ROGER D. OTTMAR

USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station

Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Laboratory

400 North 34th Street, Suite 201

Seattle, Washington  98103

Desk (206) 732-7826

General (206) 732-7800; Fax (206) 732-7801

Cell: (206) 849-3172

e-mail: rottmar@fs.fed.us

website: www.fs.fed.us/pnw/fera

 

 

Educational background

 

Bachelor of Arts, Eastern Washington State College, 1973. Secondary Education/Geology.

Bachelor of Science, University of Washington, 1977. Atmospheric Science

Master of Science, University of Washington, 1980. Forest Management (specialization in fire science)

Honorary Doctorate Degree, University of Idaho, 2008, Natural Resources

 

Professional Experience

 

Roger Ottmar is a Research Forester with the Fire and Environmental Research Applications Team, US Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station at the Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Laboratory located in Seattle, Washington.  He has been involved with fuels, fire, and smoke related research for over 34 years. Roger has completed or is currently working on research efforts to 1) upgrade and modify the fuel consumption and emissions software Consume, 2) produce natural fuel photo series volumes for 30 fuel types of the United States, Mexico and Brazil,3) develop the Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS), 5) assess wildland firefighter exposure to smoke and the associated health risk, 6) develop a forest floor consumption model for the boreal forest region of Alaska, 7) develop FCCS fuelbeds for LANDFIRE, Okanogan/Wenatchee, Umatilla, Wallowa-Whitman, Malheur, and Deschutes National Forests, and Lake Tahoe Management basin for evaluating fuel treatment effectiveness.   Roger has supervised and hosted 10 visiting scientists from Portugal, Spain, Australia, and Brazil.  He is leading the Prescribed Fire Combustion and Atmospheric Dynamics Research Experiment (RxCADRE), a team of 30 scientists that are developing processes for collecting complementary research data across fire-related disciplines before, during, and after the active burning periods of prescribed fires for fire model development and evaluation. Roger has authored and co-authored over 155 research publications and final reports and has served as principal investigator on more than 85 grants, agreements (including 15 Joint Fire Science Program Projects), and coops between other USDA Forest Service Research Stations, governmental agencies, private corporations, and Universities.  Roger also teaches over 30 lessons per year at land management Rx training sessions including Smoke management, Fire effects, and Burn Boss, rewriting 3 chapters for the Smoke Management Guide book, and leads several fuel workshops each year.  Roger is a member of the Society of American Foresters, American Meteorological Society, Ecological Restoration Society, International Association of Wildland Fire, and Tall Timbers Society.  Roger has received a certificate of Appreciation from the National Wildland Coordinating Group (2012), an honorary Doctorate of Philosophy from the University of Idaho (2008), thirteen USDA Forest Service Certificates of Merits, USDA Forest Service Chief’s Award for Technology Transfer (2006), PNW Station Technology Transfer Award (2006), National Fire Plan for Excellence in Research Award (2005), Outstanding Service in Fire Management Award (2002), Pacific Northwest Region Excellence in Prescribed Fire Award (1999), PNW Research Station Vision Award (1993), and PNW Station Technology Transfer Award (1991).

 

 

Selected Publications

Huff, Mark H.; Ottmar, Roger D.; Alvarado, Ernesto [and others]. 1995. Historical and current forest landscapes in eastern Oregon and Washington. Part II: Linking vegetation characteristics to potential fire behavior and related smoke production. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-355. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 43 p.

Ottmar, Roger D.; Vihnanek, Robert E.; Wright, Clinton S.  1998. Stereo photo series for quantifying natural fuels, Volume I: mixed-conifer with mortality, western juniper, sagebrush and grassland types in the interior Pacific Northwest. PMS 830. Boise, Idaho: National wildfire Coordinating Group, National Inetragency Fire Center. 73 p.

Ottmar, Roger D.; Vihnanek, Robert E.  1998. Stereo photo series for quantifying natural fuels, volume II: black spruce and white spruce types in Alaska. PMS 831. Boise, ID. National Wildfire Coordinating Group. National Interagency Fire Center. 65 p.

Ottmar, Roger D.; Vihnanek, Robert E.  1999. Stereo photo series for quantifying natural fuels, volume V: red and white pine, northern tall grass prairie, and oak/hickory in the Midwest. PMS 834. Boise, ID: National Wildfire Coordinating Group, National Interagency Fire Center. 99 p.

Ottmar, Roger D.; Vihnanek, Robert E.  2000 (a). Stereo photo series for quantifying natural fuels, Volume III: lodgepole pine, quaking aspen, and gambel oak types in the Rocky Mountains. PMS 832. Boise, ID. National Wildfire Coordinating Group. National Interagency Fire Center. 85 p.

Ottmar, Roger D.; Vihnanek, Robert E.  2000 (b). Stereo photo series for quantifying natural fuels, Volume VI: longleaf pine, pocosin, and marshgrass types in the Southeast United States. PMS 831. Boise, ID. National Wildfire Coordinating Group. National Interagency Fire Center. 56 p.

Ottmar, Roger D.; Vihnanek, Robert E; Regelbrugge, Jon C. 2000. Stereo photo series for quantifying natural fuels, Volume IV: pinyon-juniper, sagebrush, and chaparral types in the Southwestern United Sates. PMS 833. Boise, ID. National Wildfire Coordinating Group. National Interagency Fire Center. 97 p.

Reinhardt, Timothy E.; Ottmar, Roger D. 2000. Smoke exposure at western wildfires.  Smoke exposure at western wildfires. Research Paper PNW-RP-525. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 72 p.

Ottmar, R. D.; Sandberg, D. V. 2001. Wildland fire in eastern Oregon and Washington. Northwest Science. 75 (Special Issue): 46-54.

Hardy, C. C.; Ottmar, R. D.; Peterson, J. L. [and others] 2001. Smoke management guide for prescribed and wildland fire: 2001 edition. Boise, ID: National Wildfire Coordinating Group. 226 p.

Wright, Clinton S., Ottmar, Roger D.; Vihnanek, Robert E.; Weise, David R.  2002.  Stereo photo series for quantifying natural fuels: grassland, shrubland, woodland, and forest types in Hawaii.  Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-545.  Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station.  91 p.

Ottmar, Roger D.; Vihnanek, Robert E. 2002. Stereo photo series for quantifying natural fuels.  Volume IIa: hardwoods with spruce in Alaska. PMS 836. Boise, ID. National Wildfire Coordinating Group. National Interagency Fire Center. 41 p.

Ottmar, Roger D.; Vihnanek, Robert E; Wright, Clinton S. 2002. Stereo photo series for quantifying natural fuels.  Volume Va: jack pine in the Lake States. PMS 837. Boise, ID. National Wildfire Coordinating Group. National Interagency Fire Center. 49 p.

Sandberg, David V.; Ottmar, Roger D.; Peterson, Janice L; Core, John. 2002. Wildland fire in ecosystems: effects on air. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-42-vol. 5. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 70 p.

 

 

Ottmar, Roger D.; Vihnanek, Robert E.; Mathey, Jared W. 2003. Stereo photo series for quantifying natural fuels. Volume VIa: sand hill, sand pine scrub, and hardwood with white pine types in the Southeast United States with supplemental sites for Volume VI. PMS 838. Boise, ID: National Wildfire Coordinating Group, National Interagency Fire Center. 78 p. Order Number – NFES #1119.

Ottmar, Roger D.; Vihnanek, Robert E.; Wright, Clinton S.; Olson, Diana. 2004. Stereo photo series for quantifying natural fuels.  Volume VII: Oregon white oak, California deciduous oak, and mixed-conifer with shrub types in  the western United States.  National Wildfire Coordinating Group, National Interagency Fire Center.  76 p.  Order Number – NFES #1119

Reinhardt, Timothy E. and Roger D. Ottmar. 2004. Baseline measurements of smoke exposure among wildland firefighters. Journal of Ocuppational and Environment Hygiene, 1: 593-606.

Ottmar, Roger D.; Vihnanek, Robert E.; Wright, Clinton S. 2007. Stereo photo series for quantifying natural fuels. Volume X: Sagebrush with grass and ponderosa pine-juniper types in central Montana. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-719. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest service, Pacific Northwest research Station.59 p.

Ottmar, R.D., Sandberg, D.V.; Riccardi, C.L.; Prichard, S. J. 2007. An overview of the Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS) - quantifying, classifying, and creating fuelbeds for resource planning. Can. J. For. Res. 37:1-11.

Riccardi, Cynthia L.; Ottmar, Roger D.; Sandberg, David V., Andreu, Anne; Elman, Ella; Kopper, Karen; Long, Jennifer. 2007. The Fuelbed: a Key Element of the Fuel Characteristic Classification System, Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 37(12): 2394-2412.

Ottmar, Roger D., Anna Miranda, and David V. Sandberg. 2009.  Characterizing sources of emissions from wildland fires.  Wildland Fires and Air Pollution, Chapter 3; Elsevier Book series: Developments in Environmental Science: 61-78.

Hyde, Joshua C., Smith, Alistair M.S., Ottmar, Roger D., Alvarado, Ernesto C., Morgan, Penelope.  2011. The combustion of sound and rotten coarse woody debris: a review.  International Journal of Wildland Fire. International Journal of Wildland Fire 20(2) 163-174.

Turetsky, M.R., Kane, E.S., Harden, J.W., Ottmar, R.D., Kasischke, E.S.  2011. Recent acceleration of biomass burning and carbon loss in Alaska forests and peatlands. Nature Geoscinece 4:27-31.