Blue Mountains Natural Resources Institute

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Audio

LIVING WITH WILDFIRE

"Living With Wildfire" is a conversation between Jim McIver (Science Coordinator at BMNRI) and four experts in land management:

• John Szymoniak, Assistant Fire Staff, Air and Fuels, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest
• Berta Youtie, NE Oregon Regional Ecologist, The Nature Conservancy
• Tom Goodall, Assistant Timberlands Manager, Boise Cascade Corporation
• John Buckman, Pendleton Unit Forester, Oregon Department of Forestry

Each speaker discusses how fire affects their lands and their management.

Video

The BMNRI Video Lending Library is now closed. Please visit:

The PNW Research Station Video Library

THE BREEDING BULL ELK STUDY: PRELIMINARY RESULTS AND IMPLICATIONS FROM STARKEY EXPERIMENTAL FOREST AND RANGE

Time: 14:15 minutes

For 5 years, researchers for the Starkey Project looked at how age of bull elk affected cow elk reproduction. They wanted to know if yearling bulls perform the same as older bulls. The first phase of the study is now complete, and the initial results yield some surprising insights into the future of elk management in northeastern Oregon.

BUILDING THE FUTURE: THE BLUE MOUNTAINS NATURAL RESOURCES INSTITUTE

Time: 10 minutes

This video presentation looks at the component parts of the Blue Mountains Natural Resources Institute to see what it is, how it works, and how it may help the ecosystems of the Blue Mountains. The institute was formed by a grass-roots effort of local people concerned about the forests in the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon and southwestern Washington. Those people and others, representing a wide array of interests and knowledge, have agreed to work together toward the common goal of finding ecological and sustainable ways of using the area's resources for a variety of benefits. The institute is at the center of the new direction of land management, where partnerships, scientific research, and an ecosystem orientation all work together to build a more stable future for the Blue Mountains.

CHOICE AND CONSEQUENCES: PRESCRIBED NATURAL FIRE IN WILDERNESS

Time 15 minutes

Is it a beneficial natural force? Or is it a damaging disaster? Whatever your view, lightning will start fires in wilderness this year, just as it always has. Land management agencies are developing plans that will guide firefighting decisions when fire does start in wilderness. This video will explore the benefits and the problems of fire in wilderness and examine how a "prescribed natural fire" program might work in our nation's wilderness.

CIRCLE IN THE FOREST: LAND MANAGEMENT BY CONSENSUS

Time: 17 minutes

It started with a timber sale. Local residents lined up on opposing sides. The stage was set for another round of antagonism, confrontation, and gridlock. But the residents of Halfway, Oregon, decided to try another path. One that brought them together... to find common ground. Their circle in the forest changed the way they saw their neighbors and changed the way the national forest land surrounding their town was managed. They went beyond compromise, and achieved consensus. This video documents the success of their consensus approach—from initial mistrust to the leaps of faith that created an innovative management plan.

CONTINUALLY CORRECTING COURSE: A TALE OF ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT

Time: 8:25 minutes

This is an animated video that explains adaptive management. There's a time in the future... when land managers, scientists, and the public work together in a continuous partnership. Join us on this animated journey... Where the collaborative effort continually corrects its course toward a quality environment, sustainable resources, and better land management knowledge.

COTTONWOOD & ASPEN: MANAGING FOR BALANCE, ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT

Presentations: One tape — 8 hours, Fall 1995

• Quaking Aspen and Black Cottonwood: Historical and Present-Day Distribution in the Blue Mountains

  Elizabeth Crowe, Wetlands Ecologist, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.

• Ecology and Watershed Functions of Western Cottonwoods

  Paul E. Heilman, Washington State University, Puyallup, WA.

• Cottonwood and Aspen as Wildlife Habitat: A Focus on Birds

  Joshua J. Tewksbury, University of Montana.

• Silviculture and Management of Aspen in the West

  Wayne D. Shepperd, Research Silviculturist, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Ft. Collins, CO.

• Cottonwood and Aspen: Economics and Management

  Paul Oester, OSU Extension Service.

• Cottonwoods on Eastern Oregon Farms and Ranches

  Rick Wagner, Forest Practices Forester, Oregon Department of Forestry.

CREATING CAVITIES IN THE FOREST: ONE FACET OF ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT

Time: 11 minutes

This video is a research-in-progress series. The basis for adapting the technique to old-growth wildlife, including the spotted owl, came from research conducted by the Pacific Northwest Research Station during 1985-1992 in Oregon and Washington with support from the Bureau of Land Management in Oregon and the U.S. Army in Washington.

ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT: HOW IT'S HAPPENING IN THE TRENCHES

Time: 28 minutes

This presentation is part of a speaker series on ecosystem approaches to management. Dr. Fred Swanson, Co-leader of the Cascade Center for Ecosystem Management, discusses some of the problems, opportunities, and examples of ecosystem management as it is currently being practiced. He compares the current method of determining commodity output from the national forests with how it must change if ecosystem management is to become the norm. He also defines terms, discusses implications for researchers and managers, and outlines the role of the Cascade Center for Ecosystem Management.

FIRE ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT IN THE BLUE MOUNTAINS (A Seminar Series)

Presentations: Two tapes — 10 hours, Fall 1993

• Historical and Present Conditions of the Blue Mountains

  Fred Hall, USDA Forest Service.

• Reintroducing Fire Into Ecosystems

  Thomas Atzel, Area Ecologist, Rogue, Siskiyou, Umpqua National Forests.

• The Effects of Fire on Amphibians and Reptiles

  Henry R. Mushinsky, Center for Urban Ecology, University of South Florida.

• Soil and Cambium Temperatures Associated With Prescribed Burning

  Stephen S. Sackett, and Sally M. Haase, Forest Fire Laboratory, Riverside, CA.

• Prescribed Burning and Productivity: A Nutrient Management Perspective

  Arthur R. Tiedemann, PNW Research Station, Forestry and Range Sciences Lab, La Grande, OR, and James O. Klemmendson, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ.

• Can You See the Forest for the Smoke? A Plan for Addressing Prescribed Burning and Wildfire in the Blue Mountains of NE Oregon

  Brian Finneran, Attainment Area Coordinator, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.

• Can Silviculture Replace the Role of Fire?

  Russell T. Graham, Intermountain Research Station, Moscow, ID.

• Effects of Fire on Wildlife

  John Erickson, Forest Wildlife Biologist, Boise National Forest.

• Panel Discussion: To Burn or Not to Burn? What is the Proper Use of Fire in Managing Forests?

  Charlie Johnson, Blue Mt. Area Ecologist, Region 6, USFS.

FIXING THE SYSTEM...ECOSYSTEM HEALTH IN THE BLUES

Time: 10 minutes

Why do so many of the trees in the Blue Mountains look dead? Why do we see problems with heavy forest fuels, noxious weeds, and wildlife habitat? This video, "Fixing the System—Ecosystem Health in the Blues," examines these questions, searching for the causes and the solutions. We understand the complexity of an ecosystem, and are reminded that we don't know all the answers. But there are some tools that we can use to nudge the forests back into balance and healthy resilience. The video suggests that the road to recovery might be a long one—the problems took decades to develop, and may take as long to resolve. But by working together, we stand a good chance to restore healthy ecosystems in the Blue Mountains.

KEEPERS OF THE FOREST: THE REWARDS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF FOREST STEWARDSHIP

Time: 15:30 minutes

Throughout the United States, millions of people own and manage forest land. They manage it in a variety of ways and for a wide variety of reasons. But not every landowner is a land steward. Join us as we visit with four forest-land stewards in northeast Oregon to discover the concept, principles, and benefits of forest-land stewardship. Each manager shares his combination of knowledge and personal philosophy that transforms the management of trees into stewardship of the forest.

THE LIMBER JIM PROJECT: PUTTING SCIENCE TO WORK

Time: 16:50

This video explains the rationale for the Limber Jim fuel reduction project, including management and research objectives, harvest practices, and environmental concerns. The video casts the project within the context of the fuel reduction issue, and explains the implications of the basic results: extent of fuel reduction, economics, and soil impacts. It demonstrates a successful application of adaptive management.

THE MIRACLE AT BRIDGE CREEK

Time: 30 minutes

This presentation tells the story of a demonstration project on Bridge Creek, near the town of Mitchell, Oregon. The Oregon Watershed Improvement Coalition (OWIC) sponsored discussions among a variety of interest groups that have traditionally found themselves on opposite sides of the environmental fence. The quiet ranching community became the center of an effort to find common ground and creative, win-win solutions. Through interviews with the participants and a "slice-of-life" documentary style, this video presentation showcases how the right approach to problem-solving can help change attitudes and lead to understanding.

MONITORING: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

This tape provides an up-to-date overview of the forest monitoring process. The Pacific Northwest Region will soon begin implementing the Forest Plan Adjustment Strategy; a key factor in success of this process will be the use of forest monitoring results. This tape is intended to explain how the various steps in monitoring can be applied to get the results each forest needs to support the adjustment strategy.

MORE THAN THE SUM OF THE PARTS: MANAGING THE ECOSYSTEM

Time: 19 minutes

Land management is changing in the Blue Mountains. From managing one area or one resource—to cooperative management across broad landscapes. This video presentation explains the transition to ecosystem management. It describes why it's necessary, how it's being accomplished, and who's doing the work. We'll look over the shoulders of 10 land managers from a variety of agencies and organizations as they begin to employ the principles of ecosystem management. They tell a story of concerted, cooperative effort, each in their own specialty, towards the goal: a diverse and sustainable whole. Because it's more than the sum of the parts.

NATURAL ENEMIES OF FOREST INSECT PESTS

Time: 23 minutes

A look at the research findings that highlight the importance of managing for conditions that promote natural enemies of forest insect pests.

NOXIOUS WEEDS: STEMMING THE TIDE (A Seminar Series)

Presentations: One tape — 8 hours, Spring 1995

• Explosion in Slow Motion

  Jerry Asher, Natural Resource Specialist, Bureau of Land Management, Portland, OR.

• How Plants Invade New Territory

  Gary Kiemnec, Associate Professor of Crop Science, Oregon State University.

• Weed Control and Restoration in the Blue Mountains (Panel Presentation)

  Gary Dade, Union County Weed Control Officer. Questions from remote sites follow each speaker.

PROFILING IMPACTS ON FOREST STANDS

Time: 68 minutes

Dr. John Lundquist, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station.

Dr. Lundquist presents a technique called "disturbance profiling," in which structural patterns of forest stands are described, and the processes that caused them are identified. Variations of this technique can be used by foresters who wish to craft their management schemes to resemble natural disturbance regimes.

RIPARIAN RESTORATION AND MONITORING WORKSHOP (April 30-May 3, 1996).

Individual presentations available:

• Vegetation Dynamics and Geomorphology Classification Approach (Time: 68:00 minutes)

  John Buckhouse, Oregon State University

  John discusses stream dynamics, role of vegetation and organics, classification systems, and water quality.

• Back to the Basics: An Understanding of Riparian Function and Processes (Time: 90:00 minutes)

  Wayne Elmore, Bureau of Land Management

  Note: beginning at 12:30 minutes on the tape, Wayne's microphone develops static. This continues until 26:30 minutes. His words are understandable throughout the 14 minutes of static.

• Photo Monitoring Approaches in Riparian Systems (Time: 55 minutes)

  Fred Hall, USDA Forest Service

  Fred discusses the "do's and don'ts" of photopoint establishment and monitoring.

• Assessment of the Green Line and Riparian Complex (Time: 61 minutes)

  Al Winward, USDA Forest Service

  Al describes various ways of classifying riparian areas.

• Balancing Livestock Production and Health of Riparian Ecosystems (Time: 52 minutes)

  Marty Vavra, Oregon State University

  Marty discusses various considerations in developing a grazing system that can maintain/improve the health of the riparian system while remaining economically viable.

• Principles of Successful Livestock Grazing in Riparian Ecosystems (Time: 59 minutes)

  Mike McInnis, Oregon State University

  Mike describes the principles, processes, and goals of livestock grazing in riparian ecosystems.

RIPARIAN REVIVAL: THE ELK CREEK DEMONSTRATION AREA

Time: 10 minutes

Many waterways in the Blue Mountains of northeast Oregon show signs of wear: little or no vegetation, channelized banks, and low water flow. This video shows how one stream, Elk Creek, has been allowed to recover. By doing a few simple things—fencing selected reaches of the stream and planting streamside vegetation—Elk Creek is being helped to revive itself. The Elk Creek Demonstration Area has been established to teach the lessons of streamside rehabilitation. Through dramatic "before and after" footage and interviews with experts, the video examines the recovery techniques as well as the benefits of healthy riparian zones.

SALMONIDS IN PERIL (A Seminar Series)

Presentations: Four Tapes — 8 hours, Spring 1997

SHARING THE CANVAS—THE LEARNING CENTER OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS NATURAL RESOURCES INSTITUTE

Time: 7 minutes

Land management in recent years has grown more complicated, more controversial, and more critical to the people and resources of the Blue Mountains of Oregon and Washington. It seems as though everyone has their own idea of how to manage the landscape. The video presentation explains how the Learning Center of the Blue Mountains Natural Resources Institute is helping to bring these voices together—to help them paint their vision of the future on one canvas. The Learning Center is encouraging land managers, the public, and scientists to work cooperatively to solve land management questions. This video illustrates how the Learning Center stimulates informed, cooperative action and assures that all interests are sharing the canvas.

SMALLWOOD '98: SUMMARY VIDEO OF THE CONFERENCE AND EXPOSITION

Time 31:30

This presentation was videotaped entirely during SmallWood '98, a conference and exposition that took place in Lewiston, Idaho, October 14-16, 1998. The conference focused attention on the resource of small-diameter wood, a plentiful, yet underutilized resource. With the decline of larger diameter timber and the increasing danger of wildfire from growing supplies of small-diameter wood, the importance of harvesting, processing, and marketing small-diameter wood becomes increasingly important for the health of the forest and of timber-dependent communities. We follow an on-camera host, Bob Ford (Idaho Department of Commerce) as he helps distill some of the most important messages of the conference by talking with many of the speakers. You'll see highlights from the mobile workshops, the Exposition, and the interaction of the participants that made this such a useful and powerful event.

SOILS: THE FOUNDATION OF THE ECOSYSTEM (A Seminar Series)

Presentations: One tape — 8 hours, Fall 1994

• Geologic Evolution of the Blue Mountains Region, The Role of Geology in Soil Formation

  Mark Ferns, Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, Baker City, OR.

• Processes of Soil Formation

  James L. Clayton, Intermountain Research Station, Boise, ID.

• Soil and the Forest Floor: What It Is, How It Works, and How To Treat It

  Alan E. Harvey, Plant Pathologist, Intermountain Research Station, Moscow, ID.

• Organisms in the Soil: the Functions of Bacteria, Fungi, Protozoa, Nematodes, and Arthropods

  Elaine R. Ingham, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University.

• Effects of Management Activities on Forest Soils: Can We Manage Better?

  R.T. Meurisse, Regional Soil Scientist, USDA Forest Service, Region 6, Portland, OR.

TIMBER HARVESTING FOR FOREST HEALTH

Tape One presentations: Time: 109 minutes, Spring 1996

John Henshaw, past Acting Manager, BMNRI, and Jimmy Roberts, Wallowa Valley District Ranger. Careful timber harvest can be used for improving forest health, a condition in which productivity and ecological diversity are resilient to disturbance and are sustainable in the long term. The primary tool for meeting desired forest conditions is vegetation manipulation: planting, removing, or redistributing. The key to successfully using timber harvest as a forest health tool is planning; attention is given to what is left on site rather than what is removed. We need to choose options that will balance ecological issues (soil compaction and disturbance, vegetation damage), economic issues (current market for material removed, costs of various removal methods), and social issues (values and needs).

Bruce Hartsough, Professor at University of California, Davis, CA, discusses many of the variables in choosing a harvest system. The volume per piece and volume per acre as well as the topography and available roads all affect the choices of felling, yarding, bucking, loading, trucking, and milling methods.

Tape Two presentations: Time: 87 minutes

Loren Kellogg, Oregon State University Professor of Forest Engineering, describes the Deerhorn Timber Sale study results. The intent of the harvest was to reduce fuels and thin timber in an area on Louisiana-Pacific land with severe insect damage. Economics and effectiveness of cable yarding in combination with a single-grip harvester were studied.

Jim McIver, Research Coordinator, BMNRI, discusses the Limber Jim project, which will build on knowledge from the Deerhorn study and will compare harvest methods for effectiveness of treatment, economic feasibility, and ecological effects. There will also be a study component that will compare public acceptance of fuel reduction by thinning with prescribed fire.

Tape Three presentations:

Lynn Breese, Co-Owner Dixie Meadow Company, describes the intensive management of their land that includes clipping of juniper seedlings, and selective pine harvesting following their plan to "pay the bills and leave the land better off."

Tom Glassford owns a 50-acre woodlot near Enterprise, and he discusses how he uses pruning and thinning to reduce fuels, and emphasizes selection harvest rather than production. He has modified equipment to do his own loading and hauling.

Harold Freels, High Country Logging, describes low-impact skidding using teams of horses. Horses cause little soil compaction or disturbance, and can skid almost any time of the year—even in a wet spring.

TRANSFORMING FIRE

Time: 19:45

A smoke plume rises above the forest. Firefighters are already at the scene with their tools and fire trucks. But something is very different here—no one is trying to put the fire out. In fact, the "firefighters" are actually helping spread the flames to more and more acres! Welcome to the word of natural fuels underburning, where fire managers start small fires to help prevent larger ones, and where they burn the forests in order to save it. This program tell the story of Fremont National Forest's long-term strategy to revive the natural role fire once played in the ecosystem. By borrowing the natural power of fire, they hope to transform the forest into a more natural and productive condition.

VOICES FOR THE FOREST: A CHANGING APPROACH TO PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

Time: 17 minutes

In this era of divisive debate over the management of our national forests, a group of citizens decided to work together. They realized that even though their ideas of management differed, they held a common vision of what the forest should look like in the future. This is the story of the "Guiding the Course" group, a citizen action group near the Walla Walla Ranger District of the Umatilla National Forest. Their concern and commitment helped chart a new course of public participation in forest management. They made a difference because they cared about the future of their national forests. They made a difference because they valued commitment, cooperation, and discussion. And they rose above their differences so that everyone won. Together, they found common ground.

WATERSHEDS: THE CRITICAL LINK (A Seminar Series)

Presentations: Two Tapes — 8 hours, Spring 1994

• Watersheds: Looking for the Right Scale, The Right Parties, and Right Questions

  Kai N. Lee, Professor and Director, Center for Environmental Studies, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.

• Watersheds as Systems and Management Units

  Paul W. Adams, Professor and Forest Watershed Extension Specialist, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR.

• Water Availability and Water Use within the Grande Ronde River Basin

  Kent Searles, Oregon Water Resources Department.

• A Very Special Plant Place: A River Runs Through It, Under It, and Over It

  Karl Urban, Forest Botanist, Umatilla National Forest, Pendleton, OR.

• Landscape-Level Planning For Watershed Restoration

  Dan Bottom, Fish Biologist, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Corvallis, OR.

• The Broken Barrel: Restoring Western Watersheds

  Hugh Barrett, Watershed Restoration Coordinator, Bureau of Land Management, Portland, OR.

• The Plan for Habitat Restoration in the Grande Ronde Basin

  Robert L. Horton, Executive Director, Grande Ronde Model Watershed Program.

• Salmon: Turning Emotion into Action

  Ralph Swift, Model Watershed Coordinator, Salmon, ID.

• Can We Live With Salmon?

  Don Bryson, Fisheries Biologist, Nez Perce Tribe.

• A Never-Ending Process

  Dennis Reynolds, Chair, John Day Basin Monitoring Committee.

• Watershed Restoration Activities

  Mike Farrow, Director of Natural Resources, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.