April 15, 2015: Effects of climate variability and accelerated thinning on watershed-scale runoff in Southwestern ponderosa pine forests

Presenter: Marcos Robles, The Nature Conservancy The recent mortality of up to 20% of forests and woodlands in the southwestern United States, along with declining stream flows and projected future water shortages, heightens the need to understand how management practices can enhance forest resilience and functioning under unprecedented scales of drought and wildfire. To address …

The 2014 San Juan Fire: Fuel Treatments and Fire Management

The San Juan fire ignited on June 26, 2014 on the White Mountain Apache Reservation and quickly entered the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. The fire was wind-driven for the first few days, and fire behavior was influenced by extremely dry fuel conditions related to long-term drought. However, as the fire moved to the southwest it encountered a series of fuels treatments done as part of the White Mountain Stewardship Contract and a habitat improvement partnership project. View the YouTube video here.


April 2, 2015: Tamarisk invasion and fire in Southwestern desert ecosystems

Presenter: Gail Drus, St. Francis University Increased wildfire has been observed with the displacement of native cottonwood-willow (Salix and Populus spp.) gallery forests by invasive, non-native tamarisk (Tamarix spp.) in desert riparian zones of North America. Greater post-fire recovery of Tamarix relative to native species suggests a Tamarix fire trajectory where repeated fire excludes native …