SUSTAINABILITY OF MOWING FUEL BREAKS: RESILIENCE OF SAGEBRUSH RANGELANDS

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: HATCH
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 0226081
• Project Start Date: Jul 1, 2011
• Project End Date: Jun 30, 2016
• Program Code: [(N/A)]- (N/A)

Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA
(N/A)
RENO,NV 89557

Performing Department
Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences

Non Technical Summary
NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY At the dry end of the big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) species zone, a cheatgrass-driven fire cycle has greatly exacerbated the impacts of fire during in the past decade. Big sagebrush plant communities are increasingly at risk of burning repeatedly in a cycle that can eliminate sagebrush and drive out sagebrush-dependent wildlife. Native perennials such as bunchgrasses are the best weapon to keep cheatgrass from controlling the future. Land treatments or wildfire can increase these perennials by periodically reducing sagebrush which competes with them. However, treatments and wildfires can also eliminate sagebrush and increase cheatgrass and other exotic annuals, thus raising opposition to treatments. Data for over six thousand treatment or wildfire events have been collected from agency files and other sources, in a project funded by several state and federal agencies including UNR. The two treatments with the largest potential for sampling and therefore learning from the variation are mowing and wildfire. Sampling across wide areas of Nevada will address areas of differing soil and productivity. Treatments will be compared with nearby untreated areas. Analysis of post-event vegetation data will seek to estimate the level of shrub cover and other vegetation that signals whether the disturbance will enhance perennials or annuals. Analysis of vegetation data along with knowledge of the past land use management will empower sustainable management of land uses such as grazing. Determining which treatments work under what conditions will support UNCE and resident instruction and education efforts to direct land managers toward healthy, productive and resilient rangelands. This would provide multiple benefits, including a reduction in the catastrophic kinds of wildfire; maintenance or improvement of forage production; better functioning sagebrush obligate habitats; and reduced land management costs.

Animal Health Component

(N/A)

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

(N/A)

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
121	0710	1070	100%

Knowledge Area
121 - Management of Range Resources;

Subject Of Investigation
0710 - Desert and semidesert shrub land and shinnery;

Field Of Science
1070 - Ecology;

Keywords

ecological thresholds

wyoming sagebrush

fire

mowing

fuel treatments

cheatgrass

perennial plants

bunchgrass

Goals / Objectives
Objectives This proposal is an addition to the larger "Synergistic Monitoring for Adaptive Vegetation Management in the Sagebrush Ecosystem of the Great Basin" (SymMon) project, which involves the harvesting and analysis of past wildfire and land treatment implementation, location, and monitoring data from numerous agencies, academia, and other organizations. Using SynMon data, we will focus on specific ecological sites that are most vulnerable to loss of resiliency and change in flammability due to invasion by cheatgrass and other annuals. We will study the operational characteristics of lands subjected to ongoing multiple use management that cause them to increase resilience when treated by mowing to create fuels breaks. Or conversely, to express loss of resilience as they further transition across an irreversible threshold to cheatgrass and other invasive plants. The objectives of this study are to: 1) Compare the response of vegetation to wildfire and to mowing of sagebrush to create fuel breaks by measuring the change in cover of bare soil, litter, rock, cryptogam, basal area, % live and dead or decadent shrubs, native graminoids, introduced grasses, native forbs and exotic forbs, each by species. 2) Determine the pre-treatment conditions that predict post-treatment response. 3) Determine how these effects vary across ecological sites within the Wyoming big sagebrush zone. 4) Determine how treatment effects differ through time. 5) Search for response patterns related to ancillary factors including season, duration, or intensity of livestock use; agency horse management; other human disturbances such as off highway vehicles; weed infestations; topography or elevation; and timing of the treatment.

Project Methods
METHODOLOGY 1) Use BLM GIS data (and other agencies data as applicable) to map treatments 2) Identify any of treatment segments for which pre-treatment vegetation is available and prioritize these for selection. 3) Place identify combinations for which there is excess or inadequate redundancy. 4) Identify untreated control areas and randomly select a macro-plot location in the homogenous treatment and adjacent control. 6) Use pre and post-fire air photographs and soil maps to identify locations along the fire margin where conditions are likely to have been homogeneous before a wildfire and thus provide a valid comparison between adjacent burned and unburned macroplots. 7) Identify any of these fire margin segments for which pre-treatment vegetation data are available and prioritize these for selection. 9) Document and photograph the location of randomly selected comparable and adjacent treatment and control macro-plot locations. 12) Randomly locate two transects for collecting a series of 100 dimensionless cover points - for collecting the data. 13) Estimate ground and foliar cover using line point transect 15) On five randomly selected individual shrubs of each species, measure shrub and tree canopy dimensions, 16) Record the relative abundance of any species on each macro-plot not identified by point cover data. 17) For each vascular plant observed, note the dominant age class(es) (seedling, mature, decadent, dead) of that species. 18) Characterize the soil profiles to clarify that both the treatment and control sites are in the same soil type and identify their ecological site. Also record the slope, aspect, elevation, estimated annual precipitation, and indicators of livestock, horse, or OHV use. 19) Ask agency range management specialists about the pre-treatment management 20) Analyze data and test hypotheses: 21) Graduate students write mowing analyses into a thesis or dissertation in a form designed for submission of chapters to refereed journals. 22) John Swanson and SymMon collaborators write wildfire and combined mowing and wildfire analyses into refereed journal articles and then into extension publications.

Progress 07/01/11 to 06/30/16

Outputs
Target Audience:Public and private sagebrush ecosystem rangeland managers who are interested in effective and durable projects to obaintain or retain resilience, improve habitats, or decrease landscape scale fire risk in Wyoming big sagebrush communities. Changes/Problems:Some of the sites previously samples have been retreated and were no longer analyzable as part of a single treatment dataset. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The graduate student has submitted his thesis to review by the UNR advising committee. He is ready to use these experiences in seeking employment. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Along the way, results of this project have been presented to others in a variety of formats, publications professsional abstracts for posters, and an oral presentation on a Society for Range Management field tour. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?One publication is in review, another is in internal review, and a third is in the form of a thesis for eventual submission to a journal.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Work this year was focused on final field sampling and data analysis leading to the publications listed above, including ongoing publication efforts.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Swanson, S. R., J. C. Swanson, P. J. Murphy, J. K. McAdoo, and B. W. Schultz. 2016. Mowing Wyoming Big Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp.wyomingensis) Cover Effects Across Northern and Central Nevada. Rangeland Ecology and Management, 69:360-372.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2017 Citation: Swanson, John C., Peter J. Murphy, Sherman R. Swanson, Brad W. Schultz, and J. Kent McAdoo. Submitted (RAMA-D- 16-00166). Plant Community Factors Influencing Wyoming Big Sagebrush Site Responses to Fire. J Rangeland Ecology and Management.
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Under Review Year Published: 2015 Citation: Church, Matt. Plant community response to mowing in Wyoming big sagebrush plant communities in Nevada
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Church, M., Swanson, S. R. 2016. Vegetation response to mowing in Wyoming big sagebrush plant communities in the Great Basin. Society for Range Management Annual Meetings, January 31-February 4 Corpus Christy, TX.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Swanson, S. 2016. Importance of Landscape Scale Invasive Grass Control for Fire and Sagebrush Ecosystem Conservation. 11th Annual Winter Weed Conference, Eastern Nevada Landscape Coalition. January 13-14 Ely, NV.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Swanson, S. and K. McAdoo. 2016. Mowing Wyoming Big Sagebrush for Resilient Fuel Breaks. Nevada Society for Range Management Summer Tour. July 29, Eureka Co, NV

Progress 10/01/14 to 09/30/15

Outputs
Target Audience:Bureau of Land Management and their stakeholders,ranchers, fire and fuels managers, rangeland ecologists. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The graduate student has been conducting data analysis and Thesis writing. An undergraduate student was employed for the summer field season in field research. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Preliminary results have been discussed with audiences including the Nevada Setion, Society for Range Management, and Nevada Sagebrush Ecosystem Program. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The student will progress toward finishing his thesis. The Rangeland ecologist will continue to edit and prublish three papers in internal review.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? One paper is submitted and is in review, a thesis is in development, and three papers are drafted for internal review.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Swanson, John C., Peter J. Murphy, Sherman R. Swanson, Brad W. Schultz, and J. Kent McAdoo. In Preparation. Spatial heterogeneity among burned Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis plant communities
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Church, M., Swanson, S. R. 2016. Vegetation response to mowing in Wyoming big sagebrush plant communities in the Great Basin. Society for Range Management Annual Meetings, January 31-February4 Corpus Christy, TX.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2016 Citation: Swanson, S. R., J. C. Swanson, P. J. Murphy, J. K. McAdoo, and B. W. Schultz. In Review Wyoming Big Sagebrush Site Resilience after Mowing in Nevada. Rangeland Ecology and Management. RAMA-D-15-00098.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Swanson, John C., Peter J. Murphy, Sherman R. Swanson, Brad W. Schultz, and J. Kent McAdoo. In Preparation. Plant Community Factors Influencing Wyoming Big Sagebrush Site Responses to Fire. J Rangeland Ecology and Management.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Swanson, John C., Peter J. Murphy, Sherman R. Swanson, Brad W. Schultz, and J. Kent McAdoo. In Preparation. Temporal influences on burned Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis plant community responses

Progress 10/01/13 to 09/30/14

Outputs
Target Audience: Contacted the Ely, Carson City, and Eagle Lake BLM Field Offices and the USFS Bridgeport Ranger District to locate additional Wyoming Big Sagebrush mowing projects conducted by these agencies since 2000. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Prepared and displayed a poster at the 2014 CABNR/NAES/UNCE Main Station Field Day to keep the public informed of our research progress Prepared a poster and presented our research progress at the 2015 Society for Range Management Annual Meeting in Sacramento, CA What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? A second year of data will be collected from mowing sites from across the State of Nevada to dtetect temporal trends.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Located 22 individual sagebrush mowing projects conducted within the Carson City BLM District totaling over 2,500 treated acres Located 18 individual sagebrush mowing projects conducted within the Ely BLM District totaling over 12,800 treated acres Evaluated BLM project data and satellite imagery within GIS to determine the feasibility and appropriateness of including individual mowing projects in our research Identified 9 individual mowing projects totaling over 1,600 acres in the Carson City BLM District and 9 projects totaling over 6,200 acres in the Ely BLM District which met our criteria for inclusion in our research Developed a strategy for the random stratification of data collection locations within each mowing project based on USDA-NRCS soil map units Generated randomly located data collection points within ArcMap 10.0 Visited and evaluated the 18 mowing projects within the Ely and Carson City BLM Districts identified as suitable for inclusion in our research Following the data collection protocol of Swanson et al. (2014, in review), 37 study replicates were established and basal and foliar cover, sagebrush canopy volume, and site specific data were collected at 5 mowing projects in the Carson City BLM District and 7 projects in the Ely BLM District Carson City BLM: Bluebird 2 Replicates Brunswick Extension 2 Moundhouse 2 Petersen Mountain 6 Upper Colony 3 Ely BLM: Batterman Wash 3 Replicates Bullwhack 3 Copper Flat 5 Gleason Creek 4 Moorman Ranch 2 Rice Cemetery 2 Worthington Mountain 3 Paper data forms were copied and saved to a digital format Basal and foliar cover data were analyzed to determine the differences between mowed and unmowed paired locations

Publications

Progress 01/01/13 to 09/30/13

Outputs
Target Audience: This research targets those interested in the ecology and management of Wyoming big sagebrush rangelands, especially those interested in improving sage grouse and other wildlife habitat or keeping it from burning in large areas at once. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? A graduate student is preparing to complete the final phases of the project. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Three posters have been presented at an agricultural experiment station field day, a regional conference and will be presented at an international conference. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Four journal articles will be advanced through writing and submission to journals.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Results are being written for four journal article publications. Three posters have been presented at a field day, regional conference, and for an international conference.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Swanson, S. R., J. C. Swanson, P. J. Murphy, J. K. McAdoo, and B. W. Schultz (in preparation) Wyoming Big Sagebrush Site Resilience after Mowing in Nevada. Rangeland Ecology and Management.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Swanson, Sherman, John Swanson, Peter murphy, Kent McAdoo, and Brad Schultz. 2013 Temporal Resilience vs. exotic domination after mowing Wyoming Big Sagebrush fuel breaks. Main Station Field Day Sept. 14. Reno, NV
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Swanson, Sherman, John Swanson, Peter murphy, Kent McAdoo, and Brad Schultz. 2013 Regional Resilience vs. exotic domination after mowing Wyoming Big Sagebrush fuel breaks. Main Station Field Day Sept. 14. Reno, NV
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Swanson, Sherman, John Swanson, Peter murphy, Kent McAdoo, and Brad Schultz. 2013 Perennial Resilience vs. exotic domination after mowing Wyoming Big Sagebrush fuel breaks. Main Station Field Day Sept. 14. Reno, NV

Progress 01/01/12 to 12/31/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Field work and related requirements, reviews and/or work plans were collaboratively developed based on inputs from UNCE, BLM, NDOW, USFS, and other people; and the general collaboration group. Central Nevada field work accomplished (via this and other leveraged funding sources) in Esmeralda, Eureka, Lander, and Nye counties. Planned, coordinated and implemented field studies on 30 mowing and 13 companion wildfire event sites (total sites studied since project inception now stands at 76 sagebrush mowed and 41 wildfire and paired control sites). All data cataloged, organized and entered onto digital spreadsheet. Preliminary statistical testing (normalization, regression, correlation, variance, ordination) of data initiated; draft publication work begun. Completed formal and informal presentations concerning the sagebrush mowing/companion wildfire data base and activities; data harvesting coordination with targeted offices and their higher headquarters; travel to field offices and local headquarters; successful searches/importation of information within targeted offices, over the wire, or here at UNR; budgeting/expenditure monitoring; providing periodic reports to collaborators. DISSEMINATION: All information/data shared with USDA (ARS, Humboldt-Toiyabe NF, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station), USDI (BLM, FWS), USGS (GBILMPP), SageSTEP, NAES, NDF, NDOW, UNR, UNCE, Washoe County, Eastern Nevada Landscape Coalition, Great Basin Institute, NE Nevada Stewardship Group, ranching community, and general public representatives. Sharing occurred via State and local formal and informal meeting, workshop, discussion, seminar and e-mail settings. Supported and/or participated in several events/ activities/ processes, including the NAES Field Day, Science Olympiad, UNR Range Club Mock Interviews, Bi-State Sage Grouse Initiative Executive Committee meeting, NDOW wildfire field study projects, joint NRCS-UNR state and transition model/ESD validation workshops; and the Student World Water Forum, each of which presented opportunities to share mowing and wildfire related information. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals: PI (led overall effort; provided project and presentation guidance; maintained upper-level communications; integrated labor and funding resources; facilitated key meetings; supervised rangeland ecologist). Rangeland Ecologist (gathered data; conducted day-to-day project management; prepared reports and presentations). Partner organizations: Representatives of USDA (ARS, Humboldt-Toiyabe NF, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station), USDI (Nevada/ California BLM; Nevada/Oregon FWS), USGS (GBILMPP), SageSTEP, NAES, NDF, NDOW, UNR, UNCE, Washoe County, Eastern Nevada Landscape Coalition, Great Basin Institute, NE Nevada Stewardship Group, ranching community, and the general public. These folks provided information, sites and/or other things necessary for us to build event data bases, design field studies and collect field data; conduct statistical analysis; identify knowledge gaps most relevant to their particular missions or other goals; and for other support (such as maps, vehicle, and historical management information). Our process provided training and professional development to all of the above. TARGET AUDIENCES: Primary target audiences are the agency and private land management community, and those (such as scientists and the general public) who do not manage land but have a voice or interest therein. It is believed that our personal interaction and multiple direct and indirect project sharing information efforts described earlier have and will help with their decision making and understanding of Wyoming big sagebrush ecosystems, and how mowing and wildfire can either beneficially or detrimentally interact with these systems. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Wildfire site studies will help us better quantify vegetation thresholds; mowing studies will help us better understand the feasibility of preventing sites from reaching these thresholds. Although statistical testing and refereed papers have not yet been completed, the following impacts of our information development and sharing efforts are indicated and have been shared with our collaborators and others: 1. Support and reinforcement for fundamentals and processes of critical Nevada-centric sagebrush ecological site update, and state and transition modeling efforts. 2. High replicate/low intensity field data collection methods can meet both science and local management requirements; can generate statistically significant data; and can identify and explain wildfire and land treatment response variability across larger geographic domains. 3. Study of existing, widely distributed wildfire and mowing sites can lend better insights into temporally and spatially diverse, longer-term vegetation and other responses to these events than can shorter-term, spatially-constrained study approaches. 4. Collaborative approach in study design and implementation can lead to issue- and need-driven, relevant and low-cost field studies and data generation. 5. Data are providing agency and other people with insights into longer-term outcomes and the efficacy of mowing sagebrush, thus improving their predictive abilities (and/or reinforcing that which they already know). 6. Observed ecological responses do not always conform with those discovered by other prominent Great Basin investigators. Our data will help explain the situation-based reasons for these differences, and fill knowledge gaps as well. 7. Historical monitoring and other investigative data of older wildfires and mowing areas do provide insights into ecological responses. But, because of historically inconsistent collection approaches, older monitoring information cannot as a rule be used to develop statistically significant inference. SynMon and collaborator efforts in scaling and standardizing the monitoring approaches will help future investigators gain more use of today's agency, science, and other monitoring information.

Publications

• 1. Swanson, J., Swanson, S., Schultz, B., McAdoo, K. 2012. Synergistic Monitoring for Adaptive Management. Poster presentation, abstract posted in NAES Public Field Day book. Reno, NV. September, 2012.
• 2. Swanson, J., Swanson, S., McAdoo, K., Schultz, B., McCuin, G. 2012. The case for active Wyoming big sagebrush management. The Progressive Rancher (periodical magazine). Elko, NV. October/November 2012.
• 3. Swanson, J., Swanson, S., Schultz, B., McAdoo, K. 2012. Update: Synergistic Monitoring Project. Oral presentation delivered at annual SynMon Collaborators Meeting. State-wide video conference. Abstract posted on Great Basin Science Delivery Project web site. March, 2012.
• 4. Swanson, J. 2012. Monitoring and predicting vegetation changes in sagebrush communities. Oral presentation to general public. Posted on Northeastern Nevada Stewardship Group web site. Elko, NV. February 2012.

Progress 01/01/11 to 12/31/11

Outputs
OUTPUTS: NW Nevada/NE California Field Studies (Humboldt, Pershing, Washoe, Modoc Counties). (Lead Investigator: John Swanson). Planned, coordinated and implemented field studies on 45 different wildfire and land treatment event sites. Consolidated data and shared with all collaborators. Completed the following for the data collected on the 45 NW Nevada/NE California wildfire and land treatment event sites: All data organized and entered onto digital spreadsheet. Compiled data shared with collaborators. Data arcsine-transformed for normalization purposes. Initial regression and correlation runs completed; statistically significant parameter pairs identified. Also worked with one mathematics professor and three mathematics graduate students during the preliminary analysis of the 2010 NE Nevada field data. PARTICIPANTS: The collaborative methods applied in day-to-day operations ensured that products were aligned with the perceived needs of the land management and science community. Field studies, reports and other efforts were structured in a way intended to meet customer needs. Shared SynMon field data and other information with Nevada members of USDA (ARS, Humboldt-Toiyabe NF, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station), USDI (BLM, FWS), USGS (GBILMPP), SageSTEP, NAES, NDF, NDOW, UNR, UNCE, Washoe County, Eastern Nevada Landscape Coalition, Great Basin Institute, NE Nevada Stewardship Group, ranching community, and general public. Many provided feedback and ideas concerning this information. Organized/implemented one State-wide, video-conferenced collaborator meeting For 2011 field studies, conducted several meetings with cognizant land managers to inform them of SynMon goals and objectives, gain permission to conduct studies, and to obtain their ideas and feedback. Participated in several events, such as the NAES Field Day, the Science Delivery Project Vegetation Resilience Workshop, the PJ Initiative video conference, and the annual Nevada Section SRM Meeting. Also participated in the UNR Range Club Mock Interview event, which was intended to prepare graduating students for job interviews. Was actively involved with several initiatives, including the joint NRCS-UNR state and transition model building effort; and the UNCE-USFS vegetation diversification project in Elko County. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audience for this research is the private and public land and fire or fuels managers that design and implement fuels treatment projects. It also includes those who could use mowing to increase the resilience of sagebrush ecosystems by using such a method strategically. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Swanson, J., S. Swanson, K. McAdoo, B. Schultz, G. McCuin. 2011. 2010 Field Studies - NE Nevada Wyoming Big Sagebrush Event Sites. Oral presentation delivered at Science Delivery Project/Nevada Partners in Conservation Workshop: Vegetation Resilience. Winnemucca, NV. Swanson, J., S. Swanson, K. McAdoo, B. Schultz, G. McCuin. 2011. State and Transition Model Applications: Wildfire and Preventative Land Treatments. Oral presentation at annual meeting of the Nevada Section of SRM. Winnemucca, NV. In December, 2011, Northeastern Nevada Stewardship Group representatives invited me to give an oral presentation at their February 2012 meeting in Elko. Swanson, J., S. Swanson, K. McAdoo, B. Schultz, G. McCuin. 2011. 2011 Sharebook. Data base for all SynMon field data collected to date. Has been shared with all project collaborators. Swanson, J. 2011. Some SynMon Project Results. Impromptu oral presentation to NRCS, UNR participants, State and Transition Modelling Workshop. Reno, NV.

Publications

• Swanson, J., S. Swanson, K. McAdoo, B. Schultz, G. McCuin. 2011. Synergistic Monitoring Addressing the Threats and Identifying Opportunities. In: Proceedings Threats to Shrubland Ecosystem Integrity; Logan, UT.
• Swanson, J., S. Swanson, B. Schultz, K. McAdoo, G. McCuin. 2011. Northern Nevada Wyoming Big Sagebrush sites: Addressing Wildfire Threats and Identifying Rangeland Health Opportunities. Poster presented at annual NAES Field Day. Reno, NV.