Forest Management Commons^™

Fire Managers Field Guide: Hazardous Fuels Management In Subtropical Pine Flatwoods And Tropical Pine Rocklands, Joseph J. O'Brien, Kathyryn A. Mordecai, Leslie Wolcott, James Snyder, Kenneth Outcalt

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Preface This document, The Fire Managers Field Guide: Hazardous Fuels Management in Sub-tropical Pine Flatwoods and Tropical Pine Rocklands is intended to provide an overview of techniques and tactics under actual use for addressing hazardous fuels in tropical and subtropical pine forests found in Florida, the Bahamas and elsewhere in the Caribbean. The information presented here was distilled from peer reviewed literature, technical reports, and the experiences of on-theground fire managers. Managing fuels is complex and idiosyncratic. This guide is intended to provide only a broad introduction to currently available techniques; some well known and others newer and untested. The …

Cross-Training Professionals On Reducing Property Loss At The Wildland-Urban Interface, Anne S. Fege

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Most wildfire education programs have relied primarily on homeowner information and education. This project focuses on the role of business professionals who are often hired to design, build, maintain or mitigate the home and surrounding landscape or who otherwise advise homeowners and affect their decisions. Such professionals include architects, builders, insurance agents, landscape architects and contractors, planners, media, real estate professionals and others. The findings of this project were three-fold. First, by participating in this program, businesses and professionals gain a marketable service in the form of a greater understanding in wildfire mitigation as well as better business practices with …

Developing An Analysis And Planning Framework For District-Level Fuels Treatment Projects (Final Project Report), Alan Ager

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Widespread fuel reduction programs have been initiated in many parts of the USA in response to a growing threat of wildland fire. Urban encroachment, fuels buildup from fire suppression, and drought all have been linked to increasing wildfire frequency and severity. Developing effective mitigation strategies is a challenging problem, especially on vast tracts of federally-managed wildlands in the western U.S. Fuel reduction activities on Federal lands are generally difficult to plan and implement due to cost, public expectations, and land management regulations. State of the art wildfire modeling is frequently required to demonstrate the benefits of fuels reduction treatments and …

Developing A Science Integration Strategy For Jfsp, Jamie Barbour

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The mission of the Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) is to produce high quality research findings to inform wildland fire and fuel managers’ decisions. Since its inception in 1998, the program has funded nearly 400 studies and has generated a tremendous amount of information and analytical tools. As the JFSP moves into the future, a Science Delivery Strategy is needed to: 1) ensure that this base of information finds application, and 2) create a more systematic way to identify and organize new work that will encourage its rapid assimilation by the management community. The attached Science Delivery Strategy was developed …

Development And Demonstration Of Smoke Plume, Fire Emissions, And Preand Post-Prescribed Fire Fuel Models On North Carolina Coastal Plain Forest Ecosystems, Robert Meckler, Gary Achtemier, Chris Geron, Miriam Rorig, David Brownlie

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The objectives are to (1) Inventory, map, and model live and down woody debris/fuels biomass utilizing USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis P2 and P3 field plot protocols, develop fuel loading formulas for fire behavior models in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge and the Air Force Dare County Bombing Range in the North Carolina Coastal Plain, and incorporate data from Coastal Plain forest types into the fuel characteristic classification (FCC) system and the FARSITE fire behavior model; (2) Validate the USDA Forest Service PB-Coastal Plain smoke model, the BlueSky smoke prediction system, and the BlueSky Rapid Access Information …

Digital Photo Series (Natural Fuels Photo Series), Clinton S. Wright, Robert E. Vilnakek, Roger D. Ottmar, Paige C. Eagle

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The Digital Photo Series (DPS) is a web-based application that provides access to the Natural Fuels Photo Series database and photographs. The DPS works through a user’s internet browser, but has also been designed to work as a stand-alone application when the computer is disconnected from the internet. A user-friendly interface allows users to browse, query, and download photo series data and high-quality photographs. The Digital Photo Series is intended to complement, not replace, the printed photo series volumes.

A Comprehensive Guide To Fuels Treatment Fractices For Ponderosa Pine In The Black Hills, Colorado Front Range, And Southwest, M. E. Hunter, W. D. Shepperd, L. B. Lentile, J. E. Lundquist, M. G. Andreu, J. L. Butler, F. W. Smith

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The objective of this paper is to present recommendations for fuels treatments in ponderosa pine forests in the Southwest, Colorado Front Range, and Black Hills of South Dakota. We have synthesized existing knowledge from the peer-reviewed literature and administrative studies and acquired local knowledge through a series of discussions with fuels treatment practitioners. We describe specific treatments, the circumstances under which they can be applied, and treatment effects. We provide recommendations related to where, how, and how often fuels treatments may be prescribed to achieve desired outcomes. Desired outcomes address social, political, economic, and ecological factors.

Soil Response To Season And Interval Of Prescribed Fire In A Ponderosa Pine Forest Of The Blue Mountains, Oregon, D. Zabowski, W. G. Thies, J. Hatten, A. Ogden

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Soil properties were examined at a season of burn and burn interval study located in the Malheur National for responses to prescribed burns used to reduce fuel loads and wildfire hazard. Prescribed burn comparisons included spring vs. fall burning, with either one 15-year interval burn or two 5-year interval burns of each season. Results showed that major change to soil organic matter was a reduction in the amount of O horizon. The percent bare ground increased with both spring and fall burning and was highest with multiple burns, indicating a loss of O horizon cover. There was also a decrease …

Effects Of Fuel Treatments And Wildfire On The Avifauna Of The Pine Rockland Ecosystem In Southern Florida., John D. Lloyd, Gary L. Slater, Skip Snow, James R. Snyder

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The response of plants and animals in the pine forests of southern Florida to variation in fire and hydrological regimes remains inadequately described, hindering the ability of resource managers to manipulate fire and water to achieve desired ecological outcomes. In this study, we took advantage of natural variation in two measures of fire history (the number of days since last fire and the number of times an area had been burned during the previous ten years) and one measure of hydrology (water table elevation) to explore how plants, breeding birds, and wintering birds in slash-pine (Pinus elliottii var. densa) forests …

Effects Of Fire Severity And Distance From Unburned Edge On Mammalian Community Post-Fire Recovery, Jay Diffendorfer, Wayne Spencer, Scott Tremor, Jan Beyers

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

This final report summarizes key findings relative to the five major objectives listed in our proposal, along with the crosswalk of accomplished and future deliverables. Additional details concerning objectives, methods, results, and recommendations are presented in Attachment A. Each of our major objectives is listed below with a brief summary of findings to date. Because we only recently finished the final session of data collection, all findings are preliminary and may change as more comprehensive statistical analyses are completed. 1. Evaluate the effects of fire on southern California rodent, large mammal, and bat diversity and study patterns of post fire …

Effects Of Fire On Kuenzler’S Hedgehog Cactus (Echinocereus Fendleri Var. Kuenzleri), David B. Wester, Colton M. Britton

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Kuenzler’s cactus (Echinocereus fendleri var. kuenzleri [Castetter, Pierce and Schwerin] L. Benson]) is a federally- and state-listed endangered species that is known to occur in pinyon-juniper habitat in the mountains of south central New Mexico in Lincoln, Otero, Chaves and Eddy counties. Presence of this species affects the management of its habitat with prescribed burning. However, there has been no research that has documented the response of Kuenzler’s cactus to fire. This project was initiated in 2002 to provide information on habitat characteristics of Kuenzler’s cacti and to investigate its response to fire. Because of the protected status of the …

Interactions Among Prescribed Fire, Soil Attributes, Fungal Mats, And Mycorrhizal Fungus Fruiting Patterns In An Old-Growth Pinus Ponderosa / Abies ConcolorStand In Crater Lake National Park, Oregon, Usa, Kermit Cromack, Randy Molina, Jane E. Smith, James M. Trappe, Efren Cazares-Gonzales, Mary Rasmussen, Matt Trappe

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The first of its kind, Soil characteristics tend to occur as a suite, Pre-treatment patterns: a silver lining, Prescribed burn treatment effects on soil attributes, Fruiting patterns primarily influenced by soil C:N ratios, Fungal indicator guilds, Prescribed burn treatment effects on fungal fruiting patterns, Prescribed burn treatment effects on fungal mats, Summary and take-home message.

Soil Response To Season And Interval Of Prescribed Fire In A Ponderosa Pine Forest Of The Blue Mountains, Oregon, D. Zabowski, W. G. Thies, J. Hatten, A. Ogden

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Soil properties were examined at a season of burn and burn interval study located in the Malheur National for responses to prescribed burns used to reduce fuel loads and wildfire hazard. Prescribed burn comparisons included spring vs. fall burning, with either one 15-year interval burn or two 5-year interval burns of each season. Results showed that major change to soil organic matter was a reduction in the amount of O horizon. The percent bare ground increased with both spring and fall burning and was highest with multiple burns, indicating a loss of O horizon cover. There was also a decrease …

Fuels Reduction In A Western Coniferous Forest: Effects On Two Sympatric Ungulates And Their Habitat, Ryan A. Long, Janet Rachlow, Marty Vavra, John G. Kie

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

We evaluated effects of an experimental fuels reduction program on elk, mule deer, and their habitat at the Starkey Experimental Forest and Range (Starkey) in northeastern Oregon. From 2001 to 2003, 26 stands of true fir and Douglas-fir that suffered high rates of mortality from an outbreak of spruce budworm were selectively thinned (spring or summer) and burned (fall) while 27 similar stands were left untreated to serve as experimental controls. We used location data for elk and mule deer collected during spring (1 April–14 June) and summer (15 June–31 August) of 1999–2006 to compare use of treated and untreated …

The Science Of Targeting Within Landscapes And Watersheds To Improve Consevation Effectiveness, Todd Walter, Mike Dosskey, Madhu Khanna, Jim Miller, Mark Tomer, John Wiens

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Our ernphasis in this chapter has been an the science that underlies efforts to target conservation efforts to enhance the effeciiveness (and cost-effectiveness) of management, mitigation and restoration.

Policy Tools For Smart Growth In New England, New England Environmental Finance Center

Smart Growth

Across New England communities have been experiencing a rapid outward surge of development away from our community and downtown centers. Effects of sprawl include a loss of wildlife habitat, farm and timber lands; increased costs of community services and higher taxes; auto-dependency, longer commutes, and increased congestion; increases in air and water pollution; a sedentary lifestyle and increased obesity; and losses to one’s sense of place and social ties.

State-level responses to sprawl have surfaced throughout New England in recent years. This report describes 11 examples of these responses, representing all six New England states and a diversity of recent …

Blanding’S Turtle (Emydoidea Blandingii): A Technical Conservation Assessment, Justin D. Congdon, Douglas A. Keinath

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Blanding’s turtles (Emydoidea blandingii) are secure in Nebraska, and they range from being vulnerable to threatened, or endangered throughout most of the rest of their distribution. In Region 2, they have not been reported from Kansas, they are extremely rare in South Dakota, and they occupy wetlands in the northern half of Nebraska. The largest population known within the range of Blanding’s turtles is at Valentine National Wildlife Refuge, Nebraska.

The core habitat of Blanding’s turtles has an aquatic component that consists of a permanent wetland and a suite of other, usually smaller and more temporary, wetlands such …

A Comparison Of Presettlement Vegetation And Fire Regimes With Current Patterns In Oak Woodlands And Shrublands Of Sw Oregon, Patricia S. Muir Dr., Paul Hosten Dr.

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Fuel reduction efforts on BLM lands in southwestern Oregon are motivated by the need to reduce fire hazard and restore and rehabilitate ecosystems. Successful ecosystem restoration depends, in part, on understanding the target: what ecosystem model is considered natural and healthy for a given area? Oak (Quercus garryana) woodlands and shrublands are two of the most characteristic ecosystems in interior valleys of southwest Oregon, and extensive acreages within these systems are treated annually for fuel reduction. However, these are also two of the least understood ecosystems in the region. We know little about their presettlement attributes, responses to disturbance, or …

An Internet Based Portal For Fire Science And Management In The Southern Region

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Task 1 – Organize a technical advisory team and host an initial workshop to explore methods for integrating FRAMES, TTRS, and ESFS websites.

Task 2 – Identify and acquire data, tools, and publications from funded JFSP and NFP projects working with the JFSP and NFP project databases and principal investigators. Also, when possible identify and acquire data and tools used and created by others in the wildland fire community including state agencies, educational institutions, and non-governmental organizations.

Task 3 – Develop and post online FGDC metadata records for all datasets from funded JFSP and NFP projects as well as key …

Developing And Extending Sustainable Agriculture: A New Social Contract, Michele Schoeneberger, Gary Bentrup, Charles A. Francis, Richard Straight

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Conclusions

Based on the practical community applications of woody buffe rs and multifuncti onal areas that grew from the ini tial concepts ofecobelts. we are convinced that this type of initiative is a viable option in establishing a positive interface between different types of human activities. The challenge becomes more real every day, as cities expand and both city-edge subdivisions and acreages create ever more interfaces between people with different and often con!1icting activities and basic values. There is a need to provide some logical and acceptable boundary between these people and their different lifestyles. It is also desirable to …

Analyses Of High Resolution Hyperspectral Imagery For Characterization Of Ponderosa Pine Woodlands, Cullen R. Robbins

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The Bessey Unit of the Nebraska National Forest is a planted ponderosa pine forest located in the Nebraska Sand Hills. Planted in the early 20th Century, it provides a unique opportunity to study the effects of ponderosa pine establishment on the surrounding grassland ecosystem and the effects of increasing pine density on the forest ecosystem. It has been hypothesized that there are key levels of canopy cover at which shifts in ecosystem function occur. The goal of this research was to use remotely sensed data to develop a reliable method for estimating canopy cover. More specifically, canopy cover was estimated …

Slides: Funding For Acquisitions: Creative And Emerging Mechanisms To Tap Private Funds, Peter R. Stein

Community-Owned Forests: Possibilities, Experiences, and Lessons Learned (June 16-19)

Presenter: Peter R. Stein, General Partner, The Lyme Timber Company, Hanover, NH

9 slides

Slides: Forest Grove Municipal Watershed: Using Citizen Involvement To Break Gridlock, Scott Ferguson

Community-Owned Forests: Possibilities, Experiences, and Lessons Learned (June 16-19)

Presenter: Scott Ferguson, City of Forest Grove, OR

23 slides

Slides: The Downhill Lever Of Current Forest Finance, Tom Tuchmann

Community-Owned Forests: Possibilities, Experiences, and Lessons Learned (June 16-19)

Presenter: Tom Tuchmann, US Forest Capital, Portland, OR

6 slides

Slides: Forestry On The Yakama Reservation: The Balancing Of Natural Resources Management, Philip Rigdon

Community-Owned Forests: Possibilities, Experiences, and Lessons Learned (June 16-19)

Presenter: Philip Rigdon, Yakama Nation, Toppenish, WA

64 slides

Slides: Sustainable Forest Management Of Community Forest Lands: It's A Matter Of Balance, Dave Epperly

Community-Owned Forests: Possibilities, Experiences, and Lessons Learned (June 16-19)

Presenter: Dave Epperly, St. Louis County Forest, MN

28 slides

Slides: Long Term Forest Management: Creating A Forest Management Plan, Don Johnson

Community-Owned Forests: Possibilities, Experiences, and Lessons Learned (June 16-19)

Presenter: Don Johnson, Forest Land Improvement, Inc., NH town forests

51 slides

Slides: New England Forestry Foundation: Private Forests For The Public Good Since 1944, Frank Reed

Community-Owned Forests: Possibilities, Experiences, and Lessons Learned (June 16-19)

Presenter: Frank Reed, New England Forestry Foundation

9 slides

Slides: Long Term Management Of Community Forests: Some Eomf Partner Perspectives, Brian Barkley

Community-Owned Forests: Possibilities, Experiences, and Lessons Learned (June 16-19)

Presenter: Brian Barkley, Ontario Model Forest, Canada

18 slides

Community Forests: A Perspective, Robert Mccullough

Community-Owned Forests: Possibilities, Experiences, and Lessons Learned (June 16-19)

22 pages.

"Robert McCullough teaches in the University of Vermont Graduate Program in Historic Preservation. He wrote The Landscape of Community: Communal Forests in New England."