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germination concerns, mulch should not be used in areas with sensitive or rare plants. Mulch can be applied in 100 to 200 ft (30 to 60 m) wide strips on long elopes, saving labor costs and also reducing the po- tentialimpact ofthe mulch on native plant diversity. Slash Spreading Purpose. Slash spreading cevers the ground with or- ganicmaterial, interrupting rain impact and trapping soil. It is a common practice after timber sales, but can also be used on burned elopes where dead vegetation is present. Slash is more frequently used on firebreaks and dozer fu~elines. RelatrveEffecUvenessGcod-50%Fair-50%(Repliea = 2) Interviewees that used this treatment rated the effec- tiveness "good" and "fair." It is more effective on gentle elopes than steep ones. In accessible areas, the mate- rialcan disappear as people collect it for firewood. One respondent was disappointed that not much sediment was trapped by spread slash. Implementatron and Environmental Factors. Slash needs to be cut so it makes good contact with the ground. It can be used in a moderately burned area, where there is more material to spread, or below an intensely burned elope or area of water repellent soil. There is concern that slash will attract or harbor insects, and it could act as fuel for a reborn. Temporary Fencing Purpose. Temporary fencing is used to keep grazing livestock and/or vehicles offofburned areas and ripar- ian zones during the recovery period. Reapreuting onaite vegetation and seeded species attract grazing animals and are initially very sensitive to distur- bance. Fencing can speed up the recovery process by removing post-fire disturbance from grazers and ve- hicles. Relative Effectiveness Excellent-0% Good-68% Fair- 33%Pcor-0% (Replies = 3) Temporary fencing was evaluated sa "good° or "fair" by the limited number of interviewees that rated it (table 16). They noted thatthe effectiveness is depen- dent onthe extent to which grazers are excluded from the burned areas. In some areas, elk grazing is as problematic as cattle grazing, and the use ofthe more costly high fences that exclude elk needs to be consid- ered. The presence and intensity of native ungulate grazing will definitely affect the success of fencing. Elimination of grazing for 2 years was judged to be very important for achieving hillslope stability. One person noted that temporary fencing could have ex- cellent effectiveness when done before winter, but the chance of fencing being completed before winter is often low due to the extensive time requirements of fence construction. Implementatron and Environmental Factors Some BAER personnel recommend cattle exclusion if more than 50 percent of an allotment is burned. If a decision is made to employ temporary fences, installation needs to be timely and proper. Fence construction is slow relative to other BAER treatments so it is important that fence installation is not delayed. It is important to keep cattle out ofburued areas before and during fence construction. Incursions by cattle can slow fence cen- struction. Consideration should be given to installa- tion of big game/elk excloaurea where these animals have a significant impact on burned area recovery. The location of temporary fences should be coordi- nated with existing allotment fences. Other Factors Some personnel liked using BAER funds with Forest funds to achieve long-term fencing goals. Others apparently have had problems getting fencing put in with BAER funds. Electric fence is an option for excluding cattle. This option needs to be considered more in the future. It may be more coet- effective, easier, and quicker to install just after aerial seeding than other types of fences. Fencing is also a good tool for excluding off-road vehicles from sensitive recently burned areas. Straw Wattles Purpose. Straw wattles are permeable barriers used to detain surface runofflong enough to reduce flow veloc- ity. Their main purpose is to break up slope length. They have also been used in small drainages or on aide slopes for detaining small amounts of fine suspended sediment. Relatrve Effectiveness Excellent-33% Good-33% Fair- 33% Poor-0% (Replies = 3) The effectiveness rating of straw wattles ranges from "excellent" to "fair" depending on the circumstances in which they were used and the quality of the installa- tion. Comments within one Region on straw wattle effectiveness ranged from being an "excellent° treat- ment at areasonable coat and still functioning after 2 years, to that of exhibiting pronounced undercutting immediately on the downhill side. Visual monitoring has noted that straw wattles usually remain in place and often fill with soil material on the uphill aide. Where that happens, good seed germination occurs. Straw wattles have been placed onto specific sites and randomly located on slopes. Some monitoringobserva- tiona have noted that there does not appear to be a difference in overall vegetative recovery between cen- tour-felled log areas and straw wattle treatment ar- eas. Overall effectiveness can be affected by break- down of the wattles and release of built-up sediment onto the rest of the elope or into drainages. USDA Forest Serviee Gen. Tech. Rap. RMRSGTR-63. 2000 77