Pacific Northwest Research Station

2009 Science Accomplishments of the Pacific Northwest Research Station

Message From the Station Director

Looking back, I see that 2009 was a year of hard work and celebration at the Pacific Northwest Research Station. The hard work by our scientists, technicians, administrative support staff, partners, and volunteers allowed us to continue generating information that is used by land managers and policymakers to address pressing questions about climate change, carbon accounting, fuel treatments, and more. For example, station scientists and collaborators developed a GIS-based system for downscaling commonly available gridded climate data to 100 meters. The Olympic National Forest used this new method to simulate effects of climate change across its complex, mountainous terrain.

The station celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Forest Service experimental forest network. Experimental forests provide unique opportunities for long-term research, and the experiments conducted at these sites over the decades have yielded invaluable information about forest management and ecosystem processes. The station welcomed two new sites into the experimental forest network and decommissioned the inactive Young's Bay Experimental Forest on Admiralty Island in southeast Alaska. It was replaced by Héen Latinee near Juneau, which is more accessible and has a higher potential for research among our own scientists and our university partners in Juneau. The second new site is the Olympic Experimental State Forest on Washington's Olympic Peninsula, a result of a new partnership between the station and the Washington Department of Natural Resources. We also celebrated the new Alaska Coastal Rainforest Center, a collaborative venture of the University of Alaska Southeast, University of Alaska Fairbanks, the station, the Forest Service's Alaska Region, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Alaska Region, and the City and Borough of Juneau. The center, located in the Juneau Forestry Science Laboratory, will provide formal and informal education at the university and community school levels as well as professional training relating to coastal rain forest ecosystems.

This year, the station received $13.4 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). This stimulus money is being used to fund nine projects, including the installation of energy-efficient windows at the Olympia Forestry Sciences Laboratory and new stream gauging equipment at the South Umpqua Experimental forest in Oregon. Another project will restore community ecosystems while promoting green jobs in the Puget Sound area. Other projects will yield valuable information about fish and aquatic habitat, fire and fuels, and how the forests of Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington are adapting to and mitigating the effects of climate changes. All these projects were selected based on their ability to create jobs and promote economic recovery, especially in those areas most impacted by the recession. These projects also will help the Forest Service achieve management practices that promote and provide clean air, clean water, wildlife habitat, and recreational opportunities.

In 2009, the station completed a realignment process that began with an evaluation of the station's ability to implement the strategic business plan, which, among other things, outlines our future research priorities and areas of emphasis. The net effect is six new research programs that optimize the station's capacity to produce relevant, quality science and attract stakeholder support. With this new groundwork in place, I'm confident in our ability to do timely research with long-term value.

Contents

100 Years of Experimental Forest

Ecological Process & Function Program Accomplishments

Focused Science Delivery Program Accomplishments

Goods, Services, and Values Program Accomplishments

Land and Watershed Management Program Accomplishments

Resource Monitoring and Assessment Program Accomplishments

Threat Characterization and Management Program Accomplishments

Learning Events

Conservation Education

Honors and Awards

Publication Statistics

Finances and Workforce

PNW Research Station Organization