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This study involved a statewide survey of participants in Oregon forest collaboratives to examine differences in motivations, perceptions of success, and satisfaction among Forest Service participants (“agency participants”), who made up 31% of the sample, and other respondents (“non-agency”) who represent nonfederal agencies, interest groups, citizens, and non-governmental groups. This study found that agency participants differed from non-agency participants. They typically had higher annual incomes, and were primarily motivated to participate to build trust. However, a majority of all respondents were similar in not indicating any other social or economic motivations as their primary reason for collaborating. A majority also reported satisfaction with their collaborative— despite not ranking collaborative performance on a number of specific potential outcomes highly. Together, this suggests that collaboration in Oregon is currently perceived as successful despite not achieving many specific outcomes.
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This synthesis (Chapter 4 in Invasive Plant Ecology and Management) approaches restoration with the understanding that precipitation, solar radiation, wind speed, air temperature, and humidity are principal drivers controlling energy and water flux in plant communities.
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Low-severity wildland fires and prescribed burns have long been presumed by scientists and resource managers to be harmless to soils, but this may not be the case, new research shows. According to two new studies, low-severity burns cause damage to soil structure and organic matter in ways that are not immediately apparent after a fire.
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Results suggest that dry forest species are undergoing an active range shift driven by both changing recruitment and mortality, and that increasing temperatures and drought threaten the long-term viability of many of these species in their current range. While four of the five species examined were experiencing some declines, Pinus edulis is currently most vulnerable. Management actions such as reducing tree density may be able to mitigate some of these impacts. The framework we present to estimate range-wide demographic rates can be applied to other species to determine where range contractions are most likely.
Description: Oregon State University’s Forestry & Natural Resources Extension Fire Program and its partners present a webinar series on Wildfire Preparedness and Prevention in Oregon. The last of three webinars focuses on fire adapted communities (FAC) and what it means to be Ready, Set, Go! This webinar is 1.5 hours and the last 30 minutes will include a live demonstration from a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) member showing us what’s in their go packs!
Presenters:
Alison Green, Oregon: Living with Fire
Jennifer Dietz, International Fire Chiefs Association
Aaron Crawford, CERT member
Dave Busby, Fire Emergency Planning Manager
Description: This webinar features a rancher and land manager panel discussing drought on targeted grazing landscapes.
Panelists: Andrée Soares, President – Star Creek Land Stewards LLC (Los Banos) and member of RMAC; Brad Fowler, Owner – The Goat Works (Grass Valley); Nathan Medlar, Owner – NM Ranch Services (Auburn)
Questions? Please contact Dan Macon at dmacon@ucanr.edu
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Prescribed fire is one of the most widely advocated management practices for reducing wildfire hazard and has a long and rich tradition rooted in indigenous and local ecological knowledge. The scientific literature has repeatedly reported that prescribed fire is often the most effective means of achieving such goals by reducing fuels and wildfire hazard and restoring ecological function to fire-adapted ecosystems in the United States (US) following a century of fire exclusion. This has translated into calls from scientists and policy experts for more prescribed fire, particularly in the Western US, where fire activity has escalated in recent decades. The annual extent of prescribed burning in the Western US remained stable or decreased from 1998 to 2018, while 70% of all prescribed fire was completed primarily by non-federal entities in the Southeastern US. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) was the only federal agency to substantially increase prescribed fire use, potentially associated with increased tribal self-governance. This suggests that the best available science is not being adopted into management practices, thereby further compounding the fire deficit in the Western US and the potential for more wildfire disasters.
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This tool is called the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool. The tool has an interactive map and uses datasets that are indicators of burdens in eight categories: climate change, energy, health, housing, legacy pollution, transportation, water and wastewater, and workforce development. The tool uses this information to identify communities that are experiencing these burdens. These are the communities that are disadvantaged because they are overburdened and underserved.
Webinar recording.
This webinar brings together a panel of postfire response experts to reflect on their experiences in addressing community needs during recent large fires. The discussion will highlight important differences in fire and postfire response on federal and non-federal lands, and a consideration of existing tools and policies and how they can be strengthened. Both the Western Forestry Leadership Coalition (WFLC) and Western Governors’ Association are developing policies to address the gaps. Mike Zupko, WFLC Coordinator will share progress to date then the panel will tackle topics including treatment effectiveness, liability, and cross jurisdictional impacts. Fire practitioners and line officers are encouraged to attend to help us bridge the knowledge gap between fire and postfire response.
Panelist and presenters:
• Anne Bradley, The Nature Conservancy in New Mexico
• Cara Farr, US Forest Service, National BAER Team Leader
• Micah Kiesow, US Forest Service, Santa Fe National Forest
• Katherine Rowden, National Weather Service/NOAA
• Rich Schwab, National Park Service, National BAER Team
• Mary Stuever, New Mexico State Forestry, Chama District Forester
• Mike Zupko, National Wildland Fire Leadership Council