The importance of low-intensity, periodic fire can be exemplified by this burn, located just outside the Sanford Fire perimeter. The Johnson Bench/Cottonwood Creek Burn Project was designed to remove overdense rabbitbrush to improve the quantity and quality of grasses and forbs within the area. The removal of encroaching pinyon pine and juniper within sagebrush/grassland habitats increases plant diversity, removes heavy fuel buildup and improves watershed conditions. An increase in rangeland habitat also improves distribution of large ungulates across the landscape. Overall, the Johnson Bench/Cottonwood Creek Burn Project rehabilitated approximately 5,500 acres of rangeland.