Understory

Overlooking the perennial Thomes Creek, on the north slope of Log Springs Ridge, the Devil's Basin Research Natural Area (DBRNA) covers an area of 671 acres (272 hectares) and is centered around a large flat on the toe of an old land failure. The area features a diverse mixture of vegetation types, including: black oak woodland, Coast Range mixed conifer forest, blue oak woodland, canyon live oak forest, and northern mixed chaparral. Within the DBRNA, California black oak can be found in a continuum of stages, from a large, persistent sub-climax stand to non-persistent seral stands of black oa...

This set of two maps, prepared for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection under the Pilot Monitoring Program, is intended to provide information of geology and geomorphic features of the watersheds of North and South Caspar Creek. The mapping for these areas was done at a scale of 1:12,000. Mapping was based on aerial photograph interpretation, compilation of unpublished data, and limited field reconnaissance. The maps depict significant geologic and geomorphic features of the watersheds including transitional/rotational landslides, debris slides, debris flow/torrent tracks,...

Green, K.; Finney, M. A.; Campbell, J.; Weinstein, D.; Landrum, V. 1995. Fire! Using GIS to predict fire behavior. Journal of Forestry 93(5): 21-25. (271 KB; 5 pages)

Finney, M. A. 1995. Fire growth modeling in the Sierra Nevada of California. In: Brown, J. K.; Mutch, R. W.; Spoon, C. W.; and Wakimoto, R. H., eds. Proceedings of a Symposium on Fire in Wilderness and Park Management; 1995 March 30 - April 1; Missoula, MT. (4,424 KB; 3 pages)

Finney, M. A.; Ryan, K. C. 1995. Use of the FARSITE fire growth model for fire prediction in U.S. National Parks. In: Proceedings of the International Emergency Management and Engineering Conference; 1995 May; Sofia Antipolis, France: 183-189. (11,469 KB; 7 pages)

Finney, M. A.; Andrews, P. L. 1998. The FARSITE Fire Area Simulator: fire management applications and lessons of Summer 1994. In: Close K. and Bartlette R. A.,eds. Fire management under fire (Adapting to Change), Proceedings of the Interior West Fire Council Meeting and Program, International Association of Wildland Fire: 209-215. (9,705 KB; 7 pages)

The Bell Meadow Research Natural Area is distinguished by its well-developed aspen forest, riparian thickets, and wet and dry meadow vegetation. It is underlain primarily by granitic rock and riverine and lacustrine alluvium, with a small amount of Pliocene volcanics in the northeast portion. The meadow is a product of repeated overbank flood deposition separated by non-flood periods of organic accumulation. The meadow may be divided into an upper and lower part, separated by a narrows bordered on each side by granitic outcrops. The present meadow vegetation is a mosaic of riparian willow thic...

The majority of the Grizzly Mountain Research Natural Area (GMRNA) is underlain by mesozoic granitic rock of the Sierra Nevada Batholith, with some metamorphics and gneissic intergrades between the metamorphic and granitic rock. The GMRNA lies entirely on the northern slopes of Big and Little Grizzly Mountains. These two mountains are separated by a small canyon (Paps Gulch) with a small stream that is permanent near its confluence with Bull Creek. All slopes within the area are part of the Bull Creek drainage. Prior to the 1987 fire, a nearly continuous stand of relatively young black oak str...

The W.B. Critchfield Research Natural Area (WBCRNA) is on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada, and consists of the uppermost watershed of Bourland Creek, a glaciated valley opening to the southeast. Exposed south-facing slopes, ridge crests, and open rocky areas primarily support Huckleberry oak scrub. Red fir forest is the predominant cover type on lower slopes and portions of the valley bottom, with lodgepole pine forest and aspen forest also present in these areas. Small stands of pure Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi) grow in rocky areas at the head of the valley. Montane meadow and montane fr...

Finney, M. A. 1994. Modeling the spread and behavior of prescribed natural fires. In: Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Fire and Forest Meteorology. 1993 October 26-28; Jekyll Island, GA. (589 KB; 6 pages)