Fire and Environmental Research Applications Team

HONORARY DEGREE AWARDED TO ROGER OTTMAR

The University of Idaho awarded an honorary Doctorate in Natural Resources to Roger Ottmar at commencement ceremonies May 10. He was recognized for his pioneering work on the physical properties of wildland fuels and how they contribute to fire behavior, smoke production and atmospheric pollution.

FCCS MAPPING OF THE ANGORA FIRE REGION

FERA will be collaborating with the Pacific Southwest Region to develop a set of past, current, and future fuelbeds for the Angora Fire region (South Lake Tahoe, California) using the Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS). Following assignment of the fuelbeds to the Angora fire landscape, levels of fire risk, smoke/pollutant production, carbon gain or loss, and threats or benefits to other resources will then be compared among the various treatment alternatives considered by the Interdisciplinary Team and Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit vegetation and fuels management staff.

MAUREEN KENNEDY WELCOMED TO THE FERA TEAM

Dr. Maureen Kennedy, recent Ph.D. graduate and current research scientist at the University of Washington, has joined forces with FERA to study spatial optimization of fuel treatments, climatic and topographic controls on spatial patterns of wildfires, and broad-scale classification and mapping of fuels.

DEVELOPMENT OF SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE FOR FIRE MODELING AND DECISION MAKING ABOUT FUELS

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.

CLIMATE DRIVERS OF REGIONALLY SYNCHRONOUS FIRES IN THE INLAND NORTHWEST (1651-1900)

The International Journal of Wildland Fire published the paper “Climate Drivers of Regionally Synchronous Fires in the Inland Northwest (1651-1900)” by Emily Heyerdahl and FERA team member Don McKenzie. It addresses specific aspects of climate that appear to have driven the occurrence of fires.

FERA TEAM-TEACHES TECHNICAL FIRE MANAGEMENT CLASSES

Dr. David L. Peterson coordinated presentations for the Fire Effects module of the May 2008 Technical Fire Management class held in Bothell, Washington. Among the many presenters were FERA’s Don McKenzie, Roger Ottmar, Morris Johnson, and Susan Prichard.

ASSISTANCE PROVIDED TO DEVELOP FIRE MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR PARAGUAY

The F.S. International Programs convened a team of fire management experts to visit Paraguay the week of May 12 to assess their fire management needs and identify areas of cooperation between the two countries. Declaration of a wildfire disaster in 2007 by Paraguay’s president was spurred by fire’s severe damage to pasture lands, farmlands, community subsistence crops, and protected natural areas. The goal of the cooperative work is effective forest fire management to protect Paraguay’s forest resources.