The Nevada and California chapters of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers report they are coordinating an effort to restore the Hallelujah Junction Wildlife Area, a critical winter range for mule deer and a premium deer hunt zone that burned in several recent wildfires. They are inviting volunteers to help collect bitterbrush seeds that will be used for future restoration efforts of public lands like the bitterbrush planting event this fall, which will conclude with the Beers, Bands, & Bitterbrush Stands celebration in Beckwourth.
Chapter members will gather with volunteers from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 29 to source seeds from healthy plant stocks in the project area. Organizers say the healthy bitterbrush stands in the Hallelujah Junction Wildlife Area will have flowered and be ready for harvest by late June, and participants will be looking to harvest at least 10 pounds of seed to ensure they have enough to grow and plant for future restoration efforts.
Deer herds in the eastern portion of Plumas County all use the Hallelujah Junction Wildlife Area as a key wintering ground, said David Valle, Plumas County fish and game commissioner and BHA member. “The event is open to all Californians interested in doing some on-the-ground wildlife conservation work. Perfect for Plumas County residents since the activity is so close,” he said.
Valle said he would like to see more interested folks from Plumas County involved in the project, because it directly benefits Plumas County wildlife.
Volunteers should bring plenty of water, a hat, good hiking shoes, sun protection and appropriate clothing. Everyone will meet at the north end of the Bordertown Casino parking lot at 19575 Highway 395 before heading into the wildlife area.
Lunch will be provided for those that RSVP. A Google map and directions are available. For more information, contact Joel Weltzien at [email protected].
About Hallelujah Junction Wildlife Area
The Hallelujah Junction Wildlife Area is a property in northeastern California along the Nevada border. It was purchased by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to maintain critical winter range for multiple deer herds as well as habitat for pronghorn antelope and rocky mountain elk. The area spans two of California’s premium deer hunt zones, X6B and X7A. Tags for these areas have been historically sought after by many deer hunters in the state.
The wildlife area also lies over the ancestral lands of the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, where the tribe hunted deer and pronghorn on their seasonal migration routes and fished from Long Valley Creek, which bisects the HJWA. This property has burned in several wildfires over the past two decades, destroying much of the local flora critical to supporting the local wildlife. BHA reports that failed restoration attempts and subsequent wildfires have left the landscape vulnerable to invasive species, such as cheatgrass, pepperweed and others, which threaten to degrade critical habitat relied upon by the interstate migratory mule deer in the Loyalton-Truckee and Doyle herds, as well as a population of resident deer and pronghorn antelope.
Information provided by Backcountry Hunters and Anglers with additional reporting by Ingrid Burke
