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Hanford Project to Restore Wildland After Grass Fire

An aerial seeding project on Hanford’s Gable Mountain will help restore lost habitat following a wildland fire in June last year.

Office of Environmental Management

February 9, 2021
A helicopter drops a bucket of native grass and shrub seed on portions of the Hanford Site that burned during the Gable Mountain fire in June last year. The seed will restore critical habitat and help prevent erosion.
A helicopter drops a bucket of native grass and shrub seed on portions of the Hanford Site that burned during the Gable Mountain fire in June last year. The seed will restore critical habitat and help prevent erosion.

RICHLAND, Wash. – An aerial seeding project on Hanford’s Gable Mountain will help restore lost habitat following a wildland fire in June last year, which burned more than 5,500 acres on the mountain.

At the direction of the EM Richland Operations Office (RL), outgoing contractor Mission Support Alliance coordinated the effort to drop 75,000 pounds of native grass and shrub seed from a helicopter during the rainy winter season. The project will continue under new contractor Hanford Mission Integration Solutions (HMIS). HMIS biologists expect the seeds to germinate by spring.

“The addition of native grasses and shrub seed demonstrates DOE’s responsible land management, with a strong commitment to protecting and conserving our nation’s natural resources,” said So Yon Bedlington, RL program manager. “Remediating environmental damage from the Gable Mountain fire is a priority and the use of harvested native seeds will offer the best chance at future restoration of this critical habitat.”

Native grass and locally sourced shrub seed are seen on the ground alongside a burned sagebrush stump, resulting from a fire near Gable Mountain on the Hanford Site. The seed will help restore the 5,500 acres of damaged habitat at Hanford.
Native grass and locally sourced shrub seed are seen on the ground alongside a burned sagebrush stump, resulting from a fire near Gable Mountain on the Hanford Site. The seed will help restore the 5,500 acres of damaged habitat at Hanford.
A subcontractor readies the hanging bucket for the helicopter used to drop native grass and shrub seed on thousands of acres of the Hanford Site to revegetate an area that burned in 2020.
A subcontractor readies the hanging bucket for the helicopter used to drop native grass and shrub seed on thousands of acres of the Hanford Site to revegetate an area that burned in 2020.

The once-pristine sagebrush found on the remote shrub-steppe region provided a home to black-tailed jackrabbits and sagebrush sparrows, which often used it for nesting. The land also contributes historic archeological data on the prehistoric life of Native Americans who also lived on the vast expanse and made use of its natural resources, making the Gable Mountain of high importance to northwest tribes.

Aerial seeding is a specialized method for the Hanford Site and took months of planning before three consecutive days of seed application could begin.

HMIS biologist Emily Norris said the unusual timing of the fire in early June, at the start of the fire season, resulted in an opportunity to accomplish the most appropriate recovery effort, without missing an ideal window for planting. This included locally sourcing specific seeds for the three distinct ecological areas that burned within both hillside and lowland areas.

“This restoration will provide erosion control, replace lost habitat, and prevent the overtaking by invasive species that may seek to fill the once-mature sagebrush found around Gable Mountain, which is a habitat valuable to both Hanford and the entire region,” said Norris.

Environmental scientists with HMIS expect the first evidence of germination in a matter of months. They will monitor the seeded areas for five years.

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