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Coalition Reveals First Ever Strategic Plan for Western Forests

What is Biochar? Is there a potential market for this woody biomass residue from forest product manufacturing operations? Read about the latest research from Colorado State University and Colorado State Forest Service’s Utilization and Marketing Program.

New USFS study shows that the United States can minimize the risk of severe wildfires in dry western forests by thinning them to no more than 100 trees per acre. The full article by Pacific Northwest Research Station and University of Washington scientists is available at: www.treesearch.fs.fed.us/pubs/38390

The National Association of State Foresters (NASF), the USDA Forest Service, and the American Forest Foundation (AFF) partnered to establish a campaign designed to raise U.S. awareness of the value of forests through the International Year of Forests celebration. With Forest Service support, NASF created and manages this website to serve all members of the U.S. forestry community. The website provides free toolkit materials anyone can use to celebrate forests in their own community; it is also a central forum for sharing ideas and events.

USFS fuel treatment effectiveness assessment.

In This Issue Featured Article The Southwest's Top Research Needs Lessons Learned: La Niña Fires Recent Activities and News Upcoming Events Other Events in the Southwest Request for Proposals What's New

by Yasmeen Najmi, Sterling Groghan, Dr. Cliff Crawford. June 2005. Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, Albuquerque, NM

Fire suppression in the last century has resulted in forests with excessive amounts of biomass, leading to more severe wildfires, covering greater areas, requiring more resources for suppression and mitigation, and causing increased onsite and offsite damage to forests and watersheds. Forest managers are now attempting to reduce this accumulated biomass by thinning, prescribed fire, and other management activities. These activities will impact watershed health, particularly as larger areas are treated and treatment activities become more widespread in space and in time. Management needs, laws, social pressures, and legal findings have underscored a need to synthesize what we know about the cumulative watershed effects of fuel management activities. In this 2010 synthesis by the Rocky Mountain Research Station, 14 chapters were defined covering fire and forests, machinery, erosion processes, water yield and quality, soil and riparian impacts, aquatic and landscape effects, and predictive tools and procedures. These chapters provide an overview of our current understanding of the cumulative watershed effects of fuel management in the western United States.

Web page with information and resources on invasive plants and animals, from the Forest Guild website.

Webinar presentation by Laurie Huckaby, USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station. Hosted by the Southern Rocky Mountain Ecoregion (SRME) Consortium on 2/16/11.