The Flagstaff team is comprised of individuals with diverse backgrounds, education, certificates, memberships and fields of interest including: Nature Conservancy, Master gardener, Arizona Native Plant Society, National Wildlife Society, Arizona strip weed management area, Planetary Society, Coast guard mechanic, Navy submariner, and ecologist.
All team members are certified herbicide applicators, possessing
structural pest control applicator licenses, and are members of the Southwest Vegetation Management
Association (SWVA).
Highway corridors in Region
4 pass through distinct biotic communities (Biomes):
- Interior Chaparral
- Plains and Great Basin Grassland
- Great Basin Desert Scrub
- Mohave Desertscrub
- Great Basin Conifer Woodland
- Petran Montane Conifer Forest
- Petran Subalpine Conifer Forest
- Subalpine Grassland
Flagstaff Natural Resources Region 4 is responsible for managing land, wildlife, and vegetation inventory on 2,185 miles (Map) of the following roadways:
All of the following roadways: SR (State Route) 61, 64, 67, 73, 77, 81, 89, 89A, 98, 99, 180A, 261, 264, 273, 277, 373, 377, 389, 473, 564, and US (United States) 64, 160, 163 and 180.
And sections of the following roadways:
SR 87, US 60, 191, and I (Interstate)15, 17, and 40.
The diversity of biotic communities and explosive population growth present on-going issues in the Region 4:
The biggest problem on Northern Arizona lands is the invasion
of noxious weeds. Highways are major arteries for the spread
of these weeds. Other problems include trees next to the
highways, wildfires, and the lack of precipitation on seeding
projects of disturbed areas
The year-round resource management projects in the Region are:
- Yearly spot herbicide treatments to manage invasive and noxious weeds.
- Tree thinning to create recovery zones, increase sight distance for wildlife, reduce shading on the pavement, and create defensible fire breaks.
- Control burns to manage noxious weeds and brush and to invigorate native grasses. Slash piles created by tree thinning operations are also burned.
- Seeding of disturbed areas.
Region 4 is involved in cooperative projects with various agencies:
- Southwest Vegetation Management Association( SWVMA)
- US Forest Service
- State Land Department
- Arizona Game & Fish Department
- US Fish and Wildlife Service
- Bureau of Land Management
- National Park Service
- Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, and White Mountain Apache Tribe on noxious weed issues, tree thinning projects, control burn and seeding projects, and wildlife-vehicle collision research.
Current Projects in
Flagstaff Region.
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