Adaptive Management & Monitoring
Regions 1 and 4, Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS)
FY01 Progress Report and FY02 Plans- October 1, 2001
Project Category: Watershed, Soils, and Riparian
Project Title: Effects of wildland fire and prescribed fire on amphibians and aquatic habitats in the Northern Rocky Mountains
Project Leader: David S. Pilliod
Participating Research Contacts: Steve Corn, USGS, Missoula
Participating Forests/Grassland Contacts: Krassel R.D., Payette N.F.
Funds - Total Project Cost and Timeframe:
2001: 0 Carryover: $0
2002: $68,337
2003: $81,663
Progress in 2001:
R1/4 Adaptive Management and Monitoring funding is to be transferred to the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute (RMRS) in FY2002. Using limited alternative funding, we were able to conduct a pilot study in the summer 2001. We sampled 13 streams between 9 July and 26 August 2001 on the Payette National Forest, Idaho. Seven of these streams were located in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness in watersheds that burned, at varying intensities, in the Diamond Peak Fire of 2000. Six streams were located in the South Fork Salmon Sub-basin, an unburned area that is being managed with prescription burning to reduce fuel loads.
This first year of the project focused on developing and refining appropriate methodology, locating study areas, and collecting baseline information on amphibian densities. In each stream, we completed surveys at 18-60 one m (x variable stream width) randomly chosen transects over a 1km length of stream. This technique worked well and capture rates were high enough to show trends. We also used these random transects to measure habitat conditions.
In the next few weeks, we will be meeting with the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to discuss the importance of this research for future NEPA analyses. We are also meeting with Payette National Forest fire managers to discuss the prescribed burns (timing, location). We are hopeful that the prescribed burns will be conducted in 2002 or 2003 on five watersheds in the South Fork Salmon area. However, the timing of these burns is partly dependent on approval of NEPA analysis assessments by the FWS and NMFS, as well as local managers.
Plans for 2002:
In 2002, we will have 3 teams of two researchers continuing to monitor stream indicators (amphibians and periphyton) and habitat conditions in the 13 study streams and in at least 7 additional streams. Based on research findings from 2001, we will not monitor lentic (lake and pond) habitats as planned. Fewer than expected of these lentic habitats were located in areas burned in the summer 2000 fires and thus we feel that our time would be better spent focusing on stream habitats.
Products and/or tech transfer expected in 2002:We will be developing a web page for this project and posting goals of the project, descriptions of the study areas, and preliminary results. We will also post the 2001 Progress Report as a downloadable pdf file.
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