Post-fire Environment & Management
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Life from the Ashes explored the positive and negative impacts of prescribed and natural fire related to insects and other invertebrates in landscapes across North America. The symposium provided research and practical insights to inform natural areas professionals as they manage landscapes with fire.
This program was provided in a collaboration between the Natural Areas Association (NAA) and the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation (Xerces). NAA serves those dedicated to the management and restoration of biologically important natural areas in North America. Xerces is an international nonprofit organization that protects the natural world through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitats. Protecting nature requires reliable science to inform practices on-the-ground and a network of stewards who work tirelessly to protect, manage and restore land and water biodiversity.
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Wildfires are known to be one of the main causes of soil erosion and land degradation, and their impacts on ecosystems and society are expected to increase in the future due to changes in climate and land use. It is therefore vital to mitigate the increased hydrological and erosive response after wildfires to maintain the sustainability of ecosystems and protect the values at risk downstream from the fire-affected areas. Soil erosion mitigation treatments have been widely applied after wildfires but assessment of their effectiveness has been limited to local and regional-scale studies, whose conclusions may depend heavily on site-specific conditions. To overcome this limitation, a meta-analysis approach was applied to investigations of post-wildfire soil erosion mitigation treatments published in peer-reviewed journals.
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Using interview data, we examined cross-boundary collaboration after the Soda Fire that burned approximately 113,312 ha (280,000 acres) of southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon. We found relationships established in other management contexts were activated by individuals within agencies to share funding and resources to rehabilitate the landscape after the Soda Fire. The fire’s spatial proximity to Boise, Idaho, and temporal proximity to important federal policy decisions were primary collaboration drivers. Barriers to collaborative efforts still exist; however, interviewees highlighted the importance of individual agency (bottom-up) changes in lessening top-down constraints.
Webinar recording.
Forester Anna Higgins with the Nevada Division of Forestry, Ecologist Mark Freese with the Nevada Department of Wildlife, and Project Manager Danae Olson with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will discuss reseeding landscapes, and preparing for potential flood after wildfire.
Webinar recording.
Fire Mitigation and Education Specialist/Fire Trespass Coordinator Bradley Milam, with the Bureau of Land Management, will share wildfire investigation experiences. Forest Fire Prevention Officer Jennifer Diamond, with the U.S. Forest Service – Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, will share some fire prevention tips.
Firewise landscaping, May 10, 11:30–1 PDT, Webinar recording
- This webinar is presented with the University’s Wendy Hanson Mazet, Certified Arborist, and Extension Plant Diagnostician. She has expertise in horticulture, arboriculture, noxious weeds, and vegetable and low water use gardening.
Wildfire evacuation preparedness, May 13, 11:30–1 PDT, Webinar recording
- This webinar is presented with the University’s Osher Life Learning Institute, a member-driven organization offering short-term educational experiences for older adults in northern Nevada. Deputy Emergency Manager Jason Danen, with the Carson City Fire Department, will speak about emergency notification systems such as Code Red and other forms of communication to the public during a wildfire. In addition, Skyland Fire Adapted Communities’ Leader and Douglas County Community Emergency Response Team Member Ann Grant will discuss items to prepare for an evacuation go bag and a stay box.
Perspectives of a wildland fire investigator, May 18, 11:30–1 PDT, Webinar recording
- Fire Mitigation and Education Specialist/Fire Trespass Coordinator Bradley Milam, with the Bureau of Land Management, will share wildfire investigation experiences. Forest Fire Prevention Officer Jennifer Diamond, with the U.S. Forest Service – Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, will share some fire prevention tips.
The timeline of climate, weather and fire, June 10, 11:30–1 PDT, Webinar recording
- Climatology Research Professor Tim Brown, also director of the Western Regional Climate Center, will discuss how weather and climate influence fire in Nevada.
Protect, prevent and prepare with NV energy, June 24, 12–1:30 PDT, Powerpoint presentation
- Natural Disaster Protection Plan Director James Saavdra and Director of Delivery Operations Zeina Randall, both with NV Energy, will discuss how NV Energy is working with customers and partners using innovative strategies to reduce the risk of wildfire to Nevadans.
Wildfire smoke and health, July 8, 11:30– 1 PDT, Webinar recording
- Meteorologist and Public Information Officer Chris Smallcomb, from the National Weather Service – Reno office, will discuss smoke forecasting and models used to predict smoke. Air Quality Specialist Brendan Schnieder, with the Washoe County Health District’s Air Quality Management Division, will discuss wildfire smoke and health impacts.
Home hardening Q&A, Aug. 12, 11:30– 1 PDT, Webinar recording
- Living With Fire will host a question-and-answer workshop with Steve Quarles, who is both University of California Cooperative Extension Advisor Emeritus and the retired Chief Scientist for Wildfire and Durability, Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety Research Center. The session will focus on “home hardening,” defined as building or retrofitting homes to withstand wildfire. Watch a previous presentation on this topic online.
Reseeding and flood after wildfire, Sept. 9, 11:30–1 PDT, Webinar recording
- Forester Anna Higgins with the Nevada Division of Forestry, Ecologist Mark Freese with the Nevada Department of Wildlife, and Project Manager Danae Olson with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will discuss reseeding landscapes, and preparing for potential flood after wildfire.
Prescribed fire in Tahoe and Nevada, Oct. 14, 11:30–1 PDT, Webinar registration
- Fuels Management Officer Keegan Schafer with Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District and Forest Fuels and Vegetation Program Manager Duncan Leao with the U.S. Forest Service – Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest will discuss prescribed fire and projects in the Lake Tahoe Basin and Nevada.
The Salvage Science Series presents recent research on the effects of post-fire salvage logging and new tools for helping to plan salvage treatments.
This event is a three-stage process. First, watch the four pre-recorded webinars. Second, register for the May 6 panel discussion with the event speakers. Third, provide your questions for a specific speaker or more generally about salvage logging ahead of the discussion. These questions will help us frame the discussion and also help us plan a follow-up event on post-disturbance salvage treatment research and methods in the fall.
The event topics and speakers include:
Incorporating Woodpecker Habitat into Design of Post-Fire Salvage Logging- Recording
Vicki Saab – Research Wildlife Biologist, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Bozeman
Jonathan Dudley – Ecologist, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Boise
Post-Fire Salvage Logging Effects on Soils, Runoff, and Sediment Production in Western Watersheds- Recording
Joe Wagenbrenner – Research Hydrologist, USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station, Arcata
Is That Tree Dead? Predicting tree death after fire for salvage decisions- Recording
Sharon Hood – Research Ecologist, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula
Understanding Post Wildfire Management Effects on Stand Structure and Woody Fuel Loadings- Recording
Morris Johnson – Research Fire Ecologist, USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station/FERA, Seattle
This event is co-hosted by the USDA Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Research Station and the Joint Fire Science Program‘s Northern Rockies Fire Science Network, Southern Rockies Fire Science Network, and Northwest Fire Science Consortium.
Summit registration and recordings.
Presentations will be April 14, 21, and 28 and May 5 and 12 at 10 am PDT.
Wildfire ravaged much of the western United States in 2020. Towns were destroyed, homes and businesses evacuated, forests incinerated, and lives lost. In Oregon, vast swaths of rural communities like Talent and Detroit were devastated by sweeping megafires. But every Oregonian was impacted by widespread evacuations, life-threatening smoke, damage to vineyards and other crops, and staggering costs siphoning critical tax dollars away from other essential public services. As with all matters related to climate change, the greatest impacts were on our most vulnerable communities: low-income families, communities of color, the sick, the elderly, and the young. These megafires also accelerated their climate effects, with carbon emissions from wildfires in the U.S. alone increasing 30% over the previous year. The 2020 season was the latest record-breaking year in the West, continuing a 20-year trend that is only worsening. But there is hope. As wildfire impacts broaden, so has the coalition of parties seeking solutions. Small town mayors and tribal leaders, experts in public health and social justice, CEOs and scientists are speaking up. World Forestry Center is convening representatives from this broadening coalition in a five-part virtual summit focused on the Oregon example.
Webinar recording.
Description: The Caples Fire, which began on September 30, 2019, burned 3,435 total acres (1,080-acre prescribed fire and 2,355-acres wildfire) within the Caples Creek Watershed Restoration Project planning area. This webinar will discuss the outcomes of the 2019 Caples Fire, fire effects on legacy trees, fire management take-home messages, volunteer efforts for restoration within the Caples watershed, and avian research within the Caples restoration area.
Presenters: Becky Estes (Central Sierra Province Ecologist, USDA Forest Service): Overview of the Caples Restoration Project
Lester Lubetkin (Co-Led Volunteer Effort, California Native Plant Society): Using Volunteers to Prepare Legacy Treesfor Prescribed Fire
Travis Thane (District Fire Management Officer, USDA Forest Service): Caples Fire Management and Facilitated Learning Analysis
Scott Dailey (Fire Ecologist, USDA Forest Service): Ecological Effects in the Caples Fire (First Order Fire Effects)
Durrell Kapan (Senior Research Fellow, California Academy of Sciences): Avian Response to Ecological Restoration of Resilience in the Caples Creek Watershed
Webinar recordings.
The SCIENCEx webinar series brings together scientists and land management experts from across U.S. Forest Service research stations and beyond to explore the latest science and best practices for addressing large natural resource challenges across the country. These webinars will be primarily management focused, but with applicability for participants from across sectors. SCIENCEx will typically be organized as week-long webinar ‘blitzes’ around salient topics, allowing for deep-dives into subtopics or dynamics within specific geographies.