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Access interactive map.
ESRI developed an interactive map of US wildfire locations, perimeters, fire potential areas, global burn areas, wind conditions, and precipitation via streaming data from NIFC, GeoMAC, NHSS, MODIS, METAR/TAF, and the USDA Forest Service, Fire Modeling Institute. See the real-time effects of the fires via social media posts.
Access webinar recording.
Selecting species and seed from appropriate sources to maximize project success faces many challenges. This presentation will review plant selection for ecosystem diversity that supports economically and ecologically practical outcomes. Habitat degradation and loss have accelerated globally, resulting in loss of biological diversity and species endangerment at unprecedented scales. Restoring habitats that provide ecosystem services necessary for all life is crucial. One of the biggest hurdles to habitat restoration is the availability of seeds of native plants to provide a diverse and resilient base of the food chain. Plant diversity is now clearly a fundamental driver of ecosystem services and the diversity of other organisms, and native plant diversity is needed because invasive plants tend to reduce diversity and homogenize vegetation on the landscape. Seeding with native plants is one of the few reliable methods of restoring diversity at all levels, even in the face of climate change and controversial novel ecosystems. Therefore, selecting and sourcing the right plants for restoration sites is vital for the successful establishment of diverse and resilient native ecosystems. This presentation webinar will describe the results of recent published and unpublished research on local adaptation, successful creation of diverse regional seed admixtures, the importance of landscape context, and innovative species selection strategies and tools.
View paper.
This study investigated the complex relationships among weather, fine fuels, and fire in the Great Basin, USA. It found that cheatgrass cover increased in years with higher precipitation and especially when one of the previous 3 years also was particularly wet. Area burned in a given year was mostly associated with native herb and non-native forb cover, whereas cheatgrass mainly influenced area burned in the form of litter derived from previous years’ growth. Results suggest that the region’s precipitation pattern of consecutive wet years followed by consecutive dry years results in a cycle of fuel accumulation followed by weather conditions that increase the probability of wildfire events in the year when the cycle transitions from wet to dry. These patterns varied regionally but were strong enough to allow us to model annual wildfire risk across the Great Basin based on precipitation alone.
Webinar recording.
Passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Forest Service’s 10-year Wildfire Strategy signal a new era of historic investments in ecosystem restoration and wildfire risk reduction in the western U.S. But as initial projects and implementation plans are announced, the opportunities for community-based prescribed fire practitioners and advocates to engage in and inform the strategic expansion of prescribed fire continues to be unclear. In this session, we will:
- Unpack the complex terrain of federal policymaking entities and venues that will influence federal wildfire and fuels reduction strategies.
- Review RVCC’s and partners’ collective prescribed fire and cooperative burning advocacy interests and recommendations.
- Identify opportunities for engagement, coalition-building, and advocacy using existing or new venues and strategies.
View fact sheet, pg. 68.
This fact sheet discusses consequences and options for woody plant fuel reduction in Wyoming big sagebrush plant communities of the Intermountain West.
View all topics reviewed in the Fact Sheet series.
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!
Integrated Rangeland Fire Management Strategy
Our mission at the Great Basin Fire Exchange (GBFSE) is to provide access to scientific information that meets the needs of sagebrush ecosystem management. Because of our mission focus, this website serves as the Science Support Center for Secretarial Order 3336.
The May 19, 2015 Department of the Interior report titled, "An Integrated Rangeland Fire Management Strategy" named the Great Basin Fire Science Exchange and the Great Basin Landscape Conservation Cooperative (GBLCC) as co-leads on Appendix A, Section 7(b) viii - Science & Research, Action Item #4:
"Develop or identify a primary online science delivery system to allow easier access to published science products and other science information."
Search this website to find scientific research about sagebrush ecosystem management.
For specific information regarding the Secretarial Order itself, sage grouse biology, or rangeland issues, please visit the following websites:
Secretarial Order 3336, Rangeland Fire Prevention, Management, and Restoration, Homepage
Sage grouse information for private landowners at the Sage Grouse Initiative.
Overview of western rangeland issues available from Rangelands West
BLM National Sage-grouse website
SAGEMAP - A GIS database for sage-grouse and shrub steppe management in the Intermountain West from USGS
Webinar recording.
Description: The idea of using sensors to remotely measure things is not new. Aerial photos taken from hot air balloons were first proposed as a tool for mapping streets in the 1850s. In 1941, a US Forest Service ranger developed a technique for mapping fuels with aerial photos. Recent advances in remote sensing have dramatically increased the amount of spatial information that can be generated for a given area. This webinar will look at some of the ways the Fire and Environmental Research Applications Team at the Seattle Fire Lab is using remote sensing to measure fuels and fire behavior. We’ll also discuss how this information can improve our capacity to model fires.
Presenter: Jim Cronan is a forester at the Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Lab in Seattle, WA. He coordinates field data collection for scientists on the Fire and Environmental Research Applications Team and has been involved with research on fuels and fire behavior for 20 years.
View article.
Our results indicate pinyon jay populations are declining within Bird Conservation Region 16. Jay density was positively associated with sagebrush cover, Palmer Drought Severity Index, and pinyon-juniper cover. Conversely, jay populations were negatively associated with Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). We found higher pinyon jay densities within locations possessing both sagebrush and pinyon-juniper cover; conditions characteristic of phase I and II conifer encroachment which are preferentially targeted for conifer removal to restore sagebrush communities. Conifer removal, if conducted at locations with high pinyon jay densities, is therefore likely to negatively affect jay abundance.
View webinar recording.
Wildfires are a natural element of many ecosystems and have a great impact on society by destroying property and sometimes by taking lives. In the United States alone, thousands of individual fires occur every year and the number of both burned hectares and destroyed buildings are higher than ever since recorded fire history. Six of the 10 fires with the largest losses of lives and homes of the 20th century occurred in the wildland urban interface (WUI), and all of them occurred within the last 20 years. Given that billions of dollars are being allocated to fuel management and fire suppression and that the main fire suppression goal is to protect people and property, it is necessary to understand the factors related to vegetation, terrain and spatial arrangement that contribute to building loss from wildfires, and examine nationwide spatial patterns of vulnerability and rebuilding.