Tools and Trainings
The most common misconception of wildfire is that all fire is bad. But there are important benefits that smaller and more frequent fires offer to the environment. Matt Jolly, an ecologist at the U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station, talks about the natural and important role of fire in maintaining a healthy ecosystem.
They gobble up air, rub their wings across their chest feathers, and make a popping noise. It’s the mating call of the sage grouse – and the sound of dawn every spring in Oregon’s high desert. But sage grouse are in trouble across the West because humans keep carving up the desert for their own uses.
A brief look at how the Black Range of the Gila National Forest goes about putting down thousands of acres of prescribed fire. See how the District works in a collaborative and productive manner while working within the multiple-use framework to include grazing, wildlife, recreation, and community outreach. Supported by science, the agency looks to keep fire on the landscape.
This video by Heather Heward, University of Idaho, offers a short overview of the steps needed to review LANDFIRE data in the context of wildland fire and fuels management. Perform any or all of these steps to increase your ability to creatively and effectively use LF to understand and manage your landscape. The steps can be completed using a variety of techniques, most of which are described in detail in the “How-to: process LF data” document. Other resources include Stratton 2009 and Helmbrecht and Blankenship 2016.
Two research fish biologists describe how fish in the Pacific Northwest have evolved with wildfire disturbances, and how considering this history can help inform management prescriptions for both wildfire and fisheries. Creative animation illuminates details of how wildfires can provide beneficial habitat for native fish species.
One of the most important topics today is the issue of wildfires and smoke in our Valley. Chris Chambers, The Wildlife Division Chief and Merv George the Forest supervisor on the rogue River Siskiyou National Forest are the perfect pair to speak to this issue Chris grew up in Ashland and worked both in the forest service and the Ashland fire and rescue service. Knowing the importance of gathering people and resources around this issue, Chris has been instrumental in getting the entire state of Oregon to share resources for this very important issue.
We’ve spent 100 years growing a tinderbox across the West. Now it’s wildfire season. Controlled burning – an indigenous tradition that’s been used for millennia – might be a solution.
When wildfires happen, the news media plays an important role in covering events, providing information, and influencing public understanding. In this video, two scientists discuss recent research on how wildfire is covered in the news, and how this can sometimes be at odds with both local community impacts and the ecological role that wildfire plays, historically occurring in regular intervals across much of the U.S. West.