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Project ID: 01-1-3-25

Year: 2002

Date Started: 05/30/2002

Date Completed: 05/31/2006

Title: Prescribed Fire Strategies to Restore Wildlife Habitat in Ponderosa Pine Forests of the Intermountain West

Project Proposal Abstract: Prescribed burning often focuses on reducing fire hazard with little consideration given to the effects of fire management on wildlife and their habitats. Yet, many avian species, including several species designated as Sensitive Species by Federal and state agencies, depend on fire patterns for their dispersal and movements. Cavity-nesting birds, in particular, are often tied to fire-prone forests, and are responsive to fire and timber management activities. The link between fuel management and post-fire bird communities is of particular concern in ponderosa pine forests. Indeed, the USDA Forest Service estimates that over 40 million acres of ponderosa pine are susceptible to uncharacteristic fires, including communities in the wildland urban interface. However, a lack of scientific information prevents managers from adequately describing or predicting the environmental effects of prescribed burning on bird communities and their habitats. This presents significant scientific, legal, and social ramifications for land management agencies attempting to implement national fire management programs, such as the National Fire Plan and the Cohesive Strategies. For example, appeals over black-backed and Lewis's woodpeckers, two species of ponderosa pine forests, halted the implementation of the land management plan on the Black Hills National Forest. Thus, planning and implementation of fire management programs require an improved understanding of the cumulative effects of fire management on sensitive wildlife species. Our overall goal is to quantify and compare the ecological consequences of fire management for birds and their habitats in three fire conditions: (1) unburned forests (fires absent for at least 70 yrs), (2) prescribed understory fire, and (3) wildland fire, Using planned and "natural" experiments, we will characterize forest structure, fuel loads, landscape heterogeneity, and avian communities of the three fire conditions in ponderosa pine/mixed coniferous forests at three study locations (Idaho, Colorado, New Mexico/Arizona) across the Intermountain West. The proposed research directly addresses Task 3, RFP 200 1-1 (~determine cumulative effects of fuels reduction methods on wildlife populations, habitat structure, and landscapes). The results of this study will provide information necessary for managers to: 1) evaluate the ecological trade-offs among wildlife resources associated with alternative fire management activities, 2) identify potential conflicts in management for Sensitive Species of cavity-nesting birds, and 3) assess how the cumulative effects of fire management can affect the ecological integrity of ponderosa pine forests. To facilitate dissemination of information to managers and the public, we will produce a "Birds in Burns" color leaflet and companion poster that describe bird species associated with different fire conditions in ponderosa pine forests over a large geographic area, in addition to more traditional presentations, reports and peer-reviewed publications.

Principal Investigator: Victoria A. Saab

Agency/Organization: Forest Service

Branch or Dept: RMRS-Southwest Forest Science Complex

Other Project Collaborators

Type	Name	Agency/Organization	Branch or Dept
Co-Principal Investigator	Craig Beinz	The Nature Conservancy	OR-Klamath Basin Office
Co-Principal Investigator	William M. Block	Forest Service	RMRS-Southwest Forest Science Complex
Co-Principal Investigator	Natasha Kotliar	USGS-Geological Survey	FORT-Fort Collins Science Center
Co-Principal Investigator	John F. Lehmkuhl	Forest Service	PNW-Forestry Sciences Lab-Wenatchee
Co-Principal Investigator	Amy Markus	Forest Service	Fremont-Winema NFs-Silver Lake Ranger District
Co-Principal Investigator	Kerri T. Vierling	University of Idaho	Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources
Co-Principal Investigator	Kent Z Woodruff	Forest Service	Okanogan & Wenatchee NFs-Methow Valley Ranger District
Collaborator/Contributor	Denny Bohon	Forest Service	Pike & San Isabel NFs-South Platte Ranger District
Collaborator/Contributor	Paul Boucher	Forest Service	Gila National Forest
Collaborator/Contributor	Gary Brundige	South Dakota	Custer State Park
Collaborator/Contributor	James Cothrun	Forest Service	Apache Sitgreaves NF-Lakeside Ranger District
Collaborator/Contributor	Dyce Gayton	Forest Service	Arapaho & Roosevelt NFs-Canyon Lakes Ranger District
Collaborator/Contributor	Roy Hall	Forest Service	Coconino National Forest
Collaborator/Contributor	Jeff Hardesty	The Nature Conservancy	FL-Global Fire Initiative
Collaborator/Contributor	Charles E. Harris	Idaho	Fish & Game-Headquarters
Collaborator/Contributor	Richard L. Hutto	University of Montana	Division of Biological Sciences
Collaborator/Contributor	William Mannan	University of Arizona-Tucson	School of Natural Resources & the Environment
Collaborator/Contributor	Cal McCluskey	BLM-Bureau of Land Management	Washington Office
Collaborator/Contributor	Barry Noon	Colorado State University	Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology
Collaborator/Contributor	David S. Pilliod	USGS-Geological Survey	BRD-Snake River Field Station
Collaborator/Contributor	Robert Post	Forest Service	Pike & San Isabel NFs-South Park Ranger District
Collaborator/Contributor	Terrell Rich	FWS-Fish and Wildlife Service	Division of Migratory Bird Management
Collaborator/Contributor	Dan Roddy	NPS-National Park Service	Wind Cave National Park
Collaborator/Contributor	Gary Vos	Forest Service	San Juan NF-Pagosa Ranger District
Federal Cooperator	Victoria A. Saab	Forest Service	RMRS-Southwest Forest Science Complex
Technical Contact	Sam Hescock	Forest Service	Payette National Forest
Technical Contact	Dave Thomas	Forest Service	Region 4-Intermountain Region

Project Locations

Consortium

Northern Rockies

Northwest

South

Southern Rockies

There are no project locations identified for this project.

Project Deliverables

Final Report ("Results presented in JFSP Final Reports may not have been peer-reviewed and should be interpreted as tentative until published in a peer-reviewed source.")

	ID	Type	Title
	2712	Refereed Publication	Fire and Avian Ecology in North America: Process Influencing Pattern
	2704	Refereed Publication	Fire and Birds in the Southwestern United States
	2713	Refereed Publication	Variation in Fire Regimes of the Rocky Mountains: Implications for Avian Communities and Fire Management
	2707	Refereed Publication	Conceptual Framework for Studying the Effects of Fuels Treatments on Avian Communities in Ponderosa Pine Forests of Northern Arizona
	2715	NonRefereed Publication	Changes in Downed Wood and Forest Structure After Prescribed Fire in Ponderosa Pine Forests
	2711	NonRefereed Publication	Relationships of Fire Ecology and Avian Communities in North America
	2705	NonRefereed Publication	Response of Birds to Fire in the American Southwest
	2709	MS Thesis	Associations Among Breeding Birds and Characteristics of Gambel Oak in Ponderosa Pine Forests (S.A. Jentsch)

Supporting Documents

There are no supporting documents available for this project.

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