Fire and Environmental Research Applications Team

News Archive

Prairie Burns in Western Washington in Advance Fire Behavior Model Evaluation

The prairies around Olympia, Washington offered a local opportunity for the Fire and Environmental Research Applications Team (FERA) to study fire behavior in simple fuelbed, one of the steps necessary for validation of fire behavior and fuel consumption models.

In mid-August, a “black line” was burned around three 150 x 150 m plots, making it possible to burn on a dry September day and to collect a rare set of fire behavior, fuels, weather, and air quality data. FERA’s Ruddy Mell stood 85-foot above the burns in a boom lift with his infrared and digital cameras, and below were fire behavior packages, anemometers, digital video cameras, and weather station. Data gathered are in the process of being evaluated.

This past year, FERA’s Roger Ottmar successfully competed for funding of field crew and technical staff salaries on this significant project. It was provided   from the Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station. He also organized the entire operation that included researchers from the Missoula Fire Lab and Pacific Wildland Fire Science Lab, firefighters from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, and a prescribed burn crew from the nonprofit Center for Natural Lands Management.

Every partner in this project contributed very significant amounts of time, materials, and equipment for about two dozen people involved in the burn.

This research leverages a Joint Fire Science Program project, and is likely to lead to further collaborative research with other Department of Defense agencies. It provided an opportunity to develop and test data collection methods in advance of the Fall 2012 RxCADRE burns, and this data is expected to improve the Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Dynamics Simulator (WFDS). (September 2012)

Season of Burning in the South

FERA completed field data collection for an investigation into the effects of season-of-burning on fuel dynamics in Southern pine forests.  Eighteen locations burned by prescribed fires in 2009-10 (nine during the dormant season and nine during the growing season) have been remeasured annually to assess species composition changes, fuel accumulation rates, and live vegetation regrowth.  Study sites were located in northern Florida in flatwoods vegetation types at Eglin Air Force Base, St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, and the Apalachicola National Forest.  Data analysis is ongoing with project completion expected in early 2013.

We acknowledge funding for this project under Joint Fire Science Program #09-1-02-2.(September 2012)

FCCS Installation for Computers Running Java 7.0 or Non-Windows Operating Systems

This installation is necessary for anyone with Java 7.0 installed on their computer or does not have a Microsoft Windows operating system.  If you have a new computer and are having trouble with the normal FCCS version 2.2 windows installer, it is likely that you have Java 7.0 installed and need to use this version of FCCS.(September 2012)

Surface Fuel Treatments in Young, Regenerating Stands Affect Wildfire Severity in a Mixed Conifer Forest, Eastern Cascade Range, Washington, USA

Evaluations of fuel treatment effects in regenerating plantation mixed-conifer forests in Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest were conducted after the 2006 Tripod Complex Fires. Overall, results suggest that young stands in some dry mixed conifer forests can be resilient to wildifire if surface fuel loading is low upon stand establishment. Read more about the topic in the journal Forest Ecology and Managment. Authors are the University of Washington's Christina Lyons-Tinsley and FERA's David L. Peterson. (September 2012)

Properties Affecting the Consumption of Sound and Rotten Coarse Woody Debris in Northern Idaho: A Preliminary Investigation Using Laboratory Fires

In the International Journal of Wildland Fire, FERA's Roger Ottmar joined Josh Hyde and Alistair Smith in an evaluation of coarse woody debris, its decay, and the effect of that decay on fuel consumption. Results indicate very decayed coarse woody debris is likely to be consumed to a substantially greater degree than sound coarse woody debris given similar conditions. High consumption occurred in debris with low-density, high-lignin content and high gravimetric heat content; however, lignin content and density showed the highest correlation with consumption. (September 2012)

Fuel Variability Following Wildfire in Forests with Mixed Severity Fire Regimes, Cascade Range, USA

Measurements of post-burn fuel variability are critical for understanding the ecological significance of mixed severity fires, and help in developing restoration strategies that emulate characteristics of historical fire regimes. Results of this post-fire research conducted on the eastern slopes of Washington's Cascade Range indicate that fire severity influences immediate post-burn canopy fuels and potential fire behavior but does not influence dead and down surface fuel loading for the three fires studied. FERA's Dave Peterson joined the University of Washington's Jessica Hudec in writing this paper for the journal Forest Ecology and Management. (September 2012)

2012 American Geophysical Union Meeting

Don McKenzie will be convening a special session, “Wildfires on Landscapes: Theory, Models, and Management,” at the December AGU meeting in San Francisco.

Maureen Kennedy is presenting “Integrating a Simple Stochastic Fire Spread Model with the Regional Hydro-Ecological Simulation System,” and McKenzie is coauthor on two posters:

• Assessing Accuracy of a Probabilistic Model for Very Large Fire in the Rocky Mountains: A High Park Fire Case Study
• Estimating Biomass Burning Emissions for Carbon Cycle Science and Resource Monitoring and Management (September 2012)

5th International Fire Ecology and Management Congress

Posters:

• The Piled Fuels Biomass and Emissions Calculator (Wright)
• Measuring the Effects of Slash Pile Burning and How Fire Effects Change as Piles Age (Wright)
• Linking the Forest Vegetation Simulator and the Fuel Characteristic Classification System to Improve Fuel Quantification and Fire Behavior Predictions
• Physical Properties of Downed Woody Debris in Mexican Ecosystems (Alvarado)
• Fire History of the Sierra de Manantlán Biosphere Reserve in Western México (Cassell)

Presentations:

• Investigating the Causes of Spatial and Temporal Variation in Burn Severity at Local and Regional Scales in the Washington Cascade Range (Cansler)
• Evaluating Fuel Treatment Efficacy on Arizona’s Largest Wildfire (Johnson)
• Effects of Salvage Logging and Pile-and-burn on Fuel Loading, Potential Fire Behavior, Fuel Consumption, and Emissions After a Windstorm (Johnson)
• Effect of Burn Season on Surface Fuel Dynamics in Mesic Longleaf Pine Flatwoods in Northwest Florida (Cronan)
• Managing Fuels in a Greenhouse World: a Framework for Adaptation (Peterson)
• Characterizing Fuels for Fire and Fuels Management Application  in the 21st Century (Ottmar)
• A Data Set for Fire and Smoke Model Development and Evaluation—RxCADRE Project Progress (Ottmar)

(September 2012)

FERA Joins in UW Effort to Archive Field Data

The Joint Fire Science Program recently funded FERA’s University of Washington cooperators Rob Norheim and Ernesto Alvarado for a 1-year effort to document and archive datasets from 11 completed JFSP projects. These projects have generated high-quality datasets that are potentially valuable to other researchers. Dave Peterson is a co-principal investigator, and other team members will contribute.

Technical Fire Management Class of 2012

Peterson once again helped organize and instruct TFM’s Fire Effects module, which introduces the basics of fire spread as it is currently modeled and the relationship of fire characteristics to fuel bed particles and other fuel bed characteristics. Individual presentations were given by Clint Wright, Morris Johnson, Susan Prichard, and Crystal Raymond.

Ottmar and Alvarado Present at Emission Factor Workshop

FERA’s Roger Ottmar and the University of Washington’s Ernesto Alvarado each presented talks at the “Wildland Fire Particulate Matter Emission Factor Workshop”  on February 7th, 2012 in Atlanta. Sponsored by the Tall Timbers Fire Ecology Program, and Florida A&M University, 34 participants attended in person and 30 through a webinar. Roger presented a talk on advances in characterizing fuels and consumption for inventory of wildland fire emission, and Ernesto presented a talk on the role of smoldering combustion on smoke emissions. A discussion followed to consider the largest errors in with a wildland fire emissions inventory.

Climate Model Workshop at Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals Conference

In the month of May, FERA’s Ellen Eberhardt, along with statistician Ashley Steel from the Pacific Northwest Research Station, will join two university colleagues in Hendersonville, North Carolina. They will present the pre-conference workshop on ways to consider climate models and how their aggregated results could inform a variety of clients. Oregon State University’s Forest Extension Office is supporting this work.

Ruddy Mell Part of Team Recognized for Outstanding Contribution to Fire Science

The International Forum of Fire Research Directors selected the Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) development team to receive the Sjölin Award for 2012. This international award recognizes an outstanding contribution to the science or practice of fire safety engineering and is presented to the individual or group whose efforts are primarily responsible for or traceable to the specified advance.

FERA’s Ruddy Mell was part of a team that is credited with outstanding contributions over the past number of years to advance fire engineering around the world. This team developed, maintained and extended the functionality of a software program, called the FDS (Fire Dynamics Simulator) that has become the tool of choice by both the fire research and fire engineering communities. FDS represents the most widely used computational fire engineering tool in both research and industry. Through its use and application many new insights have emerged, further extending our understanding of the behaviour of fire phenomena.

Incorporated in FDS is WFDS (Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Dynamics Simulator), currently under development and testing, through a joint USFS-FERA and National Institute of Standards and Technology effort, to expand the capability of FDS into natural vegetation. (7/30/12)

Research Burn at Joint Base Lewis-McChord

Grasslands in a restored, natural prairie site on the military’s Joint Base Lewis-McChord, near Olympia, Washington will be the site of three research burns to characterize fuels and monitor fire behavior and fuel consumption. Three 150-m blocks have been established for the research project that will be burned in early August when the grasses have cured and stopped growing.

This burn will allow researchers to gather data for Ruddy Mell’s Wildland-Urban Fire Dynamics Simulator (WFDS); relate field sampling with LiDAR imagery; provide field data to compare with laboratory measurement; and serve as a practice run for data collection methods being developed for the RxCADRE experiment on Florida’s Eglin Air Force Base this fall. Special project funding was provided by the Pacific Northwest Research Station.

Carl Seielstad of the University of Montana and Dan Jimenez and Mark Finney of the Rocky Mountain Research Station’s Missoula Fire Laboratory will be joining FERA’s Roger Ottmar, Ruddy Mell, Bob Vihnanek, and Clint Wright.

FERA’s Mell will be collecting infrared and visible images of the fire front from the boom lift during the fire. Seielstad will simultaneously operate ground LIDAR located on an 85-foot boom lift to characterize the fuels from above while preburn fuels sampling is being done by the FERA field crew, and Jimenez will set up 10 portable wind instruments around each block to characterize the wind profile. He will also position several fire behavior packages within each block. Mark Finney will be collecting ground-level photographic imagery. (7/30/12)

NASA Funds Additional Development of Regional Fire Emissions Products

FERA’s Don McKenzie, in partnership with Nancy French of Michigan Tech Research Institute, successfully competed for research funding from NASA’s Carbon Monitoring System to develop regional emissions products with the Wildland Fire Emissions Information System (WFEIS). Using remote-sensing products from NASA, they will modify current fuels mapping and fuel consumption calculations in WFEIS, thereby improving the quantification of mapped fuels (biomass) across the United States and combustion in deep organic soils of Alaska. (7/30/12)

Quantifying Fuel Treatment Effectiveness on Arizona’s Largest Recorded Wildfire

FERA’s Morris Johnson began data collection to measure how effective fuel treatments were in altering fire behavior of Arizona’s largest recorded wildfire, the 2011 Wallow Fire. The fire burned 212,000 ha on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests in eastern Arizona. Before the fire, more than 21,000 ha had been thinned to reduce wildfire hazard around several WUI communities.

The Wallow Fire burned across a large proportion of these completed treatments. It took a crew of approximately 6 individuals to install linear transects through the treated, and adjacent untreated, stands. Every 100 feet, permanent plots were installed to measure tree variables such as tree height and tree species. Woody dead fuels were measured along Brown’s transects.

Johnson used fire progression maps and fire manager interviews to identify treatment units that burned without the influence of fire suppression activities. He will be quantifying fuel treatment effectiveness by comparing burn severity, tree mortality, and crown scorch between treated stands and adjacent untreated stands. This projected has been funded by the Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment Center, and the Pacific Northwest Research Station. (7/30/12)

WUI Assessment Tool Tested in Colorado Springs Neighborhood

The June/July 2012 Waldo Canyon Fire, in and around the community of Colorado Springs, Colorado, destroyed nearly 350 homes. This tragedy offered the opportunity to test methods of assessing specific damage structures to learn how communities can best protect themselves from such wildland-urban fires. FERA’s Bob Vihnanek and Ernesto Alvarado joined Derek McNamara of McNamara Consulting and a liaison of the Colorado Springs Fire Department to assess about 30 homes (unburned, partially burned, totally burned) with a newly-developed checklist. Developed into an iPhone app, this checklist will facilitate collection of standardized information from fire affected structures within a fire perimeter. Field measurements included structure particulars, specifically roof type, proximity of combustibles to the structure, and damage to wildland and residential vegetation. This basic assessment, called WUI 1, is aimed at standardizing post-WUI fire data collection. Texas Forest Service started using the WUI 1 in 2011. A more detailed WUI 2 assessment has also been developed to further identify structural and landscaping ignition vulnerabilities. The WUI 2 method was utilized to collected data from the Tanglewood Complex Fire in Texas in 2011.  

Alex Maranghides of the National Institute of Standards and Technology is the principal investigator on this research in part funded by the Joint Fire Science Program Project #11-1-3-29. Data collected will also be of use in the development of WFDS program, a collaboration between FERA and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). (7/30/12)

Tune In to Don McKenzie’s Podcast “Scarred for Life”

Don McKenzie became FERA’s podcasting pioneer as he worked with Yasmeen Sands from the Pacific Northwest Research Station to produce a 10-minute podcast on fire and climate change in the inland West. He talks about how his work with fire-scarred trees can reveal spatial patterns and controls of historical fires across the landscape and how these respond to changes in climate. (7/30/12)

Carbon Dynamics of Forests in Washington: U.S. Projections for the 21st Century Based on Climate-Driven Changes in Fire Regimes

FERA's Crystal Raymond and Don McKenzie consider the implications on carbon storage and emissions of future fire regimes under different climate change scenarios. In forests of the Washington Cascades, increases in area burned shift a greater proportion of forests to younger age classes, decreasing carbon stores but increasing annual carbon uptake. More area burned increases carbon emissions from live and dead biomass and increases carbon stores in the form of dead biomass. Forests in the western Washington Cascades are projected to have the greatest percentage increases in consumption of biomass between now and the 2040s as compared with forests in the drier eastern portion of the state. The journal Ecological Applications published this in July of 2012. (7/30/12)

New Joint Fire Science Projects Focus on Model Development

This past April, the Joint Fire Science Program awarded funding for new projects, five of which involve scientists from the FERA team. The first two are directed by the team, and in the last two FERA plays a minor role.

• Developing a Post-Processor to Link the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) and the Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS)

• Evaluation of Optimization of Fuel Treatment Effectiveness with an Integrated Experimental/Modeling Approach

• Data Set for Fuels, Fire Behavior, Smoke and Fire Effects Model Development and Evaluation

• STANDFIRE: An IFT-DSS Module for Spatially Explicit, 3D Fuel Treatment Analysis

McKenzie Leads Review of Smoke Consequences of Global Emission Scenarios

The Joint Fire Science Program recently funded a proposal from FERA’s Don McKenzie, “Smoke Consequences of IPCC's Scenarios Projected Climate and Ecosystem Changes in the US: Review Paper” to coordinate a review of the fire and smoke implications of new global-change scenarios adopted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The review will provide a roadmap for local- and regional-scale modeling of wildfires and smoke emissions and dispersion.(7/30/12)

Fuel Treatment Paper One of the Most Widely Downloaded of 2011

The Canadian Journal of Forest Research lists FERA’s paper, “Simulating Fuel Treatment Effects of the Western United States: Testing the Principles of a Fire-Safe Forest,” as the 10th most downloaded article of 2011. The Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station found that it was the most-downloaded of all the Station’s publication in FY11 – a whopping 470 times from that site alone!

FERA’s Morris Johnson, along with Maureen Kennedy (University of Washington) and David L. Peterson, ran the Fire and Fuels Extension to the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FFE-FVS) using various fuel treatment prescriptions to simulate the effects of thinning and surface fuel treatments in dry forest in 11 western states. Their simulations suggested that the effectiveness of fuel treatments in the West depends on thinning intensity, with the most intense treatments they studied, which leave 50 to 100 trees per acre, being more effective in reducing the threat of crown fires than less-intense treatments. (7/30/12)

FERA Joins in UW Effort to Archive Field Data

The Joint Fire Science Program recently funded FERA’s University of Washington cooperators Rob Norheim and Ernesto Alvarado for a 1-year effort to document and archive datasets from 11 completed JFSP projects. These projects have generated high-quality datasets that are potentially valuable to other researchers. Dave Peterson is a co-principal investigator, and other team members will contribute.(5/14/12)

Technical Fire Management Class of 2012

Dave Peterson once again helped organize and instruct TFM’s Fire Effects module, which introduces the basics of fire spread as it is currently modeled and the relationship of fire characteristics to fuel bed particles and other fuel bed characteristics. Individual presentations were given by Clint Wright, Morris Johnson, Susan Prichard, and Crystal Raymond. (5/14/12)

Ottmar and Alvarado Present at Emission Factor Workshop

FERA’s Roger Ottmar and the University of Washington’s Ernesto Alvarado each presented talks at the “Wildland Fire Particulate Matter Emission Factor Workshop”  on February 7th, 2012 in Atlanta. Sponsored by the Tall Timbers Fire Ecology Program, and Florida A&M University, 34 participants attended in person and 30 through a webinar. Roger presented a talk on advances in characterizing fuels and consumption for inventory of wildland fire emission, and Ernesto presented a talk on the role of smoldering combustion on smoke emissions. A discussion followed to consider the largest errors in with a wildland fire emissions inventory.(5/14/12)

Climate Model Workshop at Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals Conference

In the month of May, FERA’s Ellen Eberhardt, along with statistician Ashley Steel from the Pacific Northwest Research Station, will join two university colleagues in Hendersonville, North Carolina. They will present the pre-conference workshop on ways to consider climate models and how their aggregated results could inform a variety of clients. Oregon State University’s Forest Extension Office is supporting this work. (5/14/12)

Special Issue of Forest Ecology and Management on “Assessing Wildland Fuels and Hazard Mitigation in the Southeastern United States”

A Comparison of Geospatially Modeled Fire Behavior and Fire Management Utility of Three Data Sources in the Southeastern United States

Using Fine-scale Fuel Measurements to Assess Wildland Fuels, Potential Fire Behavior and Hazard Mitigation Treatments in the Southeastern USA

Effectiveness in Forests of the Upper Atlantic Coastal Plain—an Evaluation at Two Spatial Scales

Evaluating Fuel Complexes for Fire Hazard Mitigation Planning in the Southeastern United States

Developing Custom Fire Behavior Fuel Models from Ecologically Complex Fuel Structures for Upper Atlantic Coastal Plain Forests

Effects of Overstory Composition and Prescribed FIre on Fuel Loading Across a Heterogeneous Managed Landscape in the Southeastern USA

Linking 3D Spatial Models of Fuels and Fire: Effects of Spatial Heterogeneity on Fire Behavior

Effects of Bark Beetle-Caused Tree Mortality on Wildfire

FERA’s Morris Johnson joined with 3 other authors to write this review and synthesis of the published literature on modifications to fuels and fire characteristics following beetle-caused tree mortality. They found agreement in some areas, and disagreements or knowledge gaps in other areas – highlighting specific needs for future research. The journal Forest Ecology and Management will be publishing it this month, and it is already available online. (5/14/12)

Fire Experiment Coordinates Data Collection Activities Across Academic Boundaries

The Joint Fire Science Program recently awarded the Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station funding to support collection of data in the spirit of integrating multiple fire research disciplines (fuels, meteorology, fire behavior, remote sensing, smoke, and fire effects) in the field. FERA’s Roger Ottmar is the principal investigator, and the large group of collaborators (RxCADRE) includes researchers from a majority of the U.S. Forest Service Research stations, three institutions of higher education, and other research entities.

Collaborators will intensively monitor from 9 to 15 5-acre prescribed burns and two 1000-acre operational burns, at Florida’s Eglin Air Force Base during the first two weeks in November 2012. Kevin Hiers and Brett Williams of Jackson Guard will be providing logistical support for the research effort. Data from these burns and from previous burns monitored by the RxCADRE (2008 and 2011) will be placed in a repository for use by scientists, modelers, and managers.

Most recently, FERA’s Roger Ottmar, Bob Vihnanek, and Ruddy Mell visited potential burn sites on the base, participated in two small grass burns, and formulated fuel measurement protocols for obtaining the appropriate fuel measurements for use in testing fire behavior models.

(3/12/12)

National Database for Calculating the Fuel-Available-to-Wildfires

A short paper published in EOS describes how the Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS) can be used to estimate emissions from wildfires in real time at subcontinental scales and in a spatially consistent manner. Written by FERA's Don McKenzie and Roger Ottmar, along with Nancy French from Michigan Tech, it includes discussion about the availability of this data in the Wildland Fire Emissions Information System. (3/12/12)

Shaping the Future of Prescribed Fire in Washington

FERA’s Dave Peterson, Morris Johnson, Roger Ottmar, Susan Prichard (University of Washington) and Clint Wright attended the newly-formed Washington State Prescribed Fire Council‘s first annual conference in Wenatchee Washington on March 6 and 7. The council is intended to be a collaborative group working to protect, conserve, and expand the responsible use of prescribed fire on the Washington landscape and joins over 25 similar councils across North America. (3/12/12)

Northwest Fire Science Consortium

Readers in the Pacific Northwest may have heard of the newly-developed Northwest Fire Science Consortium. Sponsored by the Joint Fire Science Program, this consortium joins 10 others across the country. It aims to help connect managers, practitioners and scientists working in the region, provide the best fire information, and demonstrate new knowledge in the field. Oregon State University’s Extension Forestry Program received funding to coordinate consortium activities through its collaboration with the U.S. Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Research Station. (3/12/12)

FERA’s Dave Peterson Serves on Washington State Advisory Committee

PNW Research Station scientist Dave Peterson has been appointed to the Washington state Forest Health Technical Advisory committee by Peter Goldmark, Commissioner of Public Lands. Committee members will provide advice on the severity of the threats to forests, areas of the state where corrective actions would be best prioritized, and what kind of actions would be most effective. (3/12/12)

Improving Smoke Management and Testing Software Results

Roger Ottmar and Bob Vihnanek visited the Fort Gordon military installation in February to begin assessing sites to characterize fuels and fuel consumption. The sites will have a variety of rough ages ranging from 1 to 4 years with one unit never having been burned. The data will be compared with results predicted by the Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS) and Consume models.

The study is supported by the U.S. Corps of Engineers. Fort Gordon has been using FERA’s set of products for smoke management since 2009, following a 3-day workshop held at the facility. They use the photo-series to inventory the fuels and build FCCS fuelbeds., and then import those fuelbeds into Consume and the Fire Emission Production Simulator (FEPS) to generate levels of expected fuel consumption and emission production. Emission production, along with weather information, is fed into V-SMOKE for estimating plume direction and concentration for smoke management reporting requirements. (3/12/12)

FERA Welcomes Visiting Professor Dr. Guenther C. Krieger Filho from the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Dr. Krieger Filho is currently working with FERA team members Dr. Ernesto Alvarado (University of Washington) and Dr. Ruddy Mell on integration of ecologically based fuel characterization and physical models. The will discuss the development of a physics-based model for understory fire propagation; explore the possibility of adding a porous media model that accounts for heat fluxes and radiation heat transfer, similar to the Wildland Fire Dynamic Simulator (WFDS); implement of coupled equations governing momentum, mass conservation, and energy into a surface model that will be applicable to field conditions, including those existing in Amazonian fire environments.

This discussion will lead to a design of field experiments to test the model in the Amazon forest. Dr. Krieger Filho will be at the University of Washington through the middle of June.(3/19/12)

National Forests Now Offered Guidelines on Responding to Climate Change

Resource managers at the nation’s 155 national forests now have a set of science-based guidelines to help them manage landscapes for resilience to climate change, and this guidebook is now available both electronically and in hard copy.
FERA’s Dave Peterson developed the guidelines along with counterparts from the Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest, Pacific Southwest, and Rocky Mountain Research Stations, with input from university scientists and national forest resource managers.(1/26/12)

Press release

Guidebook

U.S. National Forests Adapt to Climate Change Through Science-Management Partnerships

Examples of science-management partnerships developed on the Olympic Peninsula (Washington) and Tahoe National Forest (California) are used to show ways of planning for anticipated effects of climate change on natural resources on public lands. Published in the journal Climatic Change, FERA's Dave Peterson worked with close collaborators Jeremy Littell, Connie Millar, and Kathy O'Halloran to establish these collaborations. (1/26/12)

Study Compares Consume 3.0 and FOFEM in the Eastern United States

A validation study of the Consume 3.0 and FOFEM smoke consumption models for fuel types in the eastern United States is now complete. Both systems perform well in predicting shrub and herbaceous consumption in the East, but did a poor job of predicting 1-hr, 10-hr, litter, and duff consumption.

Data and the final report are available on the website, and manuscripts are in preparation. Investigators included FERA’s Roger Ottmar, Matt Dickinson of the Northern Research Station, and Elizabeth Reinhardt (formerly of the Rocky Mountain Research Station). (1/26/12)

We acknowledge funding from the Joint Fire Science Program Project #08-1-6-01

Upslope Grass Fires Help Test Fire Behavior Models
Prescribed burns planned for May 2012 on the U.S. Army’s Fort Hunter Liggett (California) will focus on freely burning grass fires as they spread upslope. Measurements of wind and fire perimeter evolution (including spread rate and fire depth) will be made to support the development and testing of fire behavior models. Grass fires offer the simplest and “cleanest” means of testing a fire model’s ability capture the influence of slope on the spread and depth of the head and flank fires at landscape scales.

This work is supported by both NIST and the National Fire Plan. FERA’s Ruddy Mell is collaborating in this effort with Alex Maranghides of NIST; the research lead is Professor Craig Clements of the Department of Meteorology, San Jose State University. (1/26/12)

Understanding the Role of Terrain and Wind Interactions on Fire Spread through Communities

FERA’s Ruddy Mell has been down in California this January setting up equipment to measure near-ground wind fields (20 ft) in a suburban community north of San Diego. This wildland-urban interface community was burned by the 2007 Witch and Guejito fires during a Santa Ana wind event and is the subject of a continuing study. Wind data will be obtained from anemometers mounted on selected light poles present in the community. The plan is to measure wind behavior during Santa Ana winds to better understand the role of terrain and wind interactions on fire spread through the community.

Data from the anemometers, combined with measurements from wind towers and SoDAR*  instruments, will be used to help validate and develop wind prediction models suitable for fire behavior modeling. In addition, the accuracy and reliability of SoDAR measurements are currently being tested by comparing them to NOAA wind measurements from a tower located near Stockton, California.

This work is supported by both National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Fire Plan. Collaborators include Alex Maranghides of NIST and Professor Fletcher Miller of the Mechanical Engineering Department of San Diego State University.(1/26/12)

* SoDAR (sonic detection and ranging) systems are used to remotely measure the vertical turbulence structure and the wind profile of the lower layer of the atmosphere.

Progress in Studying Influences of Pile Age and Season of Burning on Combustion and Fire Effects

Study sites to measure how the age of handpiles affects how they burn in different seasons were established this past summer in Washington’s Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest and on Santa Clara Pueblo land in New Mexico. About 30 piles were built and weighed at each location, and each pile’s fuel composition was characterized. In October, 5 piles were burned at each study site. Postburn measurements of fuel consumption, charcoal production, and soil chemistry, above- and below-ground heating were taken. In 2012, 25 additional piles will be built at each location, with 5 piles burned in the spring and 5 more in the fall. (November 2011)

New Version of the Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS) Released
FERA is pleased to offer an updated version of the Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS 2.2). Improvements include:

• User input screens are now offered in both metric and English measurement systems.
• Minor corrections were made to the total carbon report and to the fuel model crosswalk calculations.
• Crown fire potentials were amended to more accurately represent recently dead trees with red foliage
• Batch mode interface was slightly modified to accommodate large batches of fuelbeds and to remove minor errors 
• A combustible-carbon report was added to the batch calculator.

(November 2011)

FERA’s Early Research in Brazil Leaves a Legacy

After several years of research in Amazonian deforestation burns, FERA’s colleagues from Brazil received a media attention from the major TV and newspaper news in Brazil, O Globo. They reported from the burn and interviewed some of the scientists who have been hosted by FERA over the years.

FERA can be credited for fostering the beginnings of the biomass burning and smoke emissions project with the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (INPE), which now includes several universities.  Some of the techniques used in this burn were developed by FERA; for instance, the use of wires for fuel consumption, line transects for fuel sampling, and others.

Several of the people in this video have been hosted by FERA  including Carlos Gurgel, who spent a sabbatical at the Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Lab;  Fernando Costa, who spent a sabbatical at the Corvallis Forestry Sciences Lab; Joao Andrade, the project leader; and Jose Carlos dos Santos, who worked with FERA’s field  crew in Alaska. Carlos Kriegger Guenther, who is interested in Ruddy Mell’s model for fire spread under closed canopies of tropical forests, may make an extended visit to the Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Lab in 2012.

This was the first time a burn has been conducted in the Rio Branco experimental forest owned by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA). Although not seen in the video, the host and legal facilitator of this burn was Marcus Vinicio d’Oliveria. He spent 2 years in Seattle studying new technologies developed by the U.S. Forest Service in forestry and fire management.

Advice from the U.S. Forest Service remains valuable, and we look forward to continued collaboration into the future. (November 2011)

Use of FERA Tools Taught at AFE Meeting

Roger Ottmar, Clint Wright, Susan Prichard, and Bob Vihnanek  led a FERA tool workshop at the Association of Fire Ecology’s Interior West regional conference, held at Snowbird, Utah the week of November 14. The FCCS, digital photo series, pile calculator, and Consume were discussed and demonstrated.  Clint Wright also presented a poster on the Sage-Grouse and Spotted Owl habitat photo series and moderated a conference session on socioeconomic issues and fire.  Susan Prichard presented her recently research on landscape analysis of fuel treatments and wildfire severity following the 2006 Tripod Complex wildfires in northcentral Washington.

Investigating Fuel Treatment Efficacy on Arizona’s Wallow Fire

This month, FERA’s Morris Johnson toured burned areas of Arizona’s largest recorded wildfire, the Wallow Fire, on Apache–Sitgreaves National Forests. He visited several fuel treatments areas that were burned over during the wildfire, and plans to initiate a research project to evaluate the effectiveness of those fuel treatment. He is working closely with silviculturist Jim Pitts and assistant fire management officer Russell Bigelow on the Springerville Ranger District.

Morris studies the effectiveness of fuel treatments in dry Western forests and is investigating this rare opportunity to evaluate fuel treatment efficacy. The Wallow Fire consumed 817 square miles (522,900) across eastern Arizona and 24 square miles (15,000 acres) in western New Mexico. (August 31, 2011)

North Cascadia Workshop on Climate Change, Fish, and Fish Habitat

After completing the education phase of the project, the North Cascadia Adaptation Partnership shifted focus to vulnerability assessment and adaptation planning. The first workshop on vulnerability assessment and adaptation, which focused on climate change effects on fisheries, was held in Seattle, WA on July 27-28. Thirty stakeholders spent the first day sharing goals and objectives for fish management in each forest or park, considering comments by scientific experts in various areas of fish management, and then collaborating to identify key aspects of climate change in relation to fish management. The second day focused on identifying adaptation strategies and tactics to reduce the vulnerability of fish to climate change effects that change stream flow, increase stream temperatures, and increased sedimentation.(August 31, 2011)

Forest Regeneration and Biomass Production after Slash and Burn in a Seasonally Dry Forest in the Southern Brazilian Amazon

In an effort to project biomass accumulation in dry Brazilian forests after slash-and-burn activities, fire researchers returned to a site studied 7 years ago to remeasure biomass. Results indicate that the time needed for this forest to return to prefire aboveground biomass ranged from 20 to 30 years. Considering these results, the maintenance of regenerating secondary forests in the Amazon would be a significant contribution to understanding carbon sinks, restoration of burnt areas, soil and watershed protection, minimizing biodiversity losses, and perhaps mitigating climatic change effects in the region.

This paper, in the journal Forest Ecology and Management, was written by FERA's Dr. Ernesto Alvarado and his fire research coauthors Marcus d'Oliveira, Jose Carlos Santos, and Joao Carvalho, Jr. The FERA team and Brazilian researchers continue to maintain a long-standing partnership conducting fire and carbon research. (August 31, 2011)

*abstract only

Forest Service Issues Press Release on Simulations of Fuel Treatment Effectiveness
On August 1, on the heels of large forest fires in the American Southwest, the Forest Service featured FERA’s Morris Johnson and his work on the effectiveness of fuel treatments.

“In the largest ever study of fuel treatment effectiveness, U.S. Forest Service researchers have found that intense thinning treatments that leave between 50 and 100 trees per acre are the most effective in reducing the probability of crown fires in the dry forests of the western United States. The study, the results of which are published in a recent issue of the Canadian Journal of Forest Research, provides a scientific basis for establishing quantitative guidelines for reducing stand densities and surface fuels. The total number of optimal trees per acre on any given forest will depend on species, terrain and other factors.” (August 31, 2011)

U.S. National Forests Adapt to Climate Change through Science-Management Partnerships

Developing appropriate management options for adapting to climate change is a new challenge for land managers, and integration of climate change concepts into operational management and planning on United States national forests is just starting. FERA's David L. Peterson, along with collaborators Jeremy Littell, Connie Millar, and Kathy O'Halloran, established science–management partnerships on the Olympic National Forest and Tahoe National Forest describe that process in this paper published by the journal Climatic Change. (June 29, 2011)

Workshop Approach for Developing Climate Change Adaptation Strategies and Actions for Natural Resource Management Agencies in the United States

Concrete ways to adapt to climate change are needed to help land-management agencies take steps to incorporate climate change into management and take advantage of opportunities to balance the negative effects of climate change.This Journal of Forestry paper offers an example of a successful workshop, focused on National Forests in the United States, which allowed quick dissemination of ideas and strategies for climate change adaptation in resource management through an interaction between scientists and managers. Coauthors include FERA's David L. Peterson and Jessica Halofsky, along with Forest Service Research partners Mike Furniss, Linda Joyce, Connie Millar, and Ron Neilson. (June 20, 2011)

NE Oregon FCCS Mapping Project Begins

Fire and land managers in the national forests of northeastern Oregon gathered in Baker City on May 12th to begin development of current and potential Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS) fuelbeds for that area. Many fuelbeds previously developed for the Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forests will be adapted, with a change of species, in this current project. Areas to be mapped include portions of the Umatilla, Malheur, and Wallowa-Whitman national forests. FERA's Roger Ottmar is coordinating the work.This project is a joint effort between the U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region and the Pacific Northwest Research Station. (June 29, 2011)

International Fire Research Addressed by Ernesto Alvarado at South Africa Meeting

FERA’s Ernesto Alvarado attended the Wildfire 2011 conference held in Sun City, South Africa from 9-13 of May 2011. He chaired two sessions, “Mitigation, Wildfire Risk Reduction and Vulnerability” and “Indigenous Fire Management.” He also gave an oral presentation on integration and application of traditional ecological knowledge and modern science for wildland fire management in U.S. tribal lands, and co-authored a presented paper, “Lessons Learned on Fire Management in Indigenous Communities of Bolivia.”

During this same trip, Dr. Alvarado visited Rostenburg to participate in a workshop on global modeling of fuel consumption. Scientists from 11 countries covered topics such as continental differences in fuel consumption and their main drivers; ecological insight;  data availability; modeling techniques; knowledge gaps; and key fuel consumption. Participants in the workshop represented fuel consumption work in savannas, tropical deforestation, shrublands, temperate and boreal forests, satellite retrievals, and modeling. The workshop was organized by Dr. Guido van der Werf from Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. (June 29, 2011)

Model Comparisons for Estimating Carbon Emissions from North American Wildland Fire

This paper compares approaches to estimating emissions from wildland fires in case studies from North America, and identifies model assumptions and potential improvements. It was written as part of the North American Carbon Program disturbance synthesis. Seventeen authors collaborated on the project, led by Nancy French of Michigan Tech Reseach Institute, with assistance from FERA's Don McKenzie and Roger Ottmar.

Simulating Fuel Treatment Effects in Dry Forests of the Western United States: Testing the Principles of a Fire-Safe Forest

FERA's Morris Johnson, Maureen Kennedy, and David L. Peterson published a study in the Canadian Journal of Forest Research which found that the concurrence of results from modeling and empirical studies provides quantitative support for “fire-safe” principles of forest fuel reduction. The Fire and Fuels Extension to the Forest Vegetation Simulator predicted that Intense thinning treatments were more effective than light thinning treatments. It also predicted prescribed fire to be the most effective surface fuel treatment, whereas no difference was found between no surface fuel treatment and extraction of fuels. This inability to discriminate the effects of certain fuel treatments illuminates the consequence of a documented limitation in how the simulator incorporates fuel models.

FCCS Fuelbeds for the Lake Tahoe Basin: Final Report

Three years of collaborative work with Lake Tahoe Basin fire planners has culminated in a final report on development of current and potential future FCCS fuelbeds using a vegetation pathway approach. This report, plus map of current fuelbeds, and GIS layers associated with them, are now available on the FCCS mapping website. FERA’s Roger Ottmar and the Pacific Southwest Region’s Hugh Safford were co-investigators on this project.

Landscape Ecology of Fire

FERA’s Don McKenzie, along with colleagues Carol Miller and Don Falk, edited this new work and wrote several of the 12 chapters. The book is part of the prestigious Springer Ecological Studies series. The four parts of the book explore concepts and theory in the landscape ecology of fire, fire climatology and broad-scale controls on fire regimes, landscape fire dynamics and interactions with other disturbances and other ecological processes, and landscape fire management and policy in the context of climate and land-use change.

Ramping Up for Summer Field Work

FERA’s field crew is busily preparing for their summer to be spent resampling fuels 13 years after the 1996 Summit Fire that burned 40,000 acres of mixed conifer forest on Malheur National Forest of eastern Oregon. The Joint Fire Science Program is funding this work to investigate intermediate effects of postfire logging on fuels and stand structure, and Jim McIver of Oregon State University is the principal investigator.

Data collected will be run through the Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS) and Consume 3.0 to develop estimate of fire behavior and emissions. We acknowledge funding from the Joint Fire Science Program under Project JFSP 11-1-1-19. (May 25, 2011)

International Fire Conference Participation

Drs. Morris Johnson and Ernesto Alvarado represented FERA at the 5th International Fire Management Conference held this past month in Sun City, South Africa. Morris presented “Post-disturbance Logging Effects on Fuelbed Characteristics and Fire Behavior Following a Major Windstorm Event” in the session which he also chaired. It featured recent advances in the application of fire science.

In addition, Morris was a member of the conference’s program committee, contributing four posters: an overview of the Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS);   integrating FCCS and the Forest Vegetation Simulator; quantifying fire hazard and fire behavior following a windstorm in southwest Oregon (U.S.A.) using the FCCS); and evaluating the effects of forest restoration thinning on fire hazard and area burned in the Cedar River municipal watershed (Washington, U.S.A.).

Interesting daily newsletters produced during the conference can be read by scrolling down the webpage  http://www.wildfire2011.org/(May 25, 2011)

FERA Team Teaching at Technical Fire Management

The 26th class of Washington Institute’s Technical Fire Management course met earlier this month in Bothell, Washington. Dave Peterson directed the 2-week Fire Effects module and he was joined by FERA instructors Morris Johnson, Clint Wright, Don McKenzie, Roger Ottmar, and Susan Prichard. (May 25, 2011)

North Cascadia Adaptation Project Moves Forward

Hydrologic information generated by the Climate Impacts Group has been reviewed and summarized across 2 national parks and 2 national forests in northwestern Washington. Historic and future streamflow projections were obtained from sites within the study area to serve as examples of potential shifts in magnitude and timing of peak streamflow in the future in accordance with different climate scenarios. Projected changes in dominant winter precipitation type across watersheds (i.e. rain, snow, or mixed) and subsequent changes in streamflow are being examined. (April 29, 2011)

Webinar Addresses the Role of Bark Beetle Killed Trees in Wildfire Behavior

FERA’s Morris Johnson has been working over the past 2 years with a team of researchers on an up-to-date review of literature on the effects of beetle-killed trees on fire behavior. You are invited to join a webinar at 10:30 am (Mountain Time) on May 4 to see Jeff Hicke (University of Idaho) present early results of this research, including a conceptual design for considering this topic. The meeting and broader webinar are sponsored, in part, by the U.S. Forest Service, Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment Center.  (April 29, 2011)

Progress Made Toward Linking FCCS with FVS

The Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) annual steering committee meeting was held in Fort Collins several weeks ago. Morris Johnson represented the FERA team and presented an update of his work to integrate the Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS) with FVS. Updates were provided on the use of FVS by various organizations, how it is being adapted to emerging areas of interest such as climate change, and how the model can be maintained, tested, and validated. (April 29, 2011)

Join Us in Welcoming Dr. Ruddy Mell to the FERA Team

We are preparing to welcome Dr. William “Ruddy” Mell to Seattle as a research combustion engineer with FERA. Filling this position was a priority in advancing the team’s modeling capabilities in the areas of smoldering and residual combustion processes. 

Ruddy, currently in Boulder, Colorado, works as a program manager for the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Engineering Laboratory. In recent years, he has been cooperating with the Forest Service on the development of fire models. Ruddy’s research focuses on flaming combustion, heat transfer, fire spread, and the wildland-urban interface. He has a strong interest in the use of physical models for fires in vegetation, structures, and the wildland-urban interface. To support such work, he collaborates with colleagues to conduct field measurements in all these environments to validate the models. He will begin working for the Forest Service on April 11, and plans to move his family to Seattle this summer.

A native of Minnesota, Ruddy earned a B.S. in Geophysics from the University of Minnesota, and a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from the University of Washington. In 2001 was awarded a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientist and Engineers from the White House. (March 28, 2011)

FERA Presents at International Association of Landscape Ecology Meeting

The U.S. Regional Association of the International Association for Landscape Ecology (IALE) is meeting in this year in Portland, Oregon. On Monday, April 4th, Don McKenzie’s coauthor Natasha Stavros will present in the poster session. On Wednesday, April 6th, three FERA scientists will present their current research. (March 28, 2011)

• Natasha Stavros -- A Stochastic Simulation Model to Predict Future Air Quality in Protected Areas.
  
• Stephanie Hart -- Simulating Fire Hazard Across Landscapes Through Time: Integrating VDDT and the Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS)
  
• Morris Johnson -- Evaluating the Effects of Forest Restoration Thinning on Fire Hazard and Area Burned in the Cedar River Municipal Watershed.
  
• Maureen Kennedy -- Using Multi-criteria Analysis to Incorporate a Fire Model into Long-term Projections of Watershed Processes
  
• Morris Johnson -- Quantifying Fire Hazard and Fire Behavior Following a Windstorm in Southwest Oregon (U.S.A.) using the FCCS.

North Cascadia Adaptation Project Conducts Final Two Educational Workshops

Completing the basic educational phase of the North Cascadia Adaptation Project, workshops were held on February 23 in Wenatchee, Washington with the Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forest personnel and on March 2 in Eatonville, Washington with Mt. Rainier National Park personnel. The agendas and presentations from these workshops are available online. (March 28, 2011)

FERA Participates in the 44th North American Forestry Commission’s Fire Management Working Group Meeting

Ernesto Alvarado gave a presentation in Chetumal, Mexico at the 44th Meeting of the Fire Management Working Group, North American Forestry Commission. He presented a talk on “Climate Change and Wildfires: Adaptation Strategies in National Forests of the Pacific Northwest.” Other participants from the U.S. Forest Service included Mike Hilbruner, Program Leader for the Fire Systems Research; Dale Dague from Fire and Aviation Management, Mary Ann Fajvan from the Northern Research Station, and Isidoro Solis form the Sequoia National Forest. (March 28, 2011)

Mechanical Pile Consumption Calculations Added to Pile Calculator

FERA’s Handpile Calculator, released in 2009, has been enhanced and now includes calculations for machine-built piles. These additional calculations come directly from the work of Dr. Colin Hardy (USFS Missoula Fire Lab) as implemented in FERA’s Consume 3.0 software. Clint Wright and Paige Eagle worked together to incorporate the machine pile equations in both the online calculator as well as a version of the calculator that can be downloaded and used when Internet access is unavailable. We acknowledge funding from the Joint Fire Science Program under Project 10-S-02-2. (January 27, 2011)

Preparing for Climate Change in the Northern Cascade Range

The newly-formed North Cascadia Adaptation Partnership (NCAP) is a Forest Service–National Park Service collaboration on climate change adaptation. It will be addressing adaptation across a 6-million acre landscape of the Cascade Range in Washington, a region that includes Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, North Cascades National Park Complex, and Mount Rainier National Park. The partnership will address climate change education, conduct a vulnerability assessment of the effects of climate change on natural resources, and develop adaptation options that support sustainable resource management in a warmer climate. FERA’s Crystal Raymond and Dave Peterson, along with Regina Rochefort of the National Park Service, are directing the partnership.

Funding is being provided by U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station and the National Park Service, with collaboration from University of Washington Climate Impacts Group. Partners to date include Seattle Public Utilities, Seattle City Light, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Target completion is May 2012. It will be similar to soon-to-be-published Olympic Peninsula case study (Washington), but more complex because of the larger area and more participants. (January 27, 2011)

Collecting Fuels Data for Collaborative Research Burns

FERA’s well-travelled field crew spent most of January in the field collecting fuels data in advance of three prescribed burns planned for early February. These burns will take place at Eglin Air Force Base on the Florida panhandle, and will be well-monitored by a self-organized group of fire scientists who will study fuels, fire behavior, combustion, smoke, air quality, and weather. This collaboration, known as RxCadre, conducted a similar set of burns in 2008 both at Eglin and at the Joseph Jones Ecological Research Center in southern Georgia. Their goal is to collect and analyze many types of data simultaneously to better understand the total heat budget during wildland fires. This is a rare opportunity in fire science to bring over 25 scientists together with a common goal of connecting research results. (January 27, 2011)

Connecting with Fire Practitioners Around the Country

Roger Ottmar, a research forester with FERA, continues to teach at the smoke management classes (Rx410), fire effect classes (Rx310), and Technical Fire Management modules around the country. Teaching parts of a curriculum he helped develop for the National Wildland Fire Training Program, Roger shares his many years of knowledge with fire and resource specialists, fire crew members, burn bosses, and fire analysts, along with many others, during presentations that last from 1 hour to 2 days. In January alone, he taught fuels workshops in North Carolina and Minnesota, and Rx410 classes in Oregon and Minnesota. In the next few months, he will teach in Montana, Arizona, and Tennessee. Classes are arranged and offered by local agencies. (January 27, 2011)

Seattle's Approach to Fuel Management in Watershed Guided by Morris Johnson’s Research

FERA’s research helped direct upland forest habitat restoration practices at Cedar River Municipal Watershed, a water provider for the City of Seattle. The strategic plan, linked below, used Morris’ fire hazard assessment and fuel decomposition studies in the watershed to address the goal of reducing the risk of catastrophic disturbances that could threaten drinking water quality or habitat for species of concern.  The assessment of fire hazard found that the high hazard areas were almost entirely in young, dense forests, due to dense canopies and low live crowns. Restoration thinning treatments in these forests did not substantially change fire hazard, and various surface fuel treatments were largely ineffective in changing fire hazard over time. (December 2, 2010)

NASA Interns Return to Methow Valley to Validate Dataset for Image Classification of Large-Scale Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreak

FERA team member, Dr. Susan Prichard, was featured on in an article in the Bay Area Automated Mapping Association (BAAMA) journal. She and FERA’s Travis Freed spent part of this past summer advising students associated with the NASA DEVELOP program. The goal of the DEVELOP program is to demonstrate how NASA science measurements and predictions can be utilized at a local level, county state, federal and tribal levels.

The NASA internship crew evaluated a combination of available remote sensed imagery (MODIS, ASTER, Hyperion, and Landsat TM) to classify and map different stages of insect attack in a 300,000-acre mountain pine beetle outbreak in Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest.  They conducted field work to collect a validation dataset for their image classification. (December 1, 2010)

Using a Stochastic Model and Cross-scale Analysis to Evaluate Controls on Historical Low-severity Fire Regimes

Maureen Kennedy, a University of Washington collaborator, coauthored this paper with FERA's Don McKenzie; it was published in the journal Landscape Ecology. They demonstrate that cross-scale properties of the fire-scar record, even without historical fuels and weather data, document how complex topography creates strong bottom-up controls on fire spread. This control is weaker in simpler topography, and may be compromised in a future climate with more severe weather events. (December 1, 2010)

FERA Contributes to Workshop on Climate Change in Northern Colorado

FERA’s David L. Peterson and Crystal Raymond participated in the workshop “Border Crossing: Preparing for and Adapting to Climate Change Effects in Northern Colorado”. The workshop, held in Estes Park, Colorado, provided an opportunity for resource managers to learn about and discuss climate change impacts and adaptation options. Its goal was to encourage agencies to work across jurisdictional boundaries on a shared vision and common approaches for managing natural resources, and lively discussions were held about existing cross-jurisdictional management and the potential for coordination of adaptation efforts among agencies.  Dave presented on management options for adapting to climate change in an uncertain future. (December 1, 2010)

Seattle's Approach to Fuel Management in Watershed Guided by Morris Johnson’s Research

FERA’s research helped direct upland forest habitat restoration practices at Cedar River Municipal Watershed, a water provider for the City of Seattle. The strategic plan, linked below, used Morris’ fire hazard assessment and fuel decomposition studies in the watershed to address the goal of reducing the risk of catastrophic disturbances that could threaten drinking water quality or habitat for species of concern.  The assessment of fire hazard found that the high hazard areas were almost entirely in young, dense forests, due to dense canopies and low live crowns. Restoration thinning treatments in these forests did not substantially change fire hazard, and various surface fuel treatments were largely ineffective in changing fire hazard over time. (December 1, 2010)

Crystal Raymond Presented at The Nature Conservancy Fire Learning Network Workshop

On November 9th, Crystal Raymond participated in The Nature Conservancy’s National Fire Learning Network workshop in Rockport, Texas. The U.S. Fire Learning Network is a joint effort of The Nature Conservancy, Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service. Network collaborators work together on projects to restore fire-adapted ecosystems. Crystal served as a scientific expert at a symposium titled “Fire, Carbon, and Climate Change Adaptation.” The objective of the symposium was to provide collaborators with the latest scientific information on the linkages between fire management, carbon cycling, and climate change adaptation. This information can then be used by practitioners to consider changes in their fire management practices that will enhance carbon cycling outcomes and ecological resilience to climate change.   (December 1, 2010)

Stop By and Visit in Spokane

If you are planning to attend the 3rd  Fire Behavior and Fuels Workshop in Spokane, Washington the last week in October, please drop by and visit the Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Lab exhibit. The FERA team, along with our partners in the Atmosphere and Fire Interactions team (AirFIRE) will be showing our newest research products and papers, and would be pleased to talk with you about our research. (October 18, 2010)

Portuguese Visit PWFSL to Learn about FCCS

FERA’s Roger Ottmar hosted Dr. Jorge Amorim, from the University of Aveiro, Portugal during two weeks in October.  Jorge will be leading an effort to use the Fuel Characteristic Classification System to build and map fuelbeds for Portugal to enhance the ability to estimate smoke emission impacts from wildfires during wildfire season. Jorge and Roger met with FERA’s Dr. Susan Prichard, of the University of Washington, to begin planning the work to meet the commitments of this project, and Jorge was also given a tour of the 2006 Tripod Complex fires. The following day, they traveled to Idaho and participated in a prescribed underburn conducted by Dr. Penny Morgan,  professor at the University of Idaho, College of Natural Resources.  Back at PWFSL, Jorge presented the seminar, “Fire and Emissions Research in Portugal,” at both the University of Washington and at the Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Lab before returning home. (October 18, 2010)

Welcome Back to Dr. Crystal Raymond

FERA welcomes back a good friend, Dr. Crystal Raymond, on a postdoctoral appointment under David L. Peterson. She will be facilitating the North Cascadia Adaptation Partnership (NCAP), a Forest Service-National Park Service collaboration to develop a vulnerability assessment and climate change adaptation plan for a 6-million acre landscape in Washington. Crystal worked on the FERA field crew from 2000 to 2002 before returning to school for advanced degrees. (October 18, 2010)

Lake Tahoe FCCS Fuelbeds Available Online

Current and potential future Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS) fuelbeds have been completed for California’s Lake Tahoe Basin. This allows the Interdisciplinary Team to compare among the various fuel treatment alternatives and characterize them for carbon accounting, potential fire behavior, and potential fire hazard. This information will improve the planning of restoration projects and serve as a common platform for communication among managers, decisions makers, and the public.  These supplementary fuelbeds are available online. (October 18, 2010)

Sharing Climate Change Adaptation Strategies in Scotland

FERA’s David L. Peterson and Crystal Raymond travelled to Perth, Scotland  in early October to present talks on adapting to climate change through science-management partnerships, and the effects of changing fire regimes on carbon dynamics. They attended  the Global Change and the World’s Mountains meeting organized by the international Mountain Research Initiative, and the Centre for Mountain Studies. (October 18, 2010)

Korean Visitors Hosted by Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Laboratory

The Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Laboratory (PWFSL) was honored to host Drs. Myuong-Soo Won and Byungdoo Lee, fire scientists from the Korea Forest Research Institute; and Rak-Sam Ko and Gi-Ho Shim, deputy directors of the Korea Forest Service. FERA’s Morris Johnson and Ernesto Alvarado organized a schedule that included an overview of the lab’s research in fuels, fire, and smoke. Dr. Su-Young Woo, former student of the University of Washington’s School of Forest Resources and currently back on sabbatical from the University of Seoul, also participated. The metric version of the Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS) made its debut for these distinguished guests and attracted considerable interest. Visitors’ interests included the development of a fuel characterization and fire behavior system for Korea, fire weather prediction, and fire management.

The delegation also visited with researchers from the Canadian Forest Service and the Missoula Fire Sciences lab in Montana. (September 24, 2010)

Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest Leadership Interested in Results of Fuel Treatment Effectiveness Study

FERA’s Susan Prichard, a cooperator at the University of Washington, was invited to the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest Leadership Team meeting to share results of her recently-completed fuel treatment effectiveness study. Prichard studied the effects of previous fuel treatments on fire severity during the 2006 Tripod Complex fires in the Methow Valley, and continues to conduct research to improve understanding of fuel treatment effectiveness. The team was interested in how this might apply to prescribed burning programs and their updated Dry Forest Strategy.

We acknowledge funding from the Joint Fire Science Program under projects JFSP #07-1-2-13 and #09-1-01-9. (September 24, 2010)

Reflections on 10 Years of the Joint Fire Science Program

The interagency Joint Fire Science Program published an issue of Fire Science Digest that focuses on the thoughts of 10 prominent fire researchers on the program and its accomplishments, challenges, and future direction. In this digest, FERA’s David L. Peterson offers his thoughts on the importance of integrating research across disciplines and in focusing future research agendas. Interviews for this issue were conducted at the 4th International Fire Ecology and Management Congress in Savannah, Georgia late in 2009. (September 24, 2010)

Demonstration of FERA’s Suite of Fuel Management Tools at Portugal Meeting

FERA will be demonstrating its suite of four fuel management products during a workshop at the 6th International Conference on Forest Fire Research, to be held in Coimbra, Portgual November 15-18. “A Suite of Fuel Management Tools: Fuel Characteristic Classification System, Natural Fuels Photo Series, Digital Photo Series, and Consume 3_0,”  will be offered on morning of the 13th of November at Hotel Vila Galé  If you are interested in participating in this event, please register soon. Space is limited. There is no additional fee for the workshop if you have registered for the entire conference. (September 24, 2010)

Integration Work Continues to Connect FCCS and Vegetation Dynamics Development Tool

Integration of the Vegetation Dynamics Development Tool (VDDT) and the Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS) is the focus of FERA’s Jessica Halofsky, a University of Washington collaborator. Individually, these two valuable products are used by many land managers throughout the United States.  Integrating the two will enhance the utility of VDDT by allowing simulation of vegetation composition, structure and related fire potential across a landscape over time. 

This research is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. (September 24, 2010)

Space Available in PWFSL Workshops in Spokane

Limited spots remain for attending the Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Laboratory’s two half-day workshops on fuels and smoke tools during the “3rd Fire Behavior and Fuels Conference,” October 25-29 in Spokane, WA. Although the workshop sessions are separate, their content is highly complementary. (September 24, 2010)

Fuel Treatments Reduce Wildfire Severity, Tree Mortality in Washington Forest (Press Release) (August 25, 2010)

The Pacific Northwest Research Station announced the publication of a research paper on the effectiveness of fuel treatments in eastern Cascades of northern Washington. Several news outlets picked it up, including Oregon Public Broadcasting, Central Oregon's KTVZ.com, the Wenatchee World, Omak Chronicle, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science's Eureka Alert! (August 30, 2010)

Clint Wright Awarded Ph.D. with Research on Shrub-Dominated Ecosystems
FERA is pleased to congratulate Dr. Clint Wright, research forester with the team, on earning his Ph.D. in Forest Resources from the University of Washington. His dissertation, “Effects of Disturbance and Fuelbed Succession on Spatial Patterns of Fuel, Fire Hazard, and Carbon; and Fuel Consumption in Shrub-dominated Ecosystems,” is available online.(August 30, 2010)

Morris Johnson Visits Southern University’s Urban Forestry Program

FERA’s Morris Johnson was invited to give presentations in 8 undergraduate and graduate classes in the Urban Forestry program at his alma mater, Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. During his visit, he presented summaries of his research projects and job responsibilities as a Forest Service scientist in the Pacific Northwest Research Station (PNW). He also used this opportunity to inform the undergraduate and graduate students of the potential opportunities that exist in research and in the National Forest System. This trip was supported in part by PNW’s Civil Rights program. (August 31, 2010)

Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Laboratory Offers 2 Workshops in Spokane
Researchers with the U.S. Forest Service’s Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Laboratory will be leading two half-day workshops on fuels and smoke tools during the “3rd Fire Behavior and Fuels Conference,” October 25-29 in Spokane, WA. Although the workshop sessions are separate, their content is highly complementary. Early registration is highly recommended as space is limited.(August 30, 2010)

Natural Fuels Photo Series Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

Mexico Photo Series Now Online—The photo series “Quantifying Forest Fuels in México: Montane Subtropical Forests of the Sierra Madre del Sur, and Temperate Forests and Montane Shrubland of the Northern Sierra Madre Oriental” has been made available in an electronic format. It was published in 2007 by the FERA team, University of Washington, and the Instituto Manantlán de Ecología y Conservación de la Biodiversidad (IMECBIO) of the Universidad de Guadalajara, with support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the USFS International Programs, the Fondo Mexicano para la Conservación de la Naturaleza A.C. (FMCN) and the Fundación Manantlán para la Biodiversidad de Occidente A.C. (MABIO). (July 28, 2010)

Brazil Uses FERA Photo Series to Estimate Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Data and photos from FERA’s Brazil photo series on the cerrado (grasslands) was used in the production of the high-profile report "Genesis Forest Project: Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation in the State of Tocantins, Brazil." The framework for this report is the Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation in Developing Countries (REDD) initiative. It is expected that the Mexico photo series will be used in a similar manner for a REDD showcase in that country. The report is in English. (July 28, 2010)

Spotted Owl Nesting Habitat Photo Series—Field work began this month to develop a natural fuels photo series that portrays high-quality spotted owl nesting habitat. Focus is on the national forests and Bureau of Land Management lands in the Pacific Northwest. It is expected to provide a common tool for biologists, fuels specialists, and silviculturalists to discuss owl habitat and potential fuel treatments. FERA’s Bob Vihnanek is making initial visits to photograph sites, and the field crew is following after to do a fuels inventory. This project is funded by the U.S. Forest Service/Bureau of Land Management regional fire management offices, and support provided by local wildlife and fire specialists. (July 28, 2010)

FCCS Layers in LANDFIRE

FERA and the LANDFIRE team collaborated together to develop and map a set of FCCS fuelbeds to represent complete coverage of current vegetation types designated in LANDFIRE. Coverage of this GIS layer is at a 30-m resolution across the continental United States. The fuelbed map will provide managers and scientists detailed fuelbed information and fire potential assessment. The GIS FCCS fuelbed layer for the continental United States is located on the LANDFIRE website. Fuelbeds to represent Alaska will be developed and mapped in FY 2011.(July 28, 2010)

FERA Plans Collaboration with Fire Scientists in Portugal

Roger Ottmar and the University of Washington’s Ernesto Alvarado travelled to Portugal in late May to meet with colleagues Professor's Ana Miranda and Carlos Borrego and Dr. Jorge Amorim from the University of Aveiro. They presented seminars, lectured, and planned collaborative research with Portugal’s fire researchers. Shared themes identified were public and firefighter smoke exposure study and data analysis, fuelbed development and mapping for Portugal and other countries in the European Union, and fire behavior modelling.

Roger, Ernesto, Bob Vihnanek, and Susan Prichard, all part of the FERA team, will be attending the 6th International Conference on Fire Behavior Research Fire Behavior in Coimbra, Portugal this November, presenting papers, leading a FERA fuels workshop, and continuing discussions on collaborative research with the University of Aveiro. (July 28, 2010)

Opportunity to Provide Feedback on IFT-DSS Development

Are you interested in joining a user group to evaluate early versions of the Interagency Fuel Treatment Decision Support System? To learn more about this developing integrated system of multiple models, just review the briefing below. If you are still interested, contact Stacy Drury with Sonoma Technology Inc. at sdrury@sonomatech.com. (July 28, 2010)

FCCS Layers in LANDFIRE

FERA and the LANDFIRE team collaborated together to develop and map a set of FCCS fuelbeds to represent complete coverage of current vegetation types designated in LANDFIRE. Coverage of this GIS layer is at a 30-m resolution across the continental United States. The fuelbed map will provide managers and scientists detailed fuelbed information and fire potential assessment. The GIS FCCS fuelbed layer for the continental United States is located on the LANDFIRE website. Fuelbeds to represent Alaska will be developed and mapped in FY 2011.(July 28, 2010)

FERA Plans Collaboration with Fire Scientists in Portugal

Roger Ottmar and the University of Washington’s Ernesto Alvarado travelled to Portugal in late May to meet with colleagues Professor's Ana Miranda and Carlos Borrego and Dr. Jorge Amorim from the University of Aveiro. They presented seminars, lectured, and planned collaborative research with Portugal’s fire researchers. Shared themes identified were public and firefighter smoke exposure study and data analysis, fuelbed development and mapping for Portugal and other countries in the European Union, and fire behavior modelling.

Roger, Ernesto, Bob Vihnanek, and Susan Prichard, all part of the FERA team, will be attending the 6th International Conference on Fire Behavior Research Fire Behavior in Coimbra, Portugal this November, presenting papers, leading a FERA fuels workshop, and continuing discussions on collaborative research with the University of Aveiro. (July 28, 2010)

Opportunity to Provide Feedback on IFT-DSS Development

Are you interested in joining a user group to evaluate early versions of the Interagency Fuel Treatment Decision Support System? To learn more about this developing integrated system of multiple models, just review the briefing below. If you are still interested, contact Stacy Drury with Sonoma Technology Inc. at sdrury@sonomatech.com. (July 28, 2010)

FERA Contributes to Discussion of BLM Collaborative Forestry Pilot Project

Morris Johnson was invited by the BLM's Krisann Kosel to spend Saturday, April 10, at a dry forest stand in Oregon's Roseburg district contributing his knowledge of how forest thinning affects fire hazard. During a field trip to possible thinning sites, discussion took place among stakeholders participating in the Roseburg District Collaborative Forestry Pilot project. The entire day was facilitated, and included documentation of discussions on video.

This pilot project is designed to accelerate the development of habitat components for listed species, reduce the likelihood of uncharacteristically intense wildfires and provide a reliable and economically viable timber commodity to local communities. (May 25, 2010)

Software Engineer Kjell Swedin Joins the FERA Team

FERA is excited to announce that Kjell Swedin, a computer engineer at the University of Washington, has joined the team. He is working with contractors, Sonoma Tech, on development of the Fire and Fuels Application – a combination of FCCS, Consume, and FEPS. His work is being supported by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). (May 25, 2010)

Workshop Offered at 3rd Fire Behavior and Fuels Workshop

"Suite of Fire and Fuels Management Tools," a 1/2 day training, will be offered as part of training offered in the Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Lab (PWFSL) Joint Workshop on Monday, October 25, 2010 in Spokane Washington at the 3rd Fire Behavior and Fuels Conference. Information on development and use of FCCS, Consume, and the Natural Fuels Photo Series will be presented. Registration is required. (May 25, 2010)

Local Forest Briefed on Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Lab Projects

The FERA scientific team met with the Forest Leadership Team of Washington’s Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest at the Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Lab on May 19. FERA staff briefed national forest staff on current research and discussed potential projects related to fire and fuels management and climate change adaptation.(May 25, 2010)

Peterson Presents at Tribal Forestry Conference

FERA’s David L. Peterson gave a presentation on the effects of climate change on Western forests at the Climate Change and Tribal Forestry Conference hosted by Northwest Indian College in Bellingham, Washington.  This conference included participation by several tribes, forest managers, and regional scientific experts.  The Intertribal Timber Council and other tribal representatives will be examining how tribal knowledge and Western science can be merged to facilitate adaptation to a warmer climate.(May 25, 2010)

Video Lecture Series on Climate Change and Fish Available Online

The lecture series is the result of a one-day workshop, entitled 'Climate Change Impacts on Olympic Peninsula Salmon', that took place in November, 2009 at Olympic National Forest Headquarters in Olympia, Washington. Many top regional experts in the fields of fisheries and aquatic science gave presentations on the potential effects of climate change on fish and aquatic habitats in the western U.S., along with information on potential adaptation actions that can be taken in response to climate change.

The workshop was conducted as a part of the WestWide Climate Initiative's Olympic Climate Change Case Study. (March 18, 2010)

Dormant Season Data Collection Complete for Southeast Season-of-Burning Study
 
FERA’s busy and hardworking field crew successfully completed dormant season burns for the season of burn study in Florida (5 burns at Eglin Air Force Base, 3 burns at the Apalachicola National Forest and 1 burn at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge).  They also finished pre-burn sampling for the growing season units that are scheduled to be burned later this year. (March 18, 2010)

Peterson Featured in “Sustaining Our Northwest World” Lecture Series

FERA’s leader, Dave Peterson, presented an engaging lecture, “Climate, Forests, and Future: a View from the Treeline” at the University of Washington’s lecture series March 11. His presentation explored how interdisciplinary science can help society prepare for climate change. The newly-formed College of the Environment and its School of Forest Resources also honored both Dave and their long-standing partnership with the Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Lab. The entire talk was videotaped for later posting and viewing on both the UW website and UWTV.  (March 18, 2010)

Mini-Workshop Held at the University of Idaho

FERA taught a mini-fuels workshop at the University of Idaho in early March for their 401-series forest management class.  Fifteen students participated along with Chad Hoffman and Dr. Phil Higuera, a recently-hired Assistant Professor of Fire Ecology. The workshop concentrated on FERA tools including the FCCS, Consume, and the photo series.  (March 18, 2010)

FERA Crew Sampling Treated Fuel Sites at Savannah River Site

The FERA field crew spent 14 days inventorying fuels at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina during March. The sites inventoried represented various fuel treatments including a control, chipping, prescribed fire, and herbicide.  The data will be used to develop FCCS fuelbeds and calculate FCCS fire potentials and surface fire behavior estimates for evaluating the fuels treatment effectiveness. (March 18, 2010)

FCCS-FVS Integration Work in High Gear

Conceptual design for integration of the Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS) and the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) is complete, and the many connections involved in the integration are in development. For example, programmers are working on a tool to convert field sample vegetation (FSVEG) and forest inventory analysis (FIA) into FVS format. The value added by this integration includes the ability to calculate FCCS fire potentials from stand tree list data. FERA’s Morris Johnson is coordinating this integration project. (January 27, 2010)

3rd Fire Behavior and Fuels Conference Call for Papers

FERA team members Ernesto Alvarado and Morris Johnson are on the planning committee for the 3rd Fire Behavior and Fuel Conference, October 25-26, 2010, to be held in Spokane, Washington.  The call for papers has come out, and submissions are due by March 15, 2010. (January 27, 2010)

Adapting to Climate Change in National Forests: A Workshop for Resource Managers

FERA's David L. Peterson will be leading a 2-day national workshop in April to provide the scientific foundation and tools for preparing adaptation strategies on national forests, communicate scientific knowledge and principles, share recent experiences and approaches, and solicit feedback on needs and priorities to assist future implementation of adaptation strategies. Attendance is limited, and nominations are being solicited from managers in the Forest Service and other agencies. This work is funded by the Forest Service Global Climate Change Research Program.(February 1, 2010)

North American Wildfire Emission Study Featured

Development of the Wildland Fire Emissions Information System (WFEIS), which will calculate fire emissions across North America, was featured in the Fall 2009 issue of The Canadian Smoke Newsletter. Spatial data layers built with FERA’s Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS) and Consume model, are integrated into this new system, with Don McKenzie, Roger Ottmar, and Ernesto Alvarado coordinating this part of the project.

(January 27, 2010)

2009

Field Work in the South Continues after Holiday Break

FERA’s field crew continues to focus their efforts on collecting preburn data in Florida to support research sponsored by the Joint Fire Science Program. One project takes a look at the effects of the season of burning, while the other is validating consumption models used for smoke management planning. Data is being collected on Eglin Air Force Base, the Apalachicola National Forest, and St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. After the holiday break they will return to this same area for at least another six weeks. (December 21, 2009)

Advanced Smoke Modeling Workshop Focuses on North Carolina

Roger Ottmar was a lead instructor at the advanced smoke modeling workshop for fire and fuels managers held in Kinston, North Carolina December 14-18. He provided 16 hours of instruction during day and evening sessions on how to build fuelbeds using the Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS) and the photo series. He also taught participants to estimate fuel consumption and emissions using the Consume 3.0 program. The North Carolina Division of Forest Resources organized the workshop, and the instructors Bill Jackson of Southeast Region and Gary Acthemeier of the Southern Research Station of the U.S. Forest Service also participated. Several suggestions made during this workshop will be used to modify both tools to better represent southern fuels and burning conditions. (December 21, 2009).

Good Clearcuts?  Young Stands Prove Resilient to Wildfire

Christina Lyons-Tinsley completed her Master’s research on postfire effects of the 2006 Tripod Fire in cooperation with her graduate adviser David L. Peterson. Her study, conducted on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, Washington, showed that stands that had been clearcut, prescribe burned, and regenerated 20-30 years prior to the wildfire had higher survival than clearcut areas without fuel treatments and much higher survival than adjacent mature, mixed conifer stands.  The young stands are the only living trees in much of the mid-elevation landscape of the Tripod Fire.  This suggests that young stands can be resilient to intense wildfire if they have low surface fuels. (December 21, 2009)

UW and FERA Search for Forest Ecologist and Software Engineer

The University of Washington, School of Forest Resources, is advertising for a forest ecologist to assist with the integration of two commonly used models to aid in the assessment of potential changes in vegetation and fire hazard under different management and disturbance scenarios across landscapes in the western United States.

A software engineer position  is also being advertised, with duties to include providing technical expertise in designing and programming computing technology in support of a fire, fuels, and combustion research group composed of university faculty and researchers, scientists from cooperating agencies and contractors.

Work for both positions will be done under a cooperative agreement on research conducted by scientists at the School of Forest Resources and the U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station, Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Laboratory. (November 22, 2009)

DVD Short Course on Adapting to Climate Change

The U.S. Forest Service’s western research stations have released an interactive short course that presents current scientific knowledge on adapting to climate variability in wildland management. Titled “Adapting to Climate Change: A Short Course for Land Managers,” the course is available as a DVD or online at the Climate Change Resource Center. FERA's David L. Peterson is featured giving presentations on climate and stress interactions, and on case studies of adaptation on the Olympic and Tahoe national forests. (November 16, 2009)

3rd Fire Behavior and Fuels Conference to Reflect on Lessons Learned

Mark your calendars for the 3rd Fire Behavior and Fuels Conference to be held in Spokane, Washington October 25-29, 2010. The theme is “Learning from the Past to Help Guide Us in the Future”, and it is being sponsored by the International Association of Wildland Fire (IAWF). This is an early announcement, and details on the submission of papers have yet to be finalized. FERA’s Morris Johnson and Ernesto Alvarado are members of the planning committee. (November 22, 2009)

FERA Presents at the Fire Ecology and Management Conference

FERA is gearing up to show its stuff at the 4th Fire Ecology and Management Conference in Savannah, Georgia from November 30 to December 4. On the first day, a 4 hour workshop on the suite of fire management tools will be offered, and in subsequent days members of the FERA team and its University of Washington cooperators will present 10 talks, along with posters and an exhibit. (November 22, 2009)

Don McKenzie Discusses Climate Change with Forest Service Chief

Climate change and wildfire interactions was the topic of a video conference held on November 12th between FERA’s Don McKenzie and Tom Tidwell, Chief of the U.S. Forest Service. With a focus on the American West, they discussed expected increases in fire under climate change scenarios, the uncertainty in how fires will interact with other ecological disturbances, a concern with uncertainty of impacts at the landscape scale, and the challenges that new climate regimes pose to wildland managers. Representatives from the Forest Service Washington Office’s Policy Analysis, Legislative Affairs, and Research and Development branches were also present. (November 22, 2009)

Research Update Provided to Forest Service Fuels Managers

Fuel managers from the Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Region met in Portland on November 16 to go over new policy and management issues for fuels management in the national forests.  Roger Ottmar and David L. Peterson represented the FERA team and gave updates on fuels research and technology transfer. (November 23, 2009)

Final Climate Adaptation Workshop Focused on Fish

The final workshop on adapting forest management to climate change was conducted on November 17th and considered the future of fish and their habitats. FERA’s Jessica Halofsky, a University of Washington cooperator, and David L. Peterson led this process with Olympic National Forest and Olympic National Park resource managers, with both the method and results to be presented for possible broader application across other landscapes. Results will become a component of the adaptation plan for both organizations. (November 23, 2009)

Handpile Biomass Estimator Now Available Online

Clint Wright, along with University of Washington cooperator Paige Eagle, developed an online tool that managers can use to estimate the biomass of hand-piled fuels and the emissions produced when they are burned. As the burning of such piles becomes more common and widespread, this calculator offers a way for managers to more effectively manage the smoke that is generated. (October 19, 2009)

Workshop on Integrating Ecological and Fuel Management
Morris Johnson attended the Pacific Northwest Research Station’s “Creating Stand-Level Prescriptions to Integrate Ecological & Fuel Management Objectives for Dry Forests of the Eastern Cascade Range” workshop in Redmond, OR October 13-15, 2009. Funded by the Joint Fire Science Program, it was designed to bring together practitioners from multiple disciplines to discuss and develop stand-level prescriptions that further conservation of the northern spotted owl and to integrate ecological and fuel management objectives for dry forest restoration in the eastern Cascades of Washington, Oregon and California. (October 19, 2009)

Western Mountain Initiative Annual Meeting Held in Santa Fe

Don McKenzie and Dave Peterson attended the annual coordination meeting of the Western Mountain Initiative (WMI) in Santa Fe, NM.  WMI is a consortium of USGS, Forest Service, and university scientists who are studying the effects of climatic variability and change on mountain ecosystems in the western United States.  A new five-year phase of WMI focuses on syntheses of empirical data, integration across resource areas, and modeling of expected changes in resource condition due to a warmer climate.(October 19, 2009)

Wildlife and Climate Change Workshops Held on the Olympic Peninsula

Jessica Halofsky and Dave Peterson convened workshops on the effects of climate change on the vulnerability and adaptability of wildlife on the Olympic Peninsula, as part of the Westwide Climate Initiative.  A small group of scientists worked with resource managers from Olympic National Forest and Olympic National Park to determine vulnerability of resources to a warmer climate and to develop adaptation options.  These were the third set of of four workshop topics focused on a Forest Service-National Park Service collaboration to develop a climate change action plan for the Olympic Peninsula.
The results of this process, combined with those of two other national forests in the western U.S., will be extended for broader application across other landscapes and ownerships. (October 19, 2009)

Newly Published Information Kit Connects Stakeholders with Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Laboratory

The Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Laboratory (PWFSL) recently released an information kit that will help to connect the media, congressional staffers, and other stakeholders with its fire science and smoke research and expertise. The kit contains short fact sheets that discuss the fire and smoke research being conducted at PWFSL, researchers based at PWFSL who have expertise in climate and climate change, fuels, fire ecology, fire weather, and smoke and emissions, and key fire and smoke software and tools developed at PWFSL. The kit also contains a listing of recommended publications, complete with embedded links to electronic copies available online. (August 19, 2009)

Additional Photo Series for Brazil a Possibility

Characterizing fuels in the cerrado ecosystem and other regions of Brazil was the center of discussions on a recent trip to Brasilia sponsored by U.S. Forest Service International Program. FERA’s Roger Ottmar and Bob Vihnanek, along with long-time collaborator Ernesto Alvarado of the University of Washington, met with colleagues from the University of Brasilia to consider various possibilities for extending the natural fuels photo series. The initial volume was published in 2001 in both Portuguese and English, includes sites in 5 physiognomic forms. (August 19, 2009)

Spanish Scientist Explores U.S. Fire and Fuels Research

FERA is pleased to host a 2-month visit by Spanish fire scientist Albert Alvarez Nebot. He is visiting PWFSL from the Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF) at the Autonomous University of Barcelona to work with Morris Johnson and Ernesto Alvarado on fuels characterization. Mr. Alvarez recently presented a seminar on the relationship between forest fuels, fire types and severity in Catalonia, Spain.

Work Begins to Study Effects of Season of Burn on Southeastern Fuel Dynamics

Next month, work will begin on research sponsored by the Joint Fire Science Program to look at the effect of season of burning on fuel regrowth and accumulation following prescribed fires in typical southern fuelbeds. FERA’s Clint Wright, Bob Vihnanek and Jim Cronan will identify potential study sites at Elgin Air Force Base and nearby Blackwater River State Park, the Apalachicola National Forest, and St. Mark’s National Wildlife Refuge on the Florida panhandle. Field sampling will begin this winter.

Economic Recovery Act Invests in FERA’s Fire Research

FERA recently received money under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to improve fuels characterization, fuels management, and fuels consumption software, and integrate all parts to improve easy of use. Investments will be made to improve the architecture of the Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS), and advance integration of it with the Digital Photo Series, Consume 3.0, and the Fire Emission Production System. In addition, FCCS will be integrated into the Vegetation Dynamics Development Tool (VDDT) with this funding. Work is expected to be completed in December 2010, and be accomplished by university and private partners. (July 30, 2009)

Integration of Forest Vegetation Simulator and FCCS Tackled on Multiple Fronts

Research by Morris Johnson into integrating FERA’s Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS) with the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) is proceeding in cooperation with three major partners.

Funding from the Tahoe Science Program is allowing Dr. Johnson to use FCCS and FVS to evaluate alternative fuel treatments in the South Shore wildland urban interface area.  Discussions with planning forester Duncan Leao and silviculturalist Rita Mustatia led to consensus on the methods to populate the shrub and nonwoody strata in the FCCS. 

Dr. Johnson met with Jim McCarter, Rural Technology Initiative, in North Carolina to share with him plans developed in Lake Tahoe and their application to the Forest Service Global Change Project linking FCCS fuel loading mapped at landscape scales to tree information used for stand-level treatment decisions to better identify fire reduction priorities.

On the software portion of the integration, FVS programmers Stephaine Rebain and Don Vandendriesche from Fort Collins, Colorado are working on the most efficient way to include FCCS fuelbeds in the code of FVS. (July 30, 2009)

Australian Researcher Concludes Visit to Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Lab

Australian scientist Jennifer Hollis spent the last month working with Dr. Roger Ottmar studying fuels and consumption issues. They spent time in the office and field discussing equations from Consume 3.0, reviewing a manuscript, looking at how the Fuel Characteristic Classification System could be adapted for Australia, and doing an overview of the Australian fuel assessment system.

On July 10th she presented a seminar at the Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Lab on woody fuel consumption in Australian forest fires. Jennifer’s interests have taken her to the Missoula Fire Lab to explore more.(July 30, 2009)

NASA Interns Test Use of Satellite Imagery to Study Impact of Fuel Treatments on Carbon Emissions

Over the summers of 2008 and 2009, interns from the NASA Ames DEVELOP Program have been working with FERA’s Dr. Susan Prichard on a project in conjunction with the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest in eastern Washington. The 2009 project uses ground-based measurements and satellite imagery to evaluate the impact of fuel treatments on carbon emissions during the Tripod Complex fire. Two fuel treatments -- partial harvests alone, and with prescribed burns -- were selected. (July 30, 2009)

FERA Supports Cooperation among U.S. Forest Service Research, the Brazilian Agriculture Research Center (EMBRAPA), and the Brazilian Forest Service

FERA supports the development of a cooperation program among U.S. Forest Service Research, Brazilian Agriculture Research Center (EMBRAPA), and the Brazilian Forest Service. A Forest Service Research delegation headed by Dr. Carlos Rodriguez- Franco, Director of Fire and Vegetation Research, attended a workshop last April at EMBRAPA’s Headquarters in Brasilia. The objective was to identify opportunities for cooperation between the two countries to develop a forest research and training agenda.

Three general themes were discussed: (1) forest management and monitoring, (2) climate change, fire, and environmental services, and (3) institutional development and technology transfer.

The program is led by Dr. Marcus Vinicio de Oliveira, a senior scientist from EMBRAPA-Acre on a two-year visiting scientist appointment with FERA in Seattle. Dr. Ernesto Alvarado, professor of wildland fire sciences at the University of Washington, represented FERA at the workshop. Other U.S. Forest Service participants included staff from the Washington Office Research and International Programs branches, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Forest Products Laboratory from Madison, Wisconsin, and the Forest Inventory and Analysis Program from Minnesota. (June 24, 2009)(June 24, 2009)

Field Crew Gathers Data from Research Burns in Alaska

FERA’s field crew was able collect pre- and post-burn data to determine forest floor consumption a research fire on Nenana Ridge outside of Fairbanks, Alaska. In a study sponsored by the Joint Fire Science Program and led by Scott Rupp of the University of Fairbanks, data will be used to see how consumption and fire behavior changes as a result of fuel treatments. (June 24, 2009)

Second Climate Change Workshop Held on the Olympic Peninsula

Jessica Halofsky and Dave Peterson convened a workshop on the effects of climate change on vegetation on the Olympic Peninsula, as part of the Westwide Climate Initiative.  A small group of scientists worked with resource managers from Olympic National Forest and Olympic National Park to determine vulnerability of resources to a warmer climate and to develop adaptation options.  This was the second of four workshops focused on a Forest Service-National Park Service collaboration to develop a climate change action plan for the Olympic Peninsula.(June 24, 2009)

Progress on Development of Continental-Scale Fuelbed Map for NASA Carbon Emission Project

FERA scientists are rebuilding the 1-km map of Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS) fuelbeds for the continental United States, and extending it to Alaska and Mexico. In June 2009 the 1-km classification map for the West was completed, as were the fuelbeds for Mexico. Current focus is on estimating canopy layers in the West from the MODIS data, and completing a set of 25-30 new fuelbeds for the East. Along with fuels data provided by the Canadian Forest Service, this will provide a fuelbed map for all of North America, and will inform NASA’s project to estimate carbon emissions from wildfires across North America. A key element of this enhanced map will be more accurate estimation of fuel loadings in canopy layers using vegetation cover and Leaf Area Index (LAI) from NASA’s MODIS sensors.

Halofsky Presents at the 7th North American Forest Ecology Workshop
Jessica Halofsky gave an invited presentation on "Potential Effects of Climate Change on Mixed Severity Fire Regimes" on June 24thas part of a special session on Mixed Severity Fire Regimes at the Seventh North American Forest Ecology Workshop, in Logan, Utah.  The presentation was coauthored by David L. Peterson.

Ernesto Alvarado Accepts Position as Associate Professor of Wildland Fire Science
Dr. Ernesto Alvarado, a long-time FERA team member, has been named Associate Professor in Wildland Fire Science in the College of Forest Resources, University of Washington effective July 1, 2009. Ernesto teaches courses on Wildland Fire Management and Fire Ecology. He has conducted research on wildland fire science topics in Alaska, the western states, the Brazilian Amazon, Mexico, and Bolivia. His research interest includes a variety of topics in forest fire sciences, fire ecology, fire regimes, fire management, prescribed fires, biomass combustion, smoke and GHG emissions, climate change, tropical forestry, landscape ecology, international forestry, and modeling. Ernesto also collaborates on fire fighter training in the U.S. and Latin America. (May 20, 2009)

McKenzie and Kennedy Present at Landscape Ecology Meeting

Don McKenzie and Maureen Kennedy both presented papers on April 13 at the annual meeting of the International Association for Landscape Ecology, U.S. chapter, in Snowbird, Utah. McKenzie presented “Does the web have a Weaver? Mechanisms behind scaling laws in fire regimes,” which summarized the properties of scaling laws in fire regimes across the West and how they may be associated with fine-scale controls such as topography or spatial variability in fuels. Kennedy presented “A neutral model replicates correlated spatial patterns in fire history records”, which elaborated on scaling laws in spatially correlated patterns of fire occurrence and how they can be tied to topographic controls using neutral landscape models. (May 20, 2009)

Fieldwork Begins on the Butte Falls Blowdown Study
Fieldwork began this month on the southern Oregon Butte Falls Blowdown site, in the Medford District of the Oregon Bureau of Land Management. This is the initial phase of a multiyear study to evaluate change in fire hazard among the treatment options of leaving blowdown as it fell, salvage logging with lop and scatter, and salvage logging with pile and burn. FERA’s Morris Johnson and Jessica Halofsky are collaborating on this study.(May 20, 2009)

Outreach Announcement for Research Ecologist

FERA is conducting an outreach to find interested candidates for the position of Research Ecologist (permanent, full-time) to be located at the Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Lab in Seattle, Washington. Duties include developing a program of research that addresses current scientific and management issues in fire ecology and fuels science in the United States including techniques for fuel reduction at small scales, planning approaches for fuel reduction at large scales, fuel succession over time, and management of natural fuels and harvest-created fuels. 

Individuals interested in this position and want to receive a copy of the vacancy announcement should complete and submit the outreach form available no later than June 1, 2009. Applicants must be U.S. citizens to be considered. (May 20, 2009)

Technical Fire Management Course
Morris Johnson, Don McKenzie, Roger Ottmar, and Susan Prichard taught sections in the Fire Effects Module of Technical Fire Management (TFM) held in Bothell, Washington May 4-14, 2009. FERA team leader Dave Peterson was the coordinator for the two-week Fire Effects curriculum. TFM is an intensive, six-module educational program hosted by Washington Institute for mid-career fire managers in the federal agencies.

Training on Software Tools Continues across the Country

An active schedule of training fire and fuels managers on FERA’s software tools continued over the past two months. Stops included 1-day workshops for the Department of the Army (southeastern states and Hawaii) in Georgia, the Utah office of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Salt Lake City, and the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest in Washington. Upcoming training will be given through an RX-410 Smoke Management Course in Tennessee, and to BLM and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees in Lewistown, Montana. (May 20, 2009)

Joint Fire Science Program Funds Two FERA Projects in 2009
News has been received that the Joint Fire Science Program awarded funding for two FERA projects in 2009. (April 7, 2009)

The first is an extension of previously-funded work on effects of fuel treatment on fire severity on the Tripod Complex fires in the northern Washington Cascade Range. Additional funding will extend results onto a broader landscape and range of forest types. Susan Prichard, a University of Washington cooperator, continues to lead this work.

Clint Wright, research forester with FERA, has been granted funding to study prescribed burning in southeastern forests. The focus will be on burning in different seasons of the year and the effect that may have on fuel dynamics such as fuel regrowth and accumulation, and understory structure and composition.

Insects and Climate Presentation by Don McKenzie
FERA’s Don McKenzie presented the talk “Wildfire in the West: Past, Present, and Future” at the Western Forest Insect Work Conference in Spokane, Washington, on March 24. The theme of the conference was insects, fire, and climate change in western forests. (April 7, 2009)

South Lake Tahoe Fuel Treatment Research Funded

The proposal by FERA ecologist Morris Johnson, "Evaluating Alternative Fuel Treatments in the South Shore Wildland Urban Interface Area," has been recommended for funding by the Sierra Nevada Public Lands Management Act.  Fuels data and management alternatives will be developed to reduce fire hazard using an integration of the Forest Vegetation Simulator and its fire and fuels extension (FFE-FVS) and the Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS). Alternatives will include various combinations of forest thinning and surface fuel treatments, including the effect of treatments over time. Work begins this summer and continue into 2011. (April 2, 2009)

Forest Vegetation Simulator to Create FCCS Fuelbeds

Scientists and programmers from Forest Management Service Center in Fort Collins, Colorado and the FERA team have been working together over the past year to develop an integration between the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) and the Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS). The goal is to provide FCCS fuelbeds as one outputs from FVS. This integration will allow managers to rapidly generate custom FCCS fuelbeds from their current stand exam data. Managers would also have the capability to implement silviculture treatments such as thinning and planting, and project FCCS fuelbeds forward in time.  For more information, contact Morris Johnson at mcjohnson@fs.fed.us (March 18, 2009)

Protected Areas around the World Plan for Climate Change

As part of the George Wright Society’s 2009 meeting in Portland, Oregon, Dave Peterson participated in the thematic session “New Management Strategies in an Era of Climate Change.” His presentation “Adapting to Climate Change through Science-Management Partnerships” showcased work with Olympic and Tahoe National Forests in developing strategies to reduce ecosystem vulnerabilities, increase their resilience, consider tradeoffs, and manage lands dynamically and realistically.

This biennial conference on park, protected areas, and cultural sites, was attended by over 1000 resource managers and others. It included a poster session in which FERA was represented as a collaborator with the Western Mountain Initiative. (March 18, 2009)

Western Tribal Managers Trained in Using FERA Tools
Responding to a request from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), a 4-hour introduction to FERA’s suite of fuel management tools was given in Missoula, Montana on March 4. Susan Prichard and Clint Wright taught 26 tribal land and fire managers who had gathered for the BIA’s Rocky Mountain and Northwest Regional Fire/Fuels Meeting. (March 18, 2009)

Olympic National Forest and National Park Plan for Climate Change
Work on a case study for methods of adapting forest management in light of climate change progresses. Most recently, a joint workshop with the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group, the Olympic National Forest, and Olympic National Park was held to determine how to incorporate the latest climate change information into action plans for resource management, specifically road management.  Development of adaptation options and action plans for other resource areas, including vegetation, fisheries, and wildlife, will continue. (February 18, 2009)

FCCS Fuelbeds under Development for Mexico

Jose M. Michel, a visiting scholar from the Universidad de Guadalajara in Mexico, has been working at the Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Lab to develop an FCCS fuelbed map for Mexico. A combination of data from the natural fuels photo series, plot data in Sierra del Sur, Chiapas, and Sierra Madre Oriental will be used for the map, and the final product will contribute to products that quantify fuel hazard and carbon emissions from wildfire across North America. (February 18, 2009)

FERA Participates in Development of Washington Climate Change Impacts Assessment

The State of Washington released their final draft climate change impacts assessment the second week in February, concurrent with a major conference at the Washington State Convention Center and attended by 500 people. Don McKenzie chaired, and presented at the Forest Resources session of the conference. David L. Peterson moderated a panel discussion in that same session. (February 18, 2009

Training Sessions Continue Throughout the Year

FERA continues to offer training sessions on use of its fuels management tools to a wide variety of federal agencies. In the Pacific Northwest, trainings are planned at the Region 6 Vegetation Management Conference later in February, as well as an extended introduction the first week in June. Additional 1-day trainings are scheduled in Minnesota, Montana, and Utah over the next month. (February 18, 2009)

Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS) v. 2.0 Released

The Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS), version 2.0, has been released Enhancements include (1) user-specified environmental variables to predict surface fire behavior, including reaction intensity, flame length, and rate of spread, (2) crosswalks to one of the original 13 Fire Behavior Prediction System fuel models and one of the 40 standard fuel models (3) carbon storage report by fuelbed category and subcategory and predicts the amount of combustible carbon in each category and subcategory based on selected fuel moisture scenarios, (4) reporting in English and metric units, (5) ability for users to upload photos to represent each fuelbed, and (6) a batch mode to provide output on a set of multiple fuelbeds. (January 2009)

LANDFIRE FCCS Layer Available

LANDFIRE, which provides national-level, high-resolution geospatial products to support fire and fuels management planning, now includes a GIS layer that maps 229 FCCS fuelbeds across the western United States. Users will find it listed under the “Fire Effects” layers on the Landfire interactive website, or on the CD which can be requested. Expected users include regional modelers who need fine-resolution data, and managers responsible for consistent analysis and policy over large regions.(January 2009)

Field Crew Heads South for the Winter

FERA’s field crew is back on the road again, headed to Florida for January and February. They will collect pre-fire fuel loading and fuel consumption data to help validate fuel consumption models for the Eastern regions of the U.S. Later in the year, field work will move to more northern states. This work is funded by the Joint Fire Science Program and undertaken in collaboration with the Northern Research Station. (January 2009)

2008

Brazilian Forest Researcher Stationed in Seattle

Dr. Marcus Vinicio Neves d Oliveira will spend the next two years as a visiting scientist at the Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Laboratory. Dr. de Oliveira works at the Brazilian Agriculture Research Agency (EMBRAPA) in the Amazonian state of Acre. His visit is sponsored by an exchange program agreement between the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Research Service/Forest Service, and EMBRAPA. This program supports senior scientists coming from Brazil to observe and participate in the latest scientific developments in their field, and to then develop joint programs to enhance future collaboration and to strengthen institutional relationships between Brazil and the United States. Dr. de Oliveira is the first Brazilian forest researcher working at a U.S. Forest Service research laboratory under this exchange program. (October 30, 2008)

Climate Change Planning Cadre Visits Montana and Idaho National Forests

Workshops on incorporating climate change into forest planning were given by a cadre of speakers were offered October 15-16 at the Kootenai and Idaho Panhandle national forests’ “Science Days.” FERAs David L. Peterson joined the caravan and presented information on fire, and also on adaptation and resource management. Participants included about 140 employees and stakeholders, including county commissioners at both locations.(October 30, 2008)

Butte Falls Blowdown Site Scoped for Potential Fire Hazard Research

The southern Oregon Butte Falls Blowdown site, on the Medford District of the Oregon Bureau of Land Management, was visited recently by Morris Johnson and Jessica Halofsky. It is being considered as a possible location for research that would evaluate change in fire hazard between leaving blowdown, salvage logging with lop and scatter, and salvage logging with pile and burn. Morris and Jessica met with BLM representatives Charley Martin, John Bergin, and Aaron Worman to discuss research possibilities, and and visited several field sites in the area.

In January 2008, a series of winter storms brought strong winds and heavy rain and snow to southern Oregon and northern California. Wind gusts up to 90 miles per hour downed power lines and uprooted trees throughout the Rogue Valley. This past September fire burned through a small section of this blowdown.(October 30, 2008)

Colville, Okanogan, and Wenatchee National Forests Also Address Climate Change

FERAs Jessica Halofsky presented two talks in at the Wenatchee Convention Center in Wenatchee, Washington October 24 and 25. Employees at all levels in the organization met with scientists from the Pacific Northwest Research Station to discuss the vulnerability of their forest and rangeland to climate change, and how they might develop adaptation strategies.(October 30, 2008)

Ellen Eberhardt Receives Science Support Award

The 2008 Pacific Northwest Research Station’s 2008 Excellence in Science Support Award will be presented to FERA’s Ellen Eberhardt during the annual award ceremony at the Station Leadership Team meeting in Hood River, Oregon on October 29. Ellen is a technical information specialist and has been with the team since 1994. (October 30, 2008)

Field Work in the Rangelands of Eastern Oregon

Throughout the summer of 2008, FERA’s field crew has made several trips to the rangeland of southeastern Oregon to collect fuels data and photographs of sites in support on research being conducted by Louisa Evers, an employee of the Pacific Northwest Region of the Forest Service. By having a picture with vegetation data, Evers and other managers will be able to assess fire regime condition class (FRCC), use the Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS) or fuel models to assess fire hazard, and have data relevant to aspects of rangeland management, The ability to assess sage grouse habitat is the most critical need. All data collected will be entered into the Digital Photo Series. (September 30, 2008)

Hurricane Photo Series Assists in Assessing Forest Damage from Hurricane Ike

Recent hurricanes in the southeastern U.S. prompted forest managers to contact FERA and request unpublished materials to assist in inventorying forest damage from high winds which accompany these storms. Photos and fuel loading information, which will be published in a stereo photos series, were provided to the incident command team from this ongoing work funded by the Joint Fire Science Program. In addition, 23 FCCS fuelbeds were created for mapping by Landfire to assess forest damage. (September 30, 2008)

FERA Connects Climate Change Research with Monarch Butterfly Study

In late July, FERA hosted Dr. Isabel Ramirez, one of a handful of researchers worldwide who are focused on ecosystem and land-use dynamics in the Mariposa Monarca Biosphere Reserve in the mountains of central Mexico. Don McKenzie (FERA) and Dr. Ramirez (professor of geography with the National University of Mexico) are studying the interplay of land use and disturbance, vegetation, and microclimate to better understand threats to the butterfly habitat from both human activities and climate change. (August 18, 2008)

Online Climate Change Resource Center

The U.S. Forest Service's three western research stations have officially launched a new online reference site for resource managers and decisionmakers who need information and tools to address climate change in planning and project implementation in the West. The Climate Change Resource Center (CCRC) is a site that connects climate change information generated by the Forest Service with those who need it. David L. Peterson, Don McKenzie, and several other members of the FERA team have provided both leadership and scientific expertise in the development of this website. (August 11, 2008)

Fire Severity in Regenerating Stands Focus of New Study

Christina Lyons-Tinsley, a graduate student at the University of Washington, has teamed up with FERA to analyze fire severity in regenerating stands burned by the Tripod Complex fire. She intends to determine how fuels and other factors contributed to surface fire intensity and spread. Specifically, the project will compare fire severity between regeneration cuts, the surrounding matrix, and thinned units; and analyze fire severity among regeneration units including the relationship between fire effects and stand structure. (July 30, 2008)

NASA Interns Study Tripod Complex Fire Severity Alongside FERA

Students from the NASA DEVELOP internship program have been working this summer with FERA’s Dr. Susan Prichard on a project using satellite imagery to assess burn severity at the 2006 Tripod Complex fire in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. The students spent one week in July 2008 working with FERA crew members collecting field data within the Tripod Fire perimeter. Satellite data are being used to create classified burn severity maps of the Tripod Complex Fire in the Okanogan National Forest. These maps will be used to perform an analysis of the relationship between burn severity and variables such as landform and vegetation types. (July 30, 2008)

Climate Change Workshop Convened to Develop Educational Materials

A 2 ½-day workshop in late July has been organized to develop a set of climate-related lectures to be recorded for the Climate Change Resource Center. Held at the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest near Eugene, Oregon, the workshop brings together speakers from the climate science community with managers from national forests in the West. Videos of presentation and question-and-answer sessions will be made available on the website of the resource center. FERA will be represented by Dave Peterson, Jessica Halofsky, and Ellen Eberhardt. (July 30, 2008)

Boreal Fire History Project Progresses

Nearly 4000 tree-ring samples have been acquired and processed in a Joint Fire Science Program project, “Compiling, Synthesizing and Analyzing Existing Boreal Forest Fire History Data in Alaska,” which brings together information on the history of boreal forest fire in Alaska. Digital data for other tree-ring datasets, representing approximately 9000 samples, has also been acquired. This data is being standardized and imported into the Alaska Boreal Forest Fire History Database. Additionally, improvements have been made to the Alaska Large Fire Database by identifying and digitizing missing large fire perimeters, fixing incorrect fire perimeters, expanding fire attribute information, and extending the dataset to include fire records from 1939 to 1949. (July 30, 2008)

Field Work Complete on Project to Estimate Biomass of Handpiles

Field work was completed on the Joint Fire Science Program project to estimate the biomass of hand-piled fuels for smoke management planning. Collection sites included the Wenatchee-Okanogan National Forests in Washington, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area in northern California, the Los Padres and Sequoia national forests in southern California, and on BLM lands near Vale in eastern Oregon. Initial analysis of the data is underway, and a draft of the final report is expected to be complete by mid-October. (June 23, 2008)

Peterson Presents Plenary Session at Workshop "Climate Change Impacts on Natural Resrouces in the Columbia River Basin"

On June 24, David L. Peterson presented a plenary talk on “Climate Change Effects to Columbia Basin Forest Ecosystems” at the workshop “Climate Change Impacts on Natural Resource Management in the Columbia River Basin,” held in Boise, Idaho.

The purpose of this meeting was to “provide resources and information to natural resource scientists and managers who work to conserve Columbia River Basin ecosystems.” It engaged scientists and managers in developing conservation strategies that anticipate and respond to a changing climate. Several hundred representatives from regional state, federal, tribal, educational, and nongovernmental organizations were in attendance.(June 23, 2008)

Field Crews Measuring Consumption on Interior Alaska Research Burns

The field crew spent time in early June preparing plots to participate in the Joint Fire Science Program project “Quantifying the Effects of Fuels Reduction Treatments on Fire Behavior and Post-Fire Vegetation Dynamics.” FERA’s part of this proposal, led by Dr. Scott Rupp of the University of Alaska, is to measure pre-burn and post-burn fuels in the treatment and control plots, and calculate consumption from the fires. (June 23, 2008)

Morris Johnson Earns Ph.D. from the University of Washington

On Saturday, June 1, Morris Johnson received his Ph.D. in Forest Resources at commencement ceremonies at the University of Washington. The title of his dissertation was "Analyzing Fuel Treatments and Fire Hazard Across the West". (June 19, 2008)

System Architecture for Fire Modeling

David L. Peterson is participating in a Fuels Treatment and Assessment Working Group convened by the Joint Fire Science Program Board of Governors to lead development of a collaborative system architecture (CSA) for fire modeling and decision making about fuels in the United States. The 12-person working group consists of representatives from the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and Fish and Wildlife Service. The new CSA is intended to streamline the number and types of tools currently used for fuel treatment applications within a single coherent analytical framework. Work will continue in 2008-09, and proposed CSAs will be reviewed by the fire management community. (May 28, 2008)

Improving Prediction of Smoke Impacts in the Eastern United States

FERA and its cooperators across the country have received funds to validate and/or improve fuel consumption equations in Consume 3.0 and FOFEM.

Efficient Field Work Across Southern California

FERA's field crew is spending several weeks in southern California, from Sequoia National Forest in the east to the Los Padres National Forest in the west, measuring piles of forest residue created by hand toward the goal of improving consumption and emissions equations involving such fuels. A stop was made in the San Bernardino National Forest to measure post-burn fuel consumption on chaparral shrubland at two sites.

Efforts Continue to Assist Land Managers in Planning for Climate Change

The demand for guidance in incorporating climate change into forest planning finds Dave Peterson traveling this past month to meet with the Northern Region of the Forest Service in Missoula, MT. He has also conducted introductory meetings on these concepts with the Siuslaw, Willamette and Mt. Hood National Forests in Oregon, in partnership with Olympic National Forest Supervisor Kathy O’Halloran (via videoconference).

In an effort to streamline this process and serve a wider audience, the Forest Service has funded development a toolkit for adapting to climate change on western national forests. The resulting website, case studies, guidebook, and scientific documentation will help mangers plan for climate change. Dave Peterson is one of several investigators working on this project.

Landscape Management System to Help Select Actions to Mitigate Carbon Emissions while Reducing Fire Risk and Future Costs

The Forest Service has funded a collaborative project to enhance the Landscape Management System software for selecting forest management action priorities in the West that best mitigate carbon emissions while reducing fire risk and future costs. Don McKenzie is one of 10 team members working on this task.

RX Combustion-Atmospheric Dynamics Research Experiment a Grand Success -- Individuals and fire research teams came together the first week in March to collect data on prescribed burns in the southeastern United States. The teams documented fire-atmospheric dynamics on 6 prescribed fires during 8 days in southern woodland fuelbed types on Eglin Air Force Base, Florida and the Joseph Jones Ecological Research Center, Georgia.

Roger Ottmar led the fuels team, and Bob Vihnanek and the field crew collected data on fuels consumption. Data will be consolidated the data and will result in a series of peer-reviewed publication on the results.

The Discovery Channel collected interviews and footage and developed a 7-minute segment that aired March 18 during their broadcast of the “Daily Planet”. (March 28, 2008)

Mexico Photo Series Published -- Fuels of the montane subtropical forests of the Sierra Madre del Sur, and temperate forests and montane shrubland of the Northern Sierra Madre Oriental were collected, and a photo series on this region has been recently published by the University of Washington.

This stereo photo series is designed to help users to appraise fuel and vegetation conditions for fire management in forests of Mexico.

Funding for the field work and publication was provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development (Latin America and the Caribbean Bureau and the Mexico Mission) and U.S. Forest Service International Programs. The work was done by the FERA team and Mexican collaborators from the University of Guadalajara's Manantlán Institute of Ecology and Conservation of Biodiversity, Universidad Autonoma Agraria Antonio Narro, Fondo Mexicano para la Conservación de la Naturaleza, Comision Nacional de Areas Naturales Protegidas, and Comision Nacional Forestal. (March 28, 2008)

Department of Defense Land Managers Learn Suite of Fuels Management Tools -- Fort Gordon Army Base, in northeastern Georgia, was the site of the most recent 3-day workshop teaching land managers about the suite of tools – photo series, FCCS, and Consume – designed to help them reach their objectives in prescribed burning. Participants were mostly employees of the Department of Defense; others were from The Nature Conservancy and the Forest Service.

Prescribed Fires in San Bernardino National Forest Aid Shrub Consumption Research -- FERA's Kyle Jacobson make a quick to trip to southern late in March to gather some last minute moisture data at pre-positioned fuel consumption plots in the San Bernardino National Forest before their ongoing prescribed burn made it to those sites. This data will help improve shrub consumption data for the Consume 3.0 software. An interesting aspect of this burn was that a blog was created by the burners themselves as a source of information before, during, and after the fire. FERA's participation is mentioned on page 2 of that website.

Mountain Research Publication Highlights Dave Peterson -- The Western Mountain Initiative is the focus of a discussion conducted by The Mountain Research Initative with FERA's Dave Peterson and his colleague Jill Baron. They discuss adaptation strategies for ecosystems in the mountain West.

Jessica Halofsky Joins the Team -- FERA is pleased to welcome Dr. Jessica Halofsky as a University of Washington cooperator. Jessica recently received her doctorate, and will take on the task of working with land managers to help them plan for climate change. She will also participate in the work of the Western Mountain Initiative.

Field Crew Spends Time in Georgia and Florida -- FERA’s field crew, along with their leader Bob Vihnanek, is spending time Fort Gordon Army Base (Georgia) and Eglin Air Force Base (Florida), and the Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center (Georgia) gathering fuels data that will inform a set of upcoming experimental burns, provide detailed information for an upcoming workshop on FERA tools, and set the groundwork for possibly more photo series.

Talk Given on Climate Change’s Influence on Forest Ecosystems -- David L. Peterson and Don McKenzie presented the most recent in a series “Spotlight on Science,” a cooperative program between the Portland, Oregon offices of the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, and U.S. Geological Survey. They addressed the topics of adapting to the effects of climate change in Pacific Northwest forests, and the effects of climate change on wildfire in the western United States.

2007

FERA Collaborates on NASA Projects to Development Carbon Emission Estimates for North America -- FERA is a collaborator on two projects recently funded by NASA to estimate carbon emissions/budgets for North America. The projects are "Assessing the Impacts of fire and Insect Disturbances on the Terrestrial Carbon Budgets of Forested Areas in Canada, Alaska, and the Western United States", and "Development of Decision Products for Spatial Quantification of Carbon Emissions from Wildfire for North America." The principal investigators for these projects are Dr. Eric Kasischke of the University of Maryland, and Dr. Nancy French of Michigan Tech Research Institute, respectively. Work is underway to develop an efficient approach to both projects. The Fuel Characteristic Classification System and Consume 3.0 are integral to both projects. (December 2, 2007)

Sandberg Honored for Distinguished Achievement -- Dr. David V (Sam) Sandberg was honored during at the University of Washington College of Forest Resources 100-year anniversary gala. Sam was recognized with the Distinguished Achievement award for lifetime pioneering achievement in forest science for anticipating and acting on future challenges to resource management through education and research. Sandberg, among the first PhDs in Forest Fire Science (1974) taught the first university course in Disturbance Ecology and an introduced a lecture series on Global Climate Change in 1975, before joining the Forest Service to become a Program Manager for Global Environmental Protection. He remains active as an Emeritus Scientist with the Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Laboratory and as a consulting fire scientist active in fire behavior modeling, evaluating fire's role in global change, and strategic planning.

Dr. Sandberg has been associated with the College of Forest Resources since 1962 as student, lecturer, and affiliate professor. We congratulate Sam for having been honored by the faculty, staff, and friends that he has valued and admired for decades. (November 19, 2007)

Briefing on Toolkit for Assessing Fire Hazards -- The Joint Fire Science Program put together a 6-page briefing on the suite of applications developed by FERA to allow resource managers to estimate fuel loads, fire hazards, and smoke emissions characteristics. (October 29, 2007)

Digital Photo Series Finished -- The initial development of the Digital Photo Series is complete, and the final report submitted to the Joint Fire Science Program, primary funding organization for this work. (September 24, 2007)

Shrub Consumption Research Project Complete -- The gathering and analysis of data from buring experiments focusing on shrub consumption is complete. The final report for this work ahs been submitted to the Joint Fire Science Program. Improvements to Consume 3.0 will include results from this work. (September 21, 2007)

JFSP Highlights Feature FERA Research -- Three research briefs by the Joint Fire Science Program highlight research which involves the FERA team. (September 21, 2004)
Hurricane Photo Series [.pdf]
FCCS in Eastern Hardwoods [.pdf]
Fire-Climate Connection [.pdf]

Pilot Study on Multiple Day Prescribed Burns Completed -- Roger Ottmar coordinated FERA's participation in a pilot project on the Wenatchee National Forest, Naches Ranger District during which time data was collected on the fuels before and after the fire, and this data was compared with predictions of consumption using FCCS and Consume 3.0. (July 20, 2007)

FERA Assists as Washington State Considers Climate Effects on Forests -- Dave Peterson serves on the Forest Resources Preparation/Adaptation Workgroup which provides technical advice to the Governor's Climate Advisory Team. (July 17, 2007)

New Study Considers the Biomass of Handpiles for Smoke Management Planning -- The Joint Fire Science Program has funded Clint Wright to conduct 2 -year study to determine the relationships between handpile composition, size, and biomass in different vegetation types. This will result in improved equations for estimating hand-pile biomass which, in turn, will allow for more accurate smoke production estimates. (July 2007)

FERA Helps Establish International Fire Management Actions Alliance -- Ernesto Alvarado, from the FERA Team, is a founding member of the FAO Fire Management Actions Alliance. The Alliance was established in May 2007 at the 4th International Wildland Fire Conference held in Seville, Spain with the goal of is stimulating improved fire management and reducing damage from fire worldwide. Its objectives are to review and update the Fire Management Voluntary Guidelines; encourage stakeholders at all levels to adopt and use the Guidelines; review experiences from applying the Guidelines; and strengthen international cooperation in fire management. (June 11, 2007)

Two Joint Fire Science Program Projects Completed -- Final reports for the projects "Field Training Workshops for Field Demonstrating the Use of the JFSP-Sponsored Photo Series and Fuel Characteristic Classification System" and "Forest Floor Consumption and Smoke Characterization in Boreal Forested Fuelbed Types of Alaska" have been submitted to the Joint Fire Science Program. The series of workshops is complete, and the boreal forest consumption equations have been programmed into Consume 3.0. (June 5, 2007)

EOS Features Climate Change and Disturbance Workshop -- EOS, a weekly publication of the American Geophysical Union, took note of the "Workshop on Climate Change and Disturbance Interactions in Western North America" held in Tucson in February 2007. The workshop was led by FERA's Don McKenzie as part of the Western Mountain Initiative. (June 1, 2007)

FERA Scientists Lead Disturbance Workshop -- FERA scientists Don McKenzie and Dave Peterson, in collaboration with the Western Mountain Initiative and the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Laboratory at the University of Arizona, convened an interdisciplinary group of 25 scientists for a 2 1/2 day intensive workshop to identify new directions in climate change research.  Four workgroups focused on different aspects of the response of disturbance regimes, such as wildfire and insect outbreaks, to climate change: extreme events and climatic variability, the effects of changing disturbance regimes on ecosystems, new disturbance interactions and cumulative effects, and developing new landscape disturbance models.  Outcomes will be reported in a Forest Service General Technical Report, a synthesis paper in an ecological journal, reports at international conferences, and topical papers in other peer-reviewed journals. (Feb. 22, 2007)

FCCS Version 1.1 Released -- FCCS v 1.1 has been released, and includes the following modifications. (Feb. 16, 2007)

1. The program now reports predicted surface fire behavior, including
   reaction intensity (BTU ft-2 min-1), flame length (ft), and rate of spread (ft
   min-1), under benchmark environmental conditions. Benchmark environmental
   conditions are defined as flat (0% slope) with winds at 4 mph, and under dry fuel conditions (D2L2 moisture scenario [Andrews et al. 2005]).
2. The program now suggests crosswalks, from both FCCS Fuelbeds and custom fuelbeds, to the original 13 surface fire behavior fuel models and the 40 standard fuel models (Scott and Burgan 2005) under a dry fuel moisture scenario (D2L2) (Andrews et al. 2005).
3. The website now includes data references for each of the FCCS Fuelbeds.

2006

New York Times Article Cites FERA Journal Article -- An article published November 14, 2006 by the New York Times, "Studies Find Danger to Forests in Thinning Without Burning," refers to a paper in the Canadian Journal of Forest Research written by Crystal Raymond and David L. Peterson. (Nov. 15, 2006)

Ottmar Receives Award for Technology Transfer-- Roger Ottmar received the Forest Service 2006 Chief's Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer (Internal). This is an annual award which recognizes exemplary contributions of individuals or groups to activities that promote the transfer of knowledge and technology within the United States. It honors exceptional creativity in the transfer of technology internally within the Forest Service. (October. 1, 2006)

Hurricane Photo Series Featured in Press Release -- Scientists from the FERA team will help forest managers quickly measure fuel loads across extensive areas of hurricane-damaged forests. This research is funded by the Joint Fire Science Program and is led by Roger Ottmar. (Aug. 24, 2006)

• Press Release
• The news story was picked up by National Public Radio (KPLU in the Seattle Area) Listen to audio file [.mp3]

FIREHouse is in the Spotlight -- Northwest and Alaska Fire Research Clearinghouse (FIREHouse) is featured on the Joint Fire Science Program website in the Spotlights section. (Sept. 28, 2006)

Photo Series Training in Mexico and Central America --
A new natural fuels photo series volume for Mexico was used during a training session held in Manantlán and attended by 21 representatives from five Central American countries and Mexico. Ernesto Alvarado conducted this training with funding from USAID.(July 26, 2006)

Successful Joint Fire Science Program Proposals -- Diana Olson and Roger Ottmar successfully competed for funding in the 2006 Joint Fire Science Program Request for Proposals. The projects funded were "Compiling, Synthesizing, and Analyzing Existing Boreal Forest Fire History for Alaska" and "Photo Series for Estimating Post-Hurricane Fuels in Forest Types of the Southeast United States."

U.S. Forest Service - PNW- FERA
Last Modified: Tuesday, 23 April 2013 at 19:18:35 EDT