The Environmental Brush Cutter: A Tool for Thinning Pinyon-Juniper
See below for a product demonstration video.

By Esther Benson, Fire Mitigation and Education Specialist, BLM Cedar City Field Office

In October 2002, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Utah Fuels Program, purchased an environmental brush cutter. Working out of the Cedar City Field Office, the machine is being used to reduce hazardous fuels where communities meet or intermingle with wildland fuels. Demonstration of its fuel modification and wildlife habitat improvement capabilities is an important part of the program.

The machine can reduce selected trees and shrubs quickly to ground level while minimizing root disturbance. The brush cutter is designed to save time and energy by cutting and treating vegetation in a single operation. The shredded material is rapidly biodegradable mulch that can help reduce erosion and provide soil nutrients and fertility. Shrubs that are more desired on the landscape, such as those considered beneficial for mule deer winter range, can remain untouched.

In 2002, the BLM brush cutter completed the 700-acre Joel Springs project along State Road 56, 20 miles west of Cedar City. This project took approximately three and a half months. The project demonstrates a shaded fuel-break in pinyon-juniper woodlands. A shaded fuel-break is where trees are thinned and pruned to reduce fire hazard. The BLM machine is currently working on the Arizona Strip in ponderosa pine and pinyon-juniper habitats.

Utility companies, municipalities, foresters, agricultural producers and the military presently use environmental brush cutters across the country to clear land, reduce slash, and thin vegetation. With a purchase price of $239,000, the cost of the tractor may seem high from a taxpayer’s perspective, but keep in mind that is only one-quarter of the daily cost of a fire management team.