Fire and Environmental Research Applications Team

NORTHERN IDAHO REGIONAL FUELS WORKSHOP

FERA’s teaching cadre were guests of the University of Idaho’s Forestry 451 Fuels Inventory and Mapping class in Moscow the first week in April. The decision support tools FCCS, Consume 3.0, and the Photo Series were taught in the classroom, then one day in the field demonstrated on-the-ground uses of these tools. Students included undergraduate and graduates from the university, fuels managers from the public and private sector from around the Northwest, professors, and other faculty.

http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/fera/research/outreach/workshops.shtml

GROWTH-CLIMATE RELATIONS OF LODGEPOLE PINE IN THE NORTH CASCADES NATIONAL PARK, WASHINGTON.

This paper, published in Northwest Science, examines the effects of 20th century climatic variability on lodgepole pine along an elevation gradient. Authors are Michael Case and David L. Peterson

http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/fera/publications/fulltext/caseandpeterson2007.pdf

NEW JERSEY PINE BARRENS SHRUB CONSUMPTION WORK DOCUMENTED

The Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper documented prescribed burns done on the New Jersey Pine Barrens. These same burns provided data for shrub consumption research being conducted by FERA’s Clint Wright. This research, funded by the Joint Fire Science Program, will develop new models for shrub-dominated fuel types for incorporation into a module for, or a new version of the software package CONSUME.

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/gallery/Controlled_Burn.html
http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/fera/research/smoke/shrubs.shtml

FIELD WORK BEGINS IN WENATCHEE NATIONAL FOREST

FERA’s field crew collected prefire fuels data this past month for the purpose of measuring forest fuel consumption on the Devil’s Table and Kaboom units of a multi-day burn project conducted on the eastern slope of the Washington’s Cascade Range. Postfire data will be collected and used to measure fuel consumed, which can then be used to estimate emissions. This multi-day burn project brings together many parties in cooperation with the State of Washington to minimize smoke impacts and demonstrate that such burns can both meet air quality regulations and provide efficient fuel treatments. A variety of forest types in natural fuels are involved.

FIRE HAZARD AND DECOMPOSITION STUDY COMPLETE

Morris Johnson completed a multi-year study of fire hazard and decomposition in the City of Seattle’s Cedar River Watershed. Fire hazard in the CRMW was assessed to help reconcile ecological restoration efforts and fire management with respect to fuel loadings across the landscape, and Fuel decomposition was measured to provide fine-scale temporal data on fuel succession that will inform the coarse-scale assessment of fire hazard for different management options. FFE-FVS was used to quantify fuels for different forest classifications and to predict the characteristics and effects of a fire should one occur during warm, dry weather conditions.

http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/fera/research/targeted/cedarriver/

SCIENTISTS RESPOND RAPIDLY TO WILDFIRE RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES

Roger Ottmar was one of many authors who collaborated to share their experiences accelerating the research process to respond to research opportunities presented during or immediately after wildfires. Their viewpoints were published by the magazine Fire Management Today.

http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/fera/publications/fulltext/lentileetal2007.pdf