Other Forestry and Forest Sciences Commons^™

Huchum: The Legacy Of Fire Suppression, Indigenous Land Management, And Media Representation, Carolyn Coyne

Pomona Senior Theses

In my thesis, I examine how various forms of news media from the 1900s to present day in Ohlone territory have framed a particular hegemonic ideology around fire that matches early colonial journal entries – an ideology that is fueled by fear, sensationalism, and exclusion and directly commits violence against the Ohlone people. I investigate this time period because this is when modern news corporations, like The New York Times, rose into prominence. Specifically, I question how media representations of fire inform regulations over controlled burns; what are the similarities in discourse between media framing and policy? What tactics are …

An Assessment Of The California Logging Workforce, Kendra Jean Gerstenberg

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

There is limited literature describing the capacity and capabilities of the logging workforce in California. This study examines the logging workforce in California to quantify the number of logging crews, assess demographic diversity, and evaluate capacity and capabilities. The target population was California Licensed Timber Operators (LTOs) who have the legal right to harvest timber. A survey was developed and distributed to LTOs on the CAL FIRE database. Surveys were also distributed at regional logging conferences or collected by phone. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and emergent coding for follow-up interviews was conducted. There …

An Evaluation Of Fuel Model Accuracy And Multi-Scale Mitigation Strategies In The Wildland-Urban Interface Of Southern Humboldt County, Julia I. Cavalli

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Strategic placement of fuel treatments is critical for mitigating wildfire risk and reducing potential structure losses in wildland-urban interface (WUI) communities. As wildfire activity accelerates across the western United States, the need to identify high-impact fuel treatment locations grows increasingly urgent. Concurrently, housing development in the WUI is expanding, intensifying the exposure of homes and infrastructure to wildfire threats. In response, many communities are looking to mitigate the likelihood and severity of losses during wildfire events. The success of these efforts depends, in part, on robust data to support strategic placement of effective treatments that reduce fuel availability.

This study …

The Everyday Scientist: Down In The Weeds In The Heart Of The South, Pamela Zendt

Master's Projects

The Everyday Scientist: Down in the Weeds in the Heart of the South is a creative nonfiction capstone project that was released as a book. The narrative documents my two-year journey as a community scientist and explores how ordinary people contribute meaningfully to scientific research in the natural world. Rooted in my desire to connect my passion for the outdoors with the goals of the Master of Arts in Professional Writing program, this project illustrates that environmental science is not only for trained professionals. Instead, it thrives on the curiosity, dedication, and participation of volunteers who follow established protocols, collect …

Acer Rubrum: Descending Towards Forest Dominance, Elyssa L. Pearson, Christopher M. Gough

Undergraduate Research Posters

Acer rubrum, more commonly known as the red maple, is a hardwood, late successional species of tree commonly planted for its deciduous nature and vibrant coloring of its leaves in the beginning of autumn (Abrams, 1998). The species is very tolerant of varying light and soil moisture levels and often dominates sub and mid-canopy levels of hardwood forests (Missouri Botanical Gardens). It was hypothesized that as the I moved from an upland location to a lowland location near a wetland that the A. rubrum trees would be more productive and have a greater above ground biomass. This was not …

Linking Empirical Data And Numerical Simulation To Characterize Dynamic Fire Behavior Associated With Interacting Firelines, Marta Sergeevna Jerebets

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Understanding fuel pattern-fire process relationships is key for predicting fire behavior and effects with follow-on benefits to proactive fire management and model validation. To characterize dynamic fire behavior, this thesis leverages empirical data and numerical simulation through two complementary studies.

In the first study, longwave thermal sensors aboard unmanned aerial systems (UAS) were used to capture fine-scale fire behavior in two experimental grass burns. A novel paired design was used to quantify the effects of fuel arrangement on fire behavior with 3.66 m diameter treatments cut to a height of 0.15 m. The treatments ephemerally reduced fire rate of spread …