Forest Explorer Newsletter - June 2024
Effective beginning 5/30/2025
This website, and all linked websites under the control of the agency, is under review and content may change.
|
|
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) Projects at PSW |
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) provided over $5 billion in investments for the nation's Forest Service lands. BIL funds will be used over the next few years to reduce wildfire risks, restore ecosystems, mitigate the impacts of climate change, and to reduce the impact of wildfire on people and wildlife. To support this effort, the Pacific Southwest Research station is leading out on the following ongoing BIL projects:
 Understanding and Improving the Effectiveness of Implementing Mobile Phone-Based Emergency Early Warning SystemThe Forest Service lacks a standardized, system-wide mobile phone-based Emergency Early Warning (EEW) system, leading many local forests and offices to rely on automated notification systems supported by county or local partners. To address this issue, the Forest Service is developing their own EEW system to be implemented across all forests. The goal of this project is to provide decision-makers and land managers with key information on the effectiveness and barriers surrounding mobile phone-based EEW systems and their implementation.
PSW Lead: José Sánchez  Supporting the Wildfire Crisis Strategy in Montane Forests of Southern CaliforniaSince 1985, Southern California has lost a greater percentage of forest cover than any other region in the state, and management efforts to improve forest resilience are struggling to keep pace with the scale of recent severe disturbances. The goal of this project is to provide support, research, and tools to managers so they can prioritize how and where to manage landscapes to increase the pace and scale of restoration efforts in montane forest on WCS landscapes.
PSW Lead: Gina Tarbill  A New, Old Way of Thinking: Indigenous Stewardship of Culturally Significant ResourcesThis work seeks to learn from, and engage with, existing landscape-scale efforts across the American West region, where tribes are leading the way in cross-boundary ecosystem restoration. This project seeks to address Forest Service knowledge gaps in real-time while speaking to the needs identified by tribal collaborators, with emphases on learning how culturally significant resources are stewarded and on the role of Forest Service policy and practice around questions of equity and distribution.
PSW Lead: Jeff Vance Martin  Restoring “Green Glaciers” to Improve Water Quality and Climate ResilienceMeadowlands are ecologically and culturally important, and most of them are degraded. They retain water, serve as carbon sinks, and provide habitat for a high diversity of plants and animals. Researchers are partnering in three meadow projects: (1) understand the historical extent of meadowlands across many western forests, (2) assess the efficacy of using process-based restoration (PBR) techniques in heavily burned landscapes, and (3) testing whether combining headwater restoration with forest management increases water quality and habitat resilience to climate and wildfire.
PSW Lead: Karen Pope  Increasing Understanding and Capacity to Manage and Mitigate Ceratocystis-Caused Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death (ROD) Across Hawai‘iʻŌhiʻa lehua are both ecological and culturally significant trees in Hawai‘i. Today ʻŌhiʻa forests face three major, interacting threats: Ceratocystis lukuohia, a devastating fungal pathogen that causes Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death (ROD); invasive encroachment, such as strawberry guava; and disturbances from non-native wild hooved animals. This research will support the development of effective management actions to preserve, protect, and restore Hawai‘i’s native forests by improving our understanding of how these threats to interact and impact ʻŌhiʻa trees.
PSW Lead: Flint Hughes  Quantifying the Value of Fuelbreak Networks in Chaparral LandscapesThe Southern California Wildfire Crisis landscape spans across 4 million acres and lies adjacent to approximately 25 million people. Given the size, population, and increasing urbanization of the areas in and around the landscape, the social, economic, and ecological values at risk are immense. This project will generate a reproducible modeling framework for estimating the economic value associated with investments in fuel break networks on WCS Landscapes. The framework will be developed for applications in decision support, cost-benefit analysis, and for conservation finance applications.
PSW Lead: Matt Sloggy  Fast-tracking Data Development to Decision making for Wildfire Crisis Strategy LandscapesAs investments continue to be made on Wildfire Crisis Strategy (WCS) landscapes, the need for streamlining decision-making and improving decision-support tools and models becomes increasingly important. This work will provide WCS landscapes with the additional support and information needed to address socio-ecological resource concerns and objectives with an emphasis on fire risk reduction, water security, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity conservation.
PSW Lead: Pat Manley  Decision Support to Improve Stewardship in an Era of Rapid Global ChangeFrom ridge to reef, Hawaiʻi Island land managers face many interrelated challenges in protecting and sustaining the landscapes they steward. Decision-makers need information on how invasive species, wildfire, urban development, nearshore marine health, and drought all interact under a changing climate. This project will develop a decision support tool that brings all these considerations together in a way that managers can easily access and understand to support them in stewarding the lands and waters of Hawaiʻi.
PSW Lead: Christian Giardina |
Webinars, Events, and Information |
Previous Webinar April 24th, 2024
 Dr. Pat Manley (PSW) Wildfire Crisis Strategy Planning, Project Prioritization and Monitoring Lunch and Learn Webinar Series will resume in early Fall 2024In the meantime, check out our 2023 Recap Video below. 
Or watch the 2024 webinars you missed in our archive.
|
 Forestry and Fuel Profiles WebinarUniversity of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Wednesday July 17, 12:00–12:45 p.m. Pacific Time
Don Radcliffe, University of Washington; Eric Knapp, FS Pacific Southwest Research Station
Register Here (External Link) |
 Get Interactive with National Forest Trends in CAThe USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region (Region 5) is publishing its first interactive website on social, economic and ecological trends for national forests in California. The site is packed with data dashboards, interactive maps, descriptive trend summaries, tables and figures.
Contact: Stephanie Coppeto (stephanie.coppeto@usda.gov)
|
Station News |
 Native Hawaiians Share their Journeys to the Institute of Pacific Islands ForestryGina McGuire, Kyson Keli'ialoha Dunn, and Kealoha Kinney arrived at the Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry (IPIF) in Hilo, Hawai’i from different career paths. But they’re connected by the deep respect they feel for their communities and the land upon which they grew up. All three hail from different areas in the Puna district of Hawaiʻi Island.
|
 Connecting Native Communities with Conservation Efforts in HawaiʻiPart Native Hawaiian and part Japanese, Kainana Francisco’s tie to Hawaiʻi, where she lives and works, runs deep. You could even say it runs in her blood. As a natural resource specialist for the Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry (IPIF) in Hilo, Francisco is always thinking about how to involve communities in her research work.
|
External Media New Study Details Strategies for Successful Urban Tree Planting InitiativesCollaborative research led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst outlines five essential themes to promote equitable and sustainable urban tree planting initiatives (TPIs), which is especially timely given the $1.5 billion for urban and community forestry contained in the 2022 Inflation . . .
Read more: University of Massachusetts Amherst (External Link) |
 MisTIMBERstood: Birds in DeclineBirds such as the Golden Winged Warbler and Wood Thrush are more than just songsters of America's eastern woodlands – they're indicators of our forest health. But alarmingly, studies reveal a 60% decline in the Wood Thrush population since 1970 . . .
Watch the Video: We The Forest (External Link) |
 Urban Forestry: From Redlining to Green LiningUrban areas are known for their blend of cultures, food, entertainment and rich histories, but not necessarily their greenspaces. That’s changing as communities across the country rethink urban planning and what a greener, cooler cityscape might mean for residents.
Read more: USFS Pacific Southwest Region |
Publication HighlightUrban Tree Resource (GTR 266) and Field Guide (GTR 194) Translated into Spanish |
 Monitoreo de árboles urbanos: una guía de recursos English version is also available
van Doorn, Natalie S.; Roman, Lara A.; McPherson, E. Gregory; Scharenbroch, Bryant C.; Henning, Jason G.; Ostberg, Johan P.A.; Mueller, Lee S.; Koeser, Andrew K.; Mills, John R.; Hallet, Richard A.; Sanders, John E.; Battles, John J; Boyer, Debra J.; Fristensky, Jason P.; Mincey, Sarah K.; Peper, Paula J.; Vogt, Jessica M. 2024. Monitoreo de árboles urbanos: una guía de recursos. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-266-ES. Albany, CA: Departamento de Agricultura de los EE.UU., Servicio Forestal, Estación de Investigación del Pacífico Suroeste. 132 p.  Monitoreo de árboles urbanos: una guía de campo English version is also available
Roman, Lara A.; van Doorn, Natalie S.; McPherson, E. Gregory; Scharenbroch, Bryant C.; Henning, Jason G.; Ӧstberg, Johan P.A.; Mueller, Lee S.; Koeser, Andrew K.; Mills, John R.; Hallett, Richard A.; Sanders, John E.; Battles, John J.; Boyer, Deborah J.; Fristensky, Jason P.; Mincey, Sarah K.; Peper, Paula J.; Vogt, Jess. 2024. Monitoreo de árboles urbanos: una guía de campo. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-194-ES. Madison, WI: Departamento de Agricultura de los EE.UU., Servicio Forestal, Estación de Investigación del Norte. 52 p. |
More PSW Publications via Treesearch
|
 Fact and Trivia CornerApproximately how many acres of National Forest lands are in the state of California? Scroll to the very bottom for the answer.
|
 Pacific Southwest Research StationThe Pacific Southwest Research Station (PSW) was founded in 1926 as a part of the Research and Development branch of U.S. Forest Service. Since its inception, PSW has expanded to serve California, Hawai'i, and the US-affiliated Pacific Islands. PSW develops and delivers science-based information, technologies, and applications to help people make informed decisions about natural resource management, conservation, and environmental protection. |
Trivia Answer1) There are just under 21 million acres of National Forest land in California; 20,802,641 acres to be exact! - More Quick California Forest Facts |