HOW THE BIRCHER FIRE OF 2000 AFFECTED EROSION IN MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK

During the end of July and beginning of August, 2000, the Bircher Fire burned 19,332 acres of land within the boundaries of Mesa Verde National Park. During the month of October, an erosion project was conducted along three burned drainages and one unburned drainage, all surrounding the Morfield Campground. This project consisted of multiple transects along each drainage as well as a sediment catchment at the base of each drainage. Results of this study show that erosion increased within drainages found in the burned area as compared to the unburned area. Because most of the erosion occurred in the form of rills from the hillslopes, with sediment being transported through the drainage path instead of incision of the path itself, future studies of the hillslopes might be more conclusive.