Research opportunities in national, experimental study of the consequences of prescribed fire and fire surrogate treatments Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 18:34:55 -0700 To: "E - All WRD Employees" From: jlbetanc@sun1paztcn.wr.usgs.gov (Julio Betancourt) Subject: Opportunity in Fire-Watershed Research MEMORANDUM T0: WRD, USGS FROM: Julio Betancourt, WRD, BRR, WR, Tucson DATE: 1/10/99 SUBJECT: Research opportunities in national, experimental study of the consequences of prescribed fire and fire surrogate treatments We are seeking WRD participants in a multidisciplinary, national study of the consequences of prescribed fire and fire surrogate (FFS) treatments to reduce fuel loads and risks from large and high-severity wildfires. This national study will involve scientists from several federal agencies and universities. Development of a standard experimental design and protocol for this national study is being funded by the USDA-DOI Joint Fire Science Program, an $8 million program funded by Congress to provide science-based support for reduction of fuels (see http://www.nifc.gov/joint_fire_sci/ndex.html for details). It is being assumed that the Joint Fire Science Program will also fund the long-term (decades) experimental study, which will implement a common experimental design across 12 sites in the U.S. 1. East Cascades, WA (Wenatchee National Forest) 2. Blue Mountains, OR (Wallowa-Whitman National Forest) 3. Kamath Province, CA(Klamath, Shasta-Trinity, Six Rivers, Mendocino) 4. Northern Sierra Nevada/southern Cascades, CA (Lassen and/or Plumas National Forest) 5. Southern Sierra Nevada, CA (Sierra National Forest) 6. Northern Rockies, MT (Univ. of Montana Lubrecht Experimental Forest) 7. Urban-Wildland Interface near Flagstaff, AZ 8. Urban-wildland interface near Los Alamos, NM 9. Kaibab National Forest, AZ 10. Gila National Forest, NM 11. Southern Pines, SC (Clemson Univ. Experimental Forest) 12. Mixed-oak, OH (Wayne National Forest and Mead Paper Corporation) The four Fire-Fire Surrogate (FFS) treatments include 1) untreated control 2) prescribed fire only, with periodic reburns 3) initial and periodic cutting, each time followed by residue removal and/or mechanical fuel treatment (no use of prescribed fire) 4) initial and periodic cutting, each time followed by prescribed fire; fire alone could be used one or more times between cutting intervals. The FFS treatments will be replicated 3 times at each of the 12 sites. Each FFS treatment plot will be 10 ha in size, with an additional 4 ha of treated buffer. Hence, there will be 56 ha per replication and 3 replications, or about 168 ha of treated plots per site. The suite of treatments can be viewed as a 2 x 2 treatment matrix- with and without fire along one axis, with and without cutting along the other. The four treatments span a useful range both in terms of realistic management options and anticipated ecological effects. A series of core response variables will be monitored before and after treatments at each site, including vegetation, wildlife and soil components. We need input from WRD scientists on what hydrological and biogeochemical response variables can be measured realistically, and at what cost in terms or personnel and other resources. The FFS Home Page includes a draft of soil and soil surface measurements for guidance (see address below). We envision interest from both District Offices and the National Research Program. Think of this as a mini-NAWQA or a WEBB Program to evaluate the effectiveness and consequences of fuel treatments. The importance of this task cannot be overstated. Projections are that, in the near future, the federal government will be spending a billion dollars a year using prescribed burning and other means to reduce fuels. This is roughly what the government is spending annually on fire suppression. Please note that the general features of the experimental design are pretty well set. However, there may be opportunities for paired watershed studies at some of the sites, where much more land will be treated than the 168 ha for the formal experiments. For more details, please visit the Web site http://www.snowcrest.net/pswfs/ffs/draftstudy.htm If you are interested in this study, please contact Julio Betancourt (jlbetanc@usgs.gov or 520-670-6821 ext. 112) or Deborah Martin (damartin@usgs.gov or 303 541-3024 before Feb. 15, 1999). Julio Betancourt US Geological Survey, Desert Lab 1675 W. Anklam Rd Tucson, AZ 85745 phone 520-670-6821 ext. 112 fax 520-670-6806 e-mail: jlbetanc@usgs.gov