Treesearch

We explore the connection between US designated wilderness areas and wildlife with the goal of establishing a research agenda for better understanding this complex relationship. Our research agenda has two components. The first, "wildlife for wilderness," considers the impact of wildlife on wilderness character. Whereas studies show that wildlife is important in both the perception and actual enhancement of wilderness character, the context and particulars of this relationship have not been evaluated. For instance, is knowing that a rare, native species is present in a wilderness area...

Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii [Mirb.] Franco) seedlings from three nurseries in the Pacific Northwest United States were lifted on five dates from mid-October through mid-December 2006. Each nursery provided seedlings from a low- and a high-elevation seed lot. Photoperiod and accumulated chilling hours (calculated using two methods) were evaluated throughout the lifting period. Seedlings had typical patterns of fall cold hardiness development, with some indication that the high-elevation lot at each nursery was hardier than the low-elevation lot. Photosynthetic yield measured on...

Recent concern regarding the potential decline of quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) forests in the western United States has sparked concern over whether the species can be effectively regenerated. Using a retrospective approach, we quantified the response of regenerating aspen stems to an ordinary set of silvicultural treatments conducted over approximately the past decade in southern Utah, USA. A suite of variables describing stand structure and composition, stand vigor, physiographic factors, herbivore pressure, and treatment types were measured to predict the possible controls,...

Growing demand for bioenergy, biofuels, and bioproducts has increased interests in the utilization of biomass residues from forest treatments as feedstock. In areas with limited history of industrial biomass utilization, uncertainties in the quantity, distribution, and cost of biomass production and logistics can hinder the development of new bio-based industries. This paper introduces a new methodology to quantify and spatially describe delivered feedstock volumes and costs across landscapes of arbitrary size in ways that characterize operational and annual management decision-making....

The historical and presettlement relationships between drought and wildfire are well documented in North America, with forest fire occurrence and area clearly increasing in response to drought. There is also evidence that drought interacts with other controls (forest productivity, topography, fire weather, management activities) to affect fire intensity, severity, extent, and frequency. Fire regime characteristics arise across many individual fires at a variety of spatial and temporal scales, so both weather and climate - including short- and long-term droughts - are important and influence...

Historical and presettlement relationships between drought and wildfire have been well documented in much of North America, with forest fire occurrence and area burned clearly increasing in response to drought. Drought interacts with other controls (forest productivity, topography, and fire weather) to affect fire intensity and severity. Fire regime characteristics (area, frequency, severity) are the product of many individual fires, so both weather and climate - including short- and long-term droughts - are important. It is worth noting, however, that the factors controlling fire events...

Large airtanker use is widespread in wildfire suppression in the United States. The current approach to nationally dispatching the fleet of federal contract airtankers relies on filling requests for airtankers to achieve suppression objectives identified by fire managers at the incident level. In general, demand is met if resources are available, and the dispatch model assumes that this use is both necessary and effective. However, proof of effectiveness under specific conditions of use in complex environments has not been empirically established. We geospatially intersected historical...

This report traces the flow of timber harvested in the "Four Corners" States (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah) during calendar year 2012, describes the composition and operations of the region’s primary forest products industry, and quantifies volumes and uses of wood fiber. Recent changes in the wood products industry are discussed, as well as trends in timber harvest, production, and sales of primary wood products.

Reducing wildfire risk to lives and property is a critical issue for policy makers, land managers, and citizens who reside in high-risk fire areas of the United States - this is especially the case in the Rocky Mountain region and other western states. In order for a wildfire risk reduction effort to be effective in a U.S. wildland-urban interface (WUI) community, the risk reduction effort must include community support and engagement. However, WUI communities have a wide range of social, political and economic characteristics that make a "cookie-cutter" approach to wildfire management...

Wildfire is a key factor influencing bird community composition in western North American forests. We need to understand species and community responses to wildfire and how responses vary regionally to effectively manage dry conifer forests for maintaining biodiversity. We compared avian relationships with wildfire burn severity between two dry forest locations of Arizona and Idaho. We predicted different responses to wildfire between locations due to regional differences in historical fire regime. We conducted point count surveys for 3 yr following wildfire (Arizona: 1997-1999; Idaho:...