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Managing invasive annual grasses, annually: A case for more case studies

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Four case studies shared at the 2020 Invasive Annual Grass workshop provide lessons learned and opportunities to advance future management efforts to inform the direction for new science. Tackling the complex problem of invasive annual grass management will require an expansion of science-based case studies of real-world management efforts, strong science and management partnerships, and a platform for continuous learning and communication, such as a comprehensive database to document management outcomes along with Open Access journals that allow publishing of negative and null outcomes.

Perverse incentives: The case of wildfire smoke regulation

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This article argues that decisions regarding planned wildfire are marred by an anachronistic and inaccurate distinction between “natural” and “anthropogenic” fire. Rationalizing that unplanned wildfires are “natural,” the federal government excludes pollutants from such fires from air quality compliance calculations at the same time it encourages states to vigorously control pollutants from “anthropogenic,” prescribed fires. The result contributes to an undervaluation of necessary, planned wildfire. Several solutions are suggested to remove these distortions, including adopting a default rule whereby all wildfire smoke, of whatever origin, “counts” for purposes of air quality compliance.

Ratcheting up resilience in the northern Great Basin

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Although important to consider in land management planning, abiotic properties cannot be directly influenced with management. In contrast, biotic properties of the ecosystem can be readily influenced by management.  The formula for robust biotic resilience to wildfire and resistance to invasive annual grasses in the northern Great Basin sagebrush ecosystem is about maintaining and promoting perennial bunchgrasses. The management system must be resilient if we hope to promote ecosystem resilience in an ever-changing risk, seedling recruitment, and recovery environment. A successful strategy for promoting ecosystem resilience will require securing a resilient management system, and a shift in paradigm from random acts of opportunistic restoration to a sustained, organized, process-based approach for promoting ecosystem resilience.

Grazing management to reduce wildfire risk in invasive annual grass prone sagebrush communities

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Moderate grazing decreases wildfire probability by decreasing fuel amount, continuity, and height and increasing fuel moisture content. Grazing, through its modification of fuels, can improve fire suppression efforts by decreasing flame lengths, rate of fire spread, and fire severity. Logistical, social, and administrative challenges exist to using grazing to decrease fire probability. Some of these challenges can be overcome by using off-season (i.e., fall-winter) grazing, but other challenges will require persistent efforts as well as science to support management changes.

Minimize the bad days: Wildland fire response and suppression success

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By mobilizing a timely and safe initial response, early detection technologies, strategic networks of fuel breaks, and Rangeland Fire Protection Associations help “minimize the bad days” on the fireline and improve suppression success on a vast and remote landscape.

Managing for resilient sagebrush plant communities in the modern era: We’re not in 1850 anymore

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This article provides a broad overview of sagebrush plant community ecology, how that ecology has varied through time, the role of invasive annual grasses in influencing sagebrush plant community ecology, and thoughts on a productive path forward.

16th International Wildland Fire Safety Summit and 6th Human Dimensions of Wildland Fire Conference

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A virtual conference, for real world problems. Across four days in May 2021, the IAWF presented real world risks and opportunities in an online environment. We will connect a truly international audience, with global topics and speakers from around the world, on different continents and time zones. The IAWF 16th Wildland Fire Safety Summit and the 6th Human Dimensions of Wildland Fire Conference addressed the issues that make the global wildland fire community safe, smart and supported.

Western Assoc of Fish and Wildlife Agencies: Mid-Winter Meeting

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The 2021 WAFWA mid-winter meeting will be held virtually.

Invader impact on soil ecosystems – what every restoration practitioner should know

Webinar recording.

Description: Plant invasions cause dramatic shifts in plant communities and ecosystem processes. While these changes are obvious aboveground, less is known about changes belowground. Focusing on the most significant invaders in our area in the Intermountain West of the United States, this seminar will highlight how spotted knapweed (Centaurea stoebe), leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula), cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) and sulfur cinquefoil (Potentilla recta) alter soil microbial communities and nutrient cycles, and what the consequences of these shifts might be for restoration.

Speaker: Dr. Ylva Lekberg is a soil ecologist at MPG Ranch and an adjunct professor at University of Montana. Her research focuses on structural and functional shifts in soil ecosystems associated with plant invasions, and how these changes may affect restoration success. Prior to her work in invasion biology, Ylva explored the role of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in subsistence farmers’ fields in Sub-Saharan Africa, coastal grasslands in Denmark and geothermal areas in Yellowstone.

Arid and Semi-Arid Lands Seed Technology and Restoration Online Course

Who: This training course was developed in concert with Society for Ecological Restoration and BLM’s National Training Center. It  is available to restoration practitioners within the DOI and our partners. Target Audience: Natural Resource Specialists, Fire, Fuels, Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation, Botanists, Wildlife Biologists, Ecologists, Range, Minerals, Mining and Reclamation

What: This self-paced on-line course is intended to serve as an introduction to seed technology and arid and semi-arid lands restoration as a first step towards more in-depth in person restoration and revegetation courses. It provides world-class training on restoring dry land ecosystems, which are critical resources in tackling the climate crisis. By the end of the course, participants will have an understanding of:​ Ecological restoration principles, standards of practice, and concepts to increase the success of restoration efforts​, arid/semi-arid ecosystems and the challenges they pose to successful restoration​, and how to apply ecological restoration best practices and concepts in restoration planning in arid and semi-arid ecosystems​.

Where: Request an account here eDOI and search for: Arid and Semi-Arid Lands Seed Technology and Restoration.

The course consists of the following modules/lessons. Each are accessed separately and must be taken in sequential order.

Module 1: Introduction
Module 2: The National Seed Strategy
Module 3: Principles, Standards and Concepts

Lesson 3.1: Principles and Standards for the Practice of Ecological Restoration
Lesson 3.2: Principles, Standards and Concepts – Native Seed Standards

Module 4: Arid and Semi-Arid Systems

Lesson 4.1: Overview of Drylands
Lesson 4.2: Restoration Challenges
Lesson 4.3: Current Knowledge

Module 5: Developing and Implementing a Restoration Plan

Introduction
Lesson 5.1: Project Context
Lesson 5.2: Vision, Goals, and Objectives
Lesson 5.3: Plant Materials Selection and Procurement
Lesson 5.4: Site Preparation
Lesson 5.5: Developing and Implementing Seeding and Planting Strategies
Lesson 5.6: Monitoring and Management
Lesson 5.7: Putting It All Together

 

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