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March 2017 Newsletter
In This Issue
Era of Megafires Multi-Media Presentation
The Northern Rockies Fire Science Network has partnered with a number of regional partners to bring the Era of Megafires presentation to western Montana and Idaho. The presentation hosted by Dr. Paul Hessburg is designed to educate audiences across the West so that they may better participate in the conversation and solutions surrounding the Megafire issue.
Dr. Hessburg brings more than 27 years of fire and landscape ecology research and experience to the presentation, which merges short, topic-based talks with compelling videos and photographs. Featured photography is by wildfire photographer, John Marshall, and the videos are a productions from North 40.
Presentations in Montana and Idaho will be - Missoula Apr 24, Kalispell Apr 25, Lincoln Apr 26, Seeley Lake Apr 27, Coeur d'Alene May 1, Sandpoint May 2, Moscow May 3.
There are several southern Idaho locations to be announced soon, so monitor our upcoming events. |
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Call for Post-Fire Tree Mortality Data
Researchers seek data contributions to a Joint Fire Sciences Program project examining tree mortality due to wildland fire in the U.S.
Datasets should at minimum include:
- year of fire
- location (county, state)
- individual tree records of species, DBH, and crown injury (a measure of crown scorch, kill, and/or consumption)
Datasets will be aggregated into an archived database of post-fire tree mortality and used to:
- validate existing predictive post-fire mortality models
- examine the influence of pre-fire climate to improve predictions of post-fire tree mortality.
The archived data product will be made publicly available within one year of project completion (~2020). Contributors will receive authorship of the formally published archived data product and, at minimum, acknowledgement of their contribution in published articles.
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Modifying LANDFIRE Data: Guide & Webinar
LANDFIRE recently released a guidebook to walk users through the process of understanding, reviewing, and modifying LANDFIRE geospatial data. The guide explains the inherent strengths and weakness of existing datasets, highlights where to look for common problems in the data, and provides guidance to common data modification tasks. Example reasons for modifying LANDFIRE data and more about the data modification process can be found in this brief.
A real-life example of data modification to assess wildfire hazard and watershed exposure on the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest is available from this study. It involved locally calibrated LANDFIRE vegetation type, cover, height, and biophysical settings in a workshop setting to:
- decrease the impact of map zone seamlines,
- fine tune fuel model mapping rules,
- reduce forest canopy cover, and
- update data to reflect recent wildfires and beetle infestations.
The data modification process will also be presented in a webinar focused on your needs - April 19 from 12-1 Mountain (11-12 Pacific). Provide your input and register. |
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Fundamental Research on How Wildfires Spread
Join us for a webinar on Tuesday, May 2nd at 11 am MDT to learn about new and exciting research occurring at the Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory.
Sara McAllister, Research Mechanical Engineer, will discuss what we know and don't know about how wildfires spread.
The following topics will be covered:
- Current state of the knowledge and available tools
- Holes in our understanding
- Balance between radiation and convection
- Role of buoyancy in fire spread
- Convective ignition process
- Flammability and burning rate of live fuels
- Modeling fire spread
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National Cohesive Strategy Workshop
The National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy Workshop will be April 25-27 in Reno, NV.
Workshop objectives are to:
- Provide clear understanding of the importance and critical role of science in all Cohesive Strategy planning and implementation.
- Reinforce that the focus of the Cohesive Wildland Fire Strategy implementation is "all hands, all lands" and that seamless access to the best available and correct science is vital to success at every level and every action.
- Identify processes to ensure science integration in all planning and implementation activities, and identify future research needs in support of Cohesive Strategy implementation.
- Utilize the Workshop format to develop recommendations for continuing actions.
For more information, see the detailed workshop agenda. |
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FireWorks Workshop - June 15-16
Attend the next FREE FireWorks educator workshop at the Missoula Fire Sciences Lab, June 15-16.
FireWorks is a valuable resource for teachers, fire prevention specialists, fire information officers, agency educators, communication specialists, and outdoor educators (16 OPI credits or 1 UM credit available).
The workshop will be two intense days of entertaining, hands-on activities for teaching students about wildland fire behavior, ecology, management, and activities related to traditional fire use by Native Americans.
Content focuses on ecosystems in the Northern Rocky Mountains and North Cascade range, but the program is being adapted for use in other ecosystems, including the Sierra Nevada and the sagebrush steppe. The curriculum has activities for every age group, K-12 and adult education.
See the workshop flyer and preliminary syllabus for details, and for more information or to enroll, contact Eva Masin at 406 329-4820, emasin@fs.fed.us. |
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