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Refuge manager outlines postfire habitat recovery, summer opening and recreation plans
Summary
Sheldon‑Hart refuge manager Shannon Ludwig told the Lake County Board of Commissioners on Feb. 19 that refuge staff are prioritizing postfire habitat recovery across tens of thousands of acres, planning a June 15, 2025 partial opening, and managing recreation and wildlife concerns during a leadership transition.
Sheldon‑Hart Mountain National Refuge Complex Manager Shannon Ludwig updated the Lake County Board of Commissioners on postfire recovery, habitat restoration and recreation planning during the Feb. 19 regular session.
Ludwig told commissioners the refuge is working through a transitional period in federal leadership and is focusing on active management of sagebrush and wildfire recovery across roughly 65,000 acres affected by last summer's fires. He said refuge staff are treating areas to halt the spread of invasive grasses and reseeding with native grasses appropriate to the site.
The refuge is planning a phased reopening for summer recreation, with a targeted June 15, 2025 date intended to allow habitat sufficient recovery before heavy visitor use. Ludwig said managers consolidated and modified camping spaces at the Guano Creek Wilderness Study Area to better manage recreation impacts.
On specific restoration tactics, Ludwig listed removal of invasive grasses, replanting sagebrush, and clearing creek beds. He said the Blue Sky Ponderosa Pine stand was about 90% destroyed by the fire and staff plan to collect pine cones to germinate seed and replant the stand. The refuge also reported removing approximately 50,000 acres of juniper, which Ludwig said has coincided with an increase in sage‑grouse in treated areas.
Ludwig addressed predator management and wildlife outcomes: he said eight mountain lions had been removed in the last year and that there had been no predator losses of bighorn sheep during that same timeframe. He characterized lamb production as good but said recruitment of new stock into the herd was slow.
On fire management, Ludwig said prescribed burning continues year‑round as part of habitat improvement and that fire leadership has been effective to work with. When asked about recreation, he said visitors are attracted by open landscape, dark skies, wildlife and hot springs; he noted the main recreation challenges are maintaining a presence for intervention and managing impacts, and that campsite adjustments should help.
Ludwig also said he expects the Tri‑Corner Community Collaborative to continue if key stakeholders remain involved and local leaders carry the collaborative's message to legislators in Washington, D.C. The presentation and the commissioners' questions took place during a public hearing that had been opened earlier in the meeting.
