People like to eat. Many folks take the food they eat for granted, because it is always available at the grocery store. Rarely do people think about how food is grown or how important honeybees are in food production. Bees pollinate two-thirds of the food we eat directly or indirectly. …
Once again, we are tragically reminded that northern Nevada’s urban areas also need to be concerned with wildfire. Our urban wildfires, such as the recent Ridgeview Drive Fire in North Reno, are becoming more common, can occur at any time of the year, and are usually human-caused. Homeowners need to …
Mulches play an important role in northern Nevada landscapes. They can reduce the water requirements of plants, cool soil temperatures, reduce the occurrence of weeds, control soil erosion and dust, and visually enhance the landscape. Unfortunately, some popular mulches are also combustible, a bad characteristic for residential landscapes located in …
Plants can serve as wildfire fuel. Consequently, home survival during wildfire is greatly influenced by the characteristics of the plants growing adjacent to the house. The selection and maintenance of plants in the residential landscape should be an important consideration for Nevadans living in high fire hazard areas. Ideally, the …
May 19 – 25 had been designated Nevada Wildland Fire Awareness Week, and for good reason. A recent assessment identified 66 Nevada communities as “extreme” or “high” wildfire hazard areas. One of the major contributing factors to these undesirable ratings was the lack of adequate “defensible space” surrounding the thousands …