So the more wildfires burn, the more annual grasses spread. The more annual grasses spread, the more wildfires burn. Also, wildland fires become more frequent and intense, and thus, more dangerous and costly to combat. Rehabilitation is a tough job requiring long hours and fast work. It essentially boils down to stabilizing soils and keeping the spread of weeds to a minimum.
Rehabilitation is also a race against the clock.
Tom Warren, like many BLM employees, went almost straight from working on a fire-fighting overhead team to working on a rehabilitation crew. In rehab, we're trying to beat the first snowfall , he says. BLM is attempting to take rehabilitation to a new level in the Great Basin. A team of experts is seeking ways to not only rehabilitate much of the burned area, but also restore it and protect other areas vulnerable to invasive species. The habitat loss we're facing in the Great Basin isn't a new problem, but it may be the last wake-up call to do something , says Roy Johnson, the deputy fire program manager at BLM's Office of Fire and Aviation.