Great Basin Fire Science Exchange

What is the WUI (Wildland Urban Interface)
2024-02-14 08:00 - 09:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Webinar recording.
Learn what agencies mean when they reference the WUI, its defining characteristics, and the unique challenges of living in these areas, particularly in Nevada. Discover the responsibilities that come with living in the WUI and explore the wealth of resources available to mitigate wildfire risks. Whether you’re a resident, stakeholder, or rightsholder, watch to gain valuable insights and actionable strategies for building safer, more resilient communities in the WUI.

Wildfire and resilient landscapes: New tools for detailed analyses
2024-02-14 09:00 - 10:00
Webinar recording.
Webinar sessions will be half presentation and half question and answer. All presenters are scientists at the Rocky Mountain Research Station.

Occupational health exposures of wildland firefighters
2024-02-16 08:30 - 09:30
Webinar recording.
Topic: Firefighter Exposures and Efficacy of Interventions
Presenter: Paul White
Delve into the unique health exposures faced by firefighters and learn about the current state of research on the effectiveness of interventions to mitigate exposure. Paul White will share valuable insights into improving occupational safety and health outcomes for firefighters.

USGS Ecological Site Group Fire and Fuels Workshop
2024-02-20 08:00 - 2024-02-23 17:00
You’re invited to join this USGS-led workshop developing Ecological Site Group State and Transition Models with a focus on Fire and Fuels across the upper Colorado Plateau. There is no registration or attendance fee. Please fill out this form to be included in future emails with details and pre-workshop materials.
Dates and Locations
Salt Lake City, UT – Feb 20 (12:30pm – 5:30pm) & 21 (8:30am – 12pm)
Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building, 125 State St. SLC, UT
Denver CO – Feb 22 (12:30pm – 5:30pm) & 23 (8:30am – 12pm)
Federal Center in Lakewood, CO
We will be covering an update from the previous year’s workshop on fire and fuels mapping across the Upper Colorado Plateau in Utah and Colorado using Ecological Site Groups. This will include updated field data collection, updated mapping efforts of current ecological states based on statistical clustering and identification of state transitions. Participants of this year’s workshop will be asked to help us identify potential options for desired conditions for the state and transition models based on the population of ecological states. We need your feedback on our results This will include hindcasting our state maps from 1984 to 2022 and analyzing state-change temporally and spatially with respect to land-use, fire, and climate. If you’d like a refresher on Ecological Site Groups and our developing of ESG State and Transition Models here is a short YouTube video from Anna Knight highlighting the overall process. Previous workshop attendance is NOT required.
More information, contact: Tara Bishop (tbishop@uvu.edu) or Mike Duniway (mduniway@usgs.gov)

Post-wildfire recovery through the principles of engineering with nature
2024-02-20 11:00 - 12:00
Webinar recording.
The Santa Clara Canyon in northern New Mexico suffered near total scorching during the Las Conchas Wildfire, a burn which drastically changed the environment and sediment stability of the canyon. After the fire, a 1% chance rain event exhibited a 400% increase in peak flow conditions when compared to pre-fire conditions due to extreme vegetation loss and subsequent soil instability. Since 2011, the Santa Clara Pueblo, Forestry Department has worked with partners to reduce flood hazard in the Pueblo by implementing Engineering with Nature principles: levee improvements, post-fire debris removal, integrating fish passage into the dams, contour felling on steep slopes, and constructing log and boulder structures to stabilize drainages and mitigate sediment transport and deposition.
Managing wildfire recovery efforts by applying Engineering With Nature-Natural and Nature-Based Features (EWN-NNBF) principles has the potential to provide a wide range of Flood Risk Management (FRM) benefits to rural and urban settings while increasing co-benefits for the entire watershed. Co-benefits include economic, social, archeological, aesthetic, recreational and biological functioning habitat enhancements. In this webinar, the presenter will discuss experiences gained and lessons learned that can be transferred to other areas within the Western US that experience wildfires and require FRM guidance on wildfire recovery methods.

Reflections from 20 years examining the social dynamics of fire management
2024-02-22 14:00 - 15:00
Webinar recording.
Sarah McCaffrey, retired in 2022 after 20 years as a fire social scientist with the US Forest Service where her research focused on understanding the social dynamics of fire management. This included research projects that examined the role of risk perception and risk attitudes, social acceptability of prescribed fire, homeowner mitigation decisions, evacuation decision making, risk communication, and agency-community interactions during fires. Since retirement she has been involved with a number of research and practitioner efforts to improve future fire outcomes including as an adviser to the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s Wildfire Resilience Initiative and Board member for Fire Adapted Colorado. She received her PhD in 2002 from the University of California at Berkeley where her dissertation examined Incline Village, Nevada homeowner views and actions in relation to defensible space and fuels management.

Pinyon-juniper treatments optimized: With considerations for sagebrush conservation, pinyon jays, and songbirds
2024-02-28 09:00 - 10:00

Using concepts of resilience and resistance (R&R) and LANDFIRE to address wildfire in sagebrush
2024-02-29 11:00 - 12:00
Webinar recording.
In this LANDFIRE Office Hour, USFS, RMRS Quantitative Ecologist, Jessi Brown discusses how dryland ecosystems are facing threats from invasive species and altered fire patterns, risking shifts to less desirable states. Prioritizing areas for management can be achieved by considering ecological resilience and resistance to invasives, alongside LANDFIRE’s Biophysical Settings (BpS) data. This aids in assessing ecosystem status and choosing suitable management approaches in the sagebrush biome. Scroll down for more resources!

Biochar production, benefits, and barriers in forested lands
2024-03-06 09:00 - 10:00

The "right" scale for effective rangeland fire planning and management
2024-03-07 19:00 - 20:00
View webinar recording.
Helping landowners and agencies engage in collaborative planning. Instructor: Katie Wollstein.

Pinyon-Juniper Management on the Colorado Plateau Workshop
2024-03-12
Save the date flyer.
In-person attendance is full, but stay tuned for some post-event resources and recordings.

Prescribed fire and wilderness: Barriers and opportunities in a time of change
2024-03-13 09:00 - 10:00
Webinar recording.
Sean Parks, USFS RMRS.

Fuels treatment effectiveness
2024-03-19 09:00 - 10:00
Webinar recording.
Fire and land manager-focused panel discussion hosted by the USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station

Update on the Bruneau-Owyhee Sage Grouse Habitat Management (BOSH) Project
2024-03-21
Video recording (16:27).
The Bruneau-Owyhee Sage Grouse Habitat (BOSH) Project has been under way for six years now, and approximately 140,000 acres of land have been treated to reduce juniper encroachment and open up the sage-steppe habitat for sage grouse, song birds, spotted frogs and more.
This is the largest sage grouse habitat restoration project in the Western United States in Owyhee County, Idaho. A strong partnership of state and federal agencies, wildlife advocacy groups and private landowners are supporting the project in an “All Hands, All Lands” approach that transcends property boundaries.

TreeMap is a tree-level model of U.S. forests. New data delivery and visualization improvements make it easier to use
2024-03-27 09:00 - 10:00
Webinar recording.

LANDFIRE data supports disturbance tools and assessments
2024-03-29 10:00 - 11:00
Webinar recording.
In this LANDFIRE Office Hour, USFS Research Ecologists, Jen Costanza and Matt Reeves walk viewers through the USDA Forest Service’s Resource Planning Act (2020) Assessment, with a focus on how LANDFIRE data supports understanding of recent and future drought exposure for rangeland vegetation types across the western U.S. The also discuss emerging technologies for evaluating vegetative drought response and fuels management reliant on several forms of LANDFIRE data.

Wildfire risk and mitigation opportunities in the US sagebrush biome
2024-03-29 12:00 - 13:00
Webinar recording.
Feb 29 2024 Missoula Fire Lab Seminar Series Presenter: Karen Short, RMRS Research Ecologist.

Defending and growing the core by breaking the cycle of annual grass invasion
2024-04-03
Virtual workshop recordings and resources.
Invasive annual grasses–such as cheatgrass, medusahead, and ventenata–are the leading cause of degradation and loss of America’s sagebrush grasslands, reducing forage and habitat, fueling more frequent and larger wildfires, and threatening rural economies. While invasive grasses are widespread, there remains a generational opportunity to proactively address this threat. However, many land managers may not be equipped with the information needed to plan and implement effective treatments.
​In this one-day virtual workshop, participants will learn about guiding principles, strategic planning processes, tools, and tactics for managing annual grass invasion in sagebrush country. Participants will be introduced to the proactive “defend and grow the core” management philosophy, which emphasizes protecting intact and functioning native plant communities, and expanding them through improved management techniques, rather than initially starting with the most degraded areas. This workshop seeks to inspire participants and start conversations across the sagebrush biome on how to meet the invasive annual grass problem head on in their own watersheds. We hope this information will be especially useful to any land manager, landowner, or conservation practitioner working to conserve and protect the sagebrush biome.

2024 Rangeland Fuel Overview: Reading the Tea Leaves S5E1
2024-04-15
Video recording (8:26).
Matt Reeves provides a westwide rangeland fuel assessment for 2024.

Words matter. Let burn dialogue and reality.
2024-04-18 11:00 - 12:00
Webinar recording (1:04:22).

Sifting through selective science and misinformation for collaborative forest management
2024-04-24 12:00 - 13:00
Webinar recording.
Land manager and public land partner-focused panel webinar dedicated to examining selective science use, some of the impacts to land management, and methods for reducing misinformation in collaborative forest management. The panel provides short talks on their perspectives, and address questions and issues provided by attendees. Discussion and Q&A during this session will facilitate information exchange between all attendees.

Tools for prioritizing, planning, and evaluating effectiveness of fuel treatments
2024-04-25
Webinar recording.
Sam “Jake” Price and Matt Germino, USGS Forest & Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, present findings from their recent publication on the Soda Fire fuel breaks and how they might help to break the annual grass-fire cycle. Q&A to follow the presentation.

Exploring the Land Treatment Exploration Tool & LANDFIRE's Role
2024-04-25 11:00 - 12:00
View webinar recording.
In this LANDFIRE Office Hour Forest Rangeland Ecosystem Sciences Center & USGS Biologist, Michelle Jeffries details the geoprocessing and hosting requirements for running the Land Treatment Exploration Tool. She explores the ins and outs of the tool and highlights LANDFIRE’s role in informing parts of their analysis. Additionally, she suggests how minor adjustments in LANDFIRE’s versioning and indexing could improve the efficiency of operating this ecological tool.

Oregon's diverse fire ecology
2024-05-02 11:00 - 12:00
Webinar recording.
The Oregon State University Extension Fire Program would like to take you on a journey of fire throughout Oregon. In this webinar, a team of regional fire specialists share diverse stories about how fire has shaped Oregon landscapes historically and currently. Understanding fire’s role in the place you live can help you become better prepared for fire and smoke, and more aware of your local ecological setting.

The meteorology of the 2023 Maui wildfire
2024-05-02 11:00 - 12:00
View recording (53:53).
Okay. Let me go back. Okay. So let’s go back to not even a year ago, August eighth two thousand twenty three. You know, large wildfires hit western and central Maui, and, it killed at least a hundred people and resulted in three to six billion dollars of damage, mainly in the area of of the historic town of Lahaina.
And and this here’s a picture right here of just a portion of Lahaina. This one famous house survived. We could talk about that maybe. But we’re looking in this picture towards the towards the east. These are the West Maui mountains there. You can see some of the some of the grassy areas that that would that burned there and here’s the town.

Ready, set, go! Personal wildland fire action guide
2024-05-03 11:00 - 12:00
Webinar recording (50:31).
Led by Hawai’i Wildfire Management Organization (www.hawaiiwildfire.org), this webinar equips you with essential strategies to prepare, respond, and stay safe in the face of wildfires. From creating defensible spaces to crafting evacuation plans, we’ll cover it all. Don’t wait until it’s too late – arm yourself with knowledge and confidence. Register now and take the first step toward wildfire readiness!

SCIENCEx Soils
2024-05-07 11:00 - 2024-05-10 12:00
Webinar recordings.
Exploring how the health of our forests — and planet — depends on what’s beneath our feet.
May 6: Why do foresters need soil scientists?
May 7: How can soil science be applied to forest management?
May 8: How can soil scientists and foresters build relationships?
May 9: How can soil science lead to resilient forests?
May 10: How can research support timber management and soil science?

Workshop on management and conservation of pinyon and juniper woodlands
2024-05-08 - 2024-05-09
Workshop information and registration.
The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service will host a public workshop to present information and gather feedback on a range of topics regarding the science and management of pinyon and juniper woodlands, particularly mature and old-growth forests.
The workshop will occur May 8, 1-5 p.m. and May 9, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., 2024, at the Nugget Casino Resort, 1100 Nugget Ave., Sparks, NV, 89431. This event is part of BLM’s ongoing public comment period on pinyon and juniper woodlands, during which interested parties may also submit comments regarding management and conservation of pinyon and juniper ecosystems. Please see more information on how to comment below.
Workshop information and registration
Topics for the workshop will include classifying the various pinyon and juniper systems and understanding their geographic and population dynamics, methods for assessing woodland conditions, values associated with old-growth pinyon and juniper woodlands, management objectives and effectiveness, and opportunities for increasing climate resilience. Participants will have opportunities to engage and interact on a range of topics.
To attend the event, individuals are required to reserve a spot. This is a two-day workshop, but you must register for both days to attend. To attend on May 8, please register through the eventbrite portal for day one. To attend on May 9, please register through the eventbrite portal for day two.

A new foundation for LANDFIRE
2024-05-09 10:00 - 11:00
Webinar recording.
The LANDFIRE program is aware that our stakeholders are interested in obtaining more comprehensive 3D vegetation structure information to inform vegetation and species mapping, carbon accounting, and physics-based fire behavior models. Understanding how to provide annually updated 3D vegetation and fuel metrics in a way that is useful to the most stakeholders and accounts for the logistical and resource constraints within the program is a LANDFIRE goal over the next few years. LANDFIRE wants to connect with innovators who are motivated by the shared challenge of pulling together disparate data sources across scales and dimensions into logical machine learning or deep learning classification methodologies that are accurate, repeatable, and usable by managers. We hope to build these relationships by increasing our engagement across research and management communities to create a new foundation for LANDFIRE.

SageSTEP Field Tour of Onaqui Sites
2024-05-21
The SageSTEP research team invites you to join us for a tour of the Onaqui research site near Tooele, Utah on May 21, 2024. We will tour the SageSTEP (https://sagestep.org/) shrubland network, SageSTEP woodland network and NEON sites (https://www.neonscience.org/field-sites/onaq), hear results from the past 15 years of data collection, and discuss management needs and research priorities for the next decade. We are particularly interested in hearing management perspectives on areas of greatest future need. 2024 field tour flyer
Logistics
Tooele is less than an hour from SLC. Lodging options include the Holiday Inn and Best Western. We recommend SUV/Trucks, particularly if there is rain prior to the tour.
Meet at 8am on Tuesday, May 21 at the Holiday Inn in Tooele (Address: 1531 N Main St, Tooele, UT 84074) to carpool/caravan to the Onaqui site. We plan to return to Tooele by 5pm. Please bring adequate food/water and be prepared to be outside all day.
There will be a no-host dinner on Monday, May 20 at 6 pm for any who can join.
Please RSVP to Lisa Ellsworth at: lisa.ellsworth@oregonstate.edu
