov. A detailed description of the services 

and amenities at Hull Cabin is available on the NRRS Web site. Hull Cabin, 

which rents for $140 per night, can host a maximum of six people. 

Located just a mile south of the Grand Canyon, Hull Cabin is the oldest 

Historic Hull Cabin Available to Public through Cabin Rental Program

surviving historic cabin near the Grand Canyon’s south rim. This rustic cabin 

was built in 1889 as part of a sheep ranch and was acquired by the Forest 

Servicein 1907foruseas	a	rangerstation. In 1985,thecabinwaslistedto

the National Register of Historic Places for its significance to the early history 

of homesteading, ranching, and tourism in the Grand Canyon region.

“Hull Cabin is one of oldest standing structures on the forest, and it is 

located in a pristine setting surrounded by mature ponderosa pines close 

to the Grand Canyon,” said Mike Lyndon, a Kaibab National Forest 

archaeologist.“Itisan idealaddition tothecabin rentalprogram.”		
Fredonia and Kanab Teens Graduate from Forestry Program

On a Friday in late July, eight teenagers from Fredonia and Kanab 

graduated from the 7-week Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) program 

located on the North Kaibab Ranger District. During their time on the 

district, the participants learned a variety of forestry skills and helped forest 

program leaders complete some much needed work.

The YCC program is organized through Coconino Rural Environment Corps 

(CREC) in Flagstaff, which is a program of the Coconino County Community 

Services office. This was the second year in a row that YCC was offered on 

the North Kaibab.

During June and July, the YCC teenagers worked 280 hours under the supervision of two full-time CREC 

staff and various Kaibab National Forest employees. The students received training in emergency first aid, 

GPS technology, horsemanship, Leave No Trace wilderness ethics, northern goshawk management, and 

timber sale administration, among other things.

The work they performed included:

• Marking and numbering 14.6 miles of flagged cutting unit boundaries 

with tracer tree paint in the Warm Fire Recovery Area.

• Brushing around 20 miles of the Rainbow Rim Trail, the Arizona Trail, and 

the North Canyon Trail.

• Post-fire fence repair in the Warm Fire Recovery Area.

• Watershed channel rehabilitation.

• Preparing for construction of livestock-wildlife water catchments.

• Transporting 200 bales of hay for district horses.

YCC members are paid a stipend of $590 every 2 weeks, and 17- and 18-year-old 

members are also eligible to receive an AmeriCorps Education Award of

$1,000 upon successful completion of an additional 20 volunteer 

hours. Four of the participants this summer will receive the AmeriCorps 

scholarship.

Williams Ranger district Continues Successful

Partnership with Coconino Rural environment Corps

For the last several years, the Williams Ranger District has 

partnered with the Coconino Rural Environment Corps (CREC) 

for the hiring and management of its Youth Conservation 

Corps (YCC) program. 

For fiscal year 2010, the partnership was able to hire eight 

crewmembers and two young adult crew leaders to work for 

6 weeks on a variety of projects. Accomplishments included: 

• 200 acres of manual noxious weed control.

• 5.5 miles of post-fire fence repairs for range 

improvements.

• 2.75 acres of fence removal for range 

improvement.

• 1 acre of manual fuels removal (raking and 

removing pine needles) on a fire sensitive 

archaeological site, for preparation of prescribed 

burning.

• 15 acres of hand piles constructed in preparation of 

prescribed burning.

• 5 acres of aspen fence construction and repair.

All of the crewmembers received 2 hours of environmental 

education each week and spent time with specialists from each 

functional area of the Williams Ranger District. 

This exposure to the different specialists allowed 

the crewmembers to inquire about different 

careers with the Forest Service. Several enrollees expressed interest in 

working for the Forest Service after high school.

National Trails day event on Williams district draws Crowd 

Little did the campers at Dogtown Lake know just how 

much fun they were going to have June 5 when the 17th annual National 

Trails Day was held at the campground. About 40 people, twice as many as 

last year, participated in the event hosted by the Williams Ranger District. 

The day’s activities included clearing brush and debris on a half mile of 

the popular Ponderosa Nature Trail, a rabbit stick and atlatl (ancient hunting 

tools) throwing contest, a coloring contest, an educational hike on the nature 

trail, and a Smokey Bear visit. In addition, Kaibab National Forest firefighters 

taught the kids who were in attendance all about fire engines. A barbecue 

lunch for the participants ended the day. 

“It was great seeing everyone having fun and enjoying the great 

outdoors,” said Christa Roughan, recreation staff officer for the Williams 

and Tusayan districts.

National Trails Day is held each year to increase awareness and 

appreciation of America’s trails. Other event partners included City of Williams, Williams-Grand 

Canyon Chamber of Commerce, American Legion, and Williams Clean and Beautiful.

Jessica Lopez Pearce, Geologist, Williams and Tusayan Ranger Districts

engIneerIng 

Several important facilities and roads 

projects on the Kaibab National Forest were 

started or completed by the engineering team 

in fiscal year 2010, including the following 

funded through the Recovery Act: 

• Williams Ranger District – renovation 

of the Spring Valley recreational rental 

cabin; replacement of six toilet buildings 

at White Horse Lake and Kaibab Lake 

Campgrounds.

• North Kaibab Ranger District – renovation 

of nine living quarters at the Big Springs 

Work Center and Dry Park Lookout Tower.

• Tusayan Ranger District – installation 

of new water and wastewater systems 

at the Hull recreational rental cabin; 

replacement of three toilet buildings at 

Ten-X Campground. 

Visitors to the Williams Ranger District will 

soon enjoy another phase of the ongoing 

rehabilitation of Kaibab Lake Campground 

that started in September to construct two 

additional road loops with new campsites. 

A new roof was installed on the Tusayan 

Ranger District office building. 

About 14 miles of Forest 

Road 307 on the Tusayan Ranger 

District were resurfaced with gravel 

after monsoon flooding created 

ruts, holes, exposed piping, and 

other potential hazards. Annual 

maintenance and grading were 

completed on 799 miles of forest 

roads on the Williams, Tusayan 

and North Kaibab Ranger 

Districts. Route marker signs at 

road junctions are being checked 

and new ones installed where 

necessary. So far, 100 percent of the 

route marker signs on the Williams 

and Tusayan districts and 25 percent 

on the North Kaibab district have been 

completed.

recreatIon

The beautiful, natural areas of Kaibab 

National Forest offer settings for a wide range 

of high quality recreation opportunities. 

The forest provides mountain, forested, and 

high desert places to escape from urban 

environments and pursuits, and enjoy cooler 

temperatures. Cultural features provide 

historic context to the natural scenery, adding 

to the richness of these places. Scenic areas 

provide opportunities to hike, bike, fish, hunt, 

see wildlife, and enjoy the peace, quiet, and 

spiritual values of nature.

Recreation managers on the Kaibab National 

Forest work to maintain and enhance the 

attractive scenery and unique combination 

of physical, biological, and cultural features 

of the forest for our use and for future 

generations. They also work to provide the 

public with diverse developed and dispersed 

recreation activities in balance with the ability 

of the land and management to support them.

13
eagle Rock BAeR

BAER stands for Burned Area Emergency Response and 

involves identifying threats following a wildfire and taking 

actions to manage unacceptable risks.

Following the Eagle Rock Fire in June on the Williams Ranger District, Kaibab National Forest 

employees have made significant efforts to protect human life and property, reduce 

erosion and sedimentation, limit invasion by noxious weeds, protect cultural and 

heritage sites, and more.

Specific actions have included the following:

•	 Strawmulchingwascompletedon 660acres.Thestrawmulch significantlyreducederosion.

•	 Seedingwascompletedon 500acres.Seedingresultsin rapidgrowth ofgroundcover,

which reduces soil erosion and invasion by noxious weeds. 

•	 Strawwattleswereplacedaroundselectedarchaeologicalsitestokeepthesitesfromeroding.

•	 Noxiousweeds—bull thistle,cheatgrassanddalmation toadflax—weredetectedand

treated within the burned area. 

•	 Threelivestock/wildlifestocktankswereusedassediment trapsfor removalofdebris

before it entered Forest Service and private structures and roads. 

•	 Duringandimmediatelyfollowingsignificantstorms,employeespatrolledroadschecking

for culvert plugging and other road drainage problems. 

•	 Flash floodandfallingdebris hazardsignswereinstalledat targetedlocationsin order toprovidefor human safety.

•	 Twosegmentsofcrown ditchingwereconstructedin order todivertwaterflowaround	a	historiccabin andon

Forest Service land above a private homesite. 

bridger-Knoll cheatgrass abatement

 The North Kaibab Ranger District began 

an experimental, 3-year project to combat 

cheatgrass invasions that resulted from 

the 1996 Bridger-Knoll Fire. Cheatgrass 

is a hardy, invasive species that typically 

moves into areas exposed to extreme 

temperatures during wildfires. The plant 

often outcompetes native species, and it 

does not make suitable grazing for cattle or 

wildlife.

 For the first 2 years of the project, 

963 acres of cheatgrass will be 

treated with pesticide in the 

Buckhorn area, on the northwest 

side of the Kaibab Plateau. Native 

grasses and shrubs will be reseeded in 

the fall of 2011.

range and Watershed

fire rehabilitation

Fire rehabilitation projects completed in 2010 

included grass seeding of 100 acres on the Wild Horse 

Fire; seeding of 50 acres on the Twin Fire; straw mulching 660 

acreson theEagle RockFire;cleaning11stocktanks/sediment

traps on 3 different fires; establishing erosion control; repairing 10 

miles of roads; cross falling trees on severe slopes within the Wild 

Horse and Eagle Rock Fire areas, water barring and rehabilitating 

fire lines on the Eagle Rock and Twin Fires; repairing fences; and 

eradicating noxious weeds.

Livestock grazing management

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis was completed 

for the Hat Grazing Allotment on the Williams Ranger District. The 

analysis reviewed grazing practices on 103,256 acres and made 

adjustments when necessary to maintain and improve range 

conditions. Grazing practice adjustments outlined in 2009 NEPA 

analyses were implemented in the Corva and Double A allotments, 

which account for 57,017 acres on the Williams Ranger District. 

Improvedgrazingpracticeswillresultin improvedsoilandwatershed

conditions. The forest administrated 31 grazing allotments during 

the 2010 grazing year. Forage production was good with consistent 

moisture in most areas throughout the year. 

Clare Hydock, Range Specialist, Williams and Tusayan Ranger Districts

14
Kaibab national forest hosts ethiopian delegation

The Kaibab National Forest hosted a 14-person delegation from the Government 

of Ethiopia on August 23 in order to provide information about the operational 

aspects of disaster management in northern Arizona.

The delegation members all held high-level positions in various land, resource, 

water, and emergency preparedness agencies in Ethiopia. They were being hosted 

on a 15-day study tour of Arizona, Idaho, and California by members of the U.S. Forest 

Service International Programs office out of Washington, DC.

“I must say, the Ethiopian delegation was very impressed by the level of 

effort everyone at the Kaibab National Forest exerted,” said Brehan Doud, who 

accompanied the group as a representative of Forest Service International Programs. 

“The day was comprised of many important issues, all affecting Ethiopia in one way 

or another.” 

While in Arizona, the delegation members were interested in gaining insight into 

early warning systems, especially for drought and flooding; drought mitigation; 

water resources and conflict management; local, state and Federal agency response 

to disasters, especially fire, drought, and flooding; and emergency operations 

planning.

To meet those requests, Kaibab National Forest managers arranged for several 

presentations and took the delegation to visit sites on the Williams Ranger District. 

“As it turns out, they deal with some very similar issues in Ethiopia to what we 

have here in northern Arizona. For example, they deal with drought and flooding 

frequently,” said Dave Mertz, fire staff officer for the Kaibab National Forest. 

“We tried to tailor the time they spent with us to be most beneficial to their issues 

and concerns.” 

eagle Rock Fire, Williams Ranger District

The eagle Rock Fire creeps down the eastern face of Sitgreaves Mountain 

on the evening of June 17, 2010.

noxious Weed treatments

Noxious weeds were controlled on 4,509 acres through use of herbicide, 

hand pulling, and biological treatments. Species treated included 

dalmatian toadflax,bullthistle, leafyspurge,scotch thistle,muskthistle,

diffuse knapweed, and cheatgrass. These treatments improved native 

plant community composition and density, with increased ground cover 

and watershed protection benefits.

forest Vegetation

In ordertopreventdomesticlivestockfromaccessingthem,three

wetlands on the Williams Ranger District were fenced with a steel cable as 

the top wire. Thirty acres were fenced at Perkins Tank, 40 acres at Mineral 

Lake, and 340 acres at Scholz Lake.

grassland maintenance

Grassland maintenance projects were completed on 1,801 acres to 

improve soil and watershed conditions. The work focused on former 

grasslands that have been encroached by pinyon pine and juniper 

trees. Monitoring has shown substantial improvement in ground cover 

conditions after treatment.

mining reclamation

Sandstone quarry reclamation was completed on 135 acres. 

Restoration work included filling in quarry holes with stone blocks, 

reshaping quarry areas to create gentle slopes, adding material to create a 

smooth surface, covering the area with the available topsoil from the site, 

and seeding where necessary. With these efforts, erosion will be reduced.

Watershed condition

Watershed condition is integral to all aspects of resource 

management and use. Good watershed management maintains the 

productive capacity of soils, protects water quality and quantity, 

sustains native species, provides beneficial uses, and reduces the 

threatof flooddamage.

The primary risk to Kaibab National Forest watersheds is 

uncharacteristic fire. Watersheds are at higher risk of erosion and 

sedimentation following uncharacteristic fire.

On the Kaibab, watershed conditions have improved as a result 

of managed fires and tree thinning projects, which have reduced 

the number of watersheds in unsatisfactory condition. Watersheds 

are generally on an improving trend due to these and other 

management actions.

15
Kaibab national forest 

supervisor’s office

Mike Williams, Forest Supervisor

800 S. 6th Street

Williams, AZ 86046

(928) 635-8200

north Kaibab ranger district

Tim Short, District Ranger

430 S. Main Street

P.O. Box 248

Fredonia, AZ 86022

(928) 643-7395

tusayan ranger district

Margaret Hangan, Acting District Ranger

176 Lincoln Log Loop

P.O. Box 3088

Grand Canyon, AZ 86023

(928) 638-2443

Williams ranger district

Martie Schramm, District Ranger

742 S. Clover Road

Williams, AZ 86046

(928) 635-5600

www.fs.usda.gov/kaibab

Message from the Forest Supervisor – A Salute to employees

As I reflect back over fiscal year 2010 on the Kaibab National Forest, there are many specific projects and events that stand out for me. The vast majority of those are included in this 

accomplishments report, which I sincerely hope you will enjoy reading and sharing with your family and friends.

As I look through this report, what stands out to me above and beyond all the specific work accomplished is the incredible dedication and flexibility of Kaibab National Forest employees. I want 

to take a moment here to recognize our employees’ continuing efforts and successes on myriad fronts—from restoring fire-adapted ecosystems and improving watershed health to enhancing 

wildlife habitat and providing for diverse recreational opportunities, and from protecting our invaluable cultural resources and maintaining our forest roads and trails to providing timely and 

accurate information to our many involved stakeholders, and offering conservation and environmental education to local youth and our wider communities. For all that work and much more, 

I salute our Kaibab National Forest employees.

I also want to thank all of you—our partners, volunteers and other stakeholders. With limited resources but endless opportunities to improve natural and cultural resource conditions, your 

involvement, support and on-the-ground work are always appreciated and increasingly vital to our continued success.

As we move forward, there are a few key issues of which I want to be sure you are aware. First, the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI) is moving 

forward quickly on efforts to restore forest ecosystems on portions of four national forests along the Mogollon Rim in northern Arizona. The first 

planning effort associated with 4FRI is looking to conduct restoration activities on the Kaibab and Coconino forests within a 750,000-acre 

ponderosa pine ecosystem over about 10 years. A proposed action has already been released to the public, and a draft environmental 

impact statement is expected in fall 2011.

Second, in 2011 you will begin to see implementation of the Travel Management Rule (TMR) on our southern two 

districts—Williams and Tusayan. You can expect to see motor vehicle use maps (MVUMs), which will show the 

open road system for each district. These maps will be available to the public, free of charge, once they are 

produced. I am confident that as we implement TMR, you will find that there are ample opportunities to 

enjoy the Williams and Tusayan districts while also allowing for protection of our priceless natural and 

cultural resources.

Third, many of you know that we have been working hard to update the “Kaibab National Forest Land 

Management Plan,” which dates from the late 1980s. The forest plan is critical because it sets desired conditions, 

long-term goals, and other large-scale guidance used in developing every project that occurs on a forest. I am 

pleased to share with you that the draft environmental impact statement for our forest plan is expected to 

be released this August.

Finally, I wanted to mention that the United Nations has declared 2011 as International Year of Forests 

in an effort to strengthen the sustainable management, conservation and development of all types of 

forests for the benefit of current and future generations. We hope you will celebrate with us by visiting 

Kaibab National Forest and camping, hiking, fishing, biking, bird watching, or simply sitting in a 

beautiful spot while enjoying the sights and sounds of nature.

Mike Williams

Forest Supervisor

FY2010 Budget

fIre PreParedness $4,038,315

admInIstratIon 

$2,063,619

facILIty maIntenance 

$1,279,436

VegetatIVe treatment $887,200

Lands and mIneraLs $515,000

WILdLIfe $363,300

forest PLannIng 

$1,115,715

traILs 

$1,392,127

tImber $2,072,706

recoVery act 

$909,247

other 

$787,646

road maIntenance $2,217,300

fueLs $1,285,170

recreatIon 

$862,946

fy2010 totaL budget 

 $20,064,655

range 

$274,928

Sami Schinnell, Prevention Officer, Williams Ranger District and Smokey Bear