U.S. Joint Fire Science Program

 

Date of this Version

2009

Document Type

Article

Citation

JFSP Project ID: 09-S-01-5

Comments

US government work.

Abstract

The primary goal of this workshop was to develop a range of fuel reduction prescriptions that integrate fuel and ecological objectives specifically related to northern spotted owl (NSO) conservation in dry forests of the Cascade Range in eastern Washington and Oregon and northern California. The workshop was held at the Eagle Crest Resort, Redmond, Oregon, from October 13-15, 2009. Over 200 managers and scientists attended from California, Oregon, and Washington. Most (82%) of the 194 people who formally registered for the workshop worked for federal land management, research, or regulatory agencies. The rest were a mix of university faculty and graduate students (7%), representatives of private non-governmental groups (6%), staff from state resource or wildlife agencies (3%), and staff of tribal governments (2%). Most registrants were from Oregon (63%), followed by California (19%) and Washington (17%). We attracted a mix of managers and scientists. Wildlife biologists made up 40% of the registrants, followed by silviculturists (24%) and fire specialists (14%). Many people professed primary or secondary expertise in botany, ecology, forest health (entomology, pathology), or planning. The workshop began in the first afternoon with presentations on the scientific basis for dry-forest management and current management and ecological objectives and issues. The second full day was devoted to defining stand management objectives, learning about current management efforts in the region, and two group exercises to define objectives and treatment strategies. The AM of the last day started with 2 hours of discussion of the previous afternoon’s break-out discussions. Two talks on landscape planning followed. A final talk discussed options to best implement, test, and improve on the workshop outcomes. An adaptive management template and regional study network were proposed. The PM of the last day was a field trip to Pringle Falls Experimental Forest attended by about 100 people. A consensus developed that prescriptions most likely to successfully integrate ecological and fuel-management objectives in both mixed-conifer and pine-dominated forests should be based on emulating historic distributions of forest patch and gap sizes. Both scientists and field managers are anxious to participate in a coordinated management study network, recognizing this approach as the most efficient means for gaining reliable information. Key information needs include answers to the questions: (1) How do NSOs respond to different levels of dry forest treatment in both the short and long term?; and, (2) What methods (marking, logging systems, etc.) are most effective at producing the desired pattern of spatial heterogeneity within and among stands? The workshop results and networking will feature strongly in several ongoing research, management, and science delivery efforts across the region.

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