AGENDA

4^th USGS Wildland Fire Science Workshop

Westward Look Resort, Tucson, AZ

December 6-9, 2005

Workshop Theme: USGS Wildland Fire Science – Research Results, Management Applications, and Future Directions

Workshop Objectives:

· Highlight and educate attendees regarding select results of current USGS wildland fire science program

· Discuss applications of USGS fire science to management issues

· Address wildland fire issues and information needs in western United States

· Discuss future directions of USGS wildland fire science program

· Enhance collaboration and working relations with research partners and customers

Monday, December 5, 2005

5:00 – 8:00 pm Conference Registration Desk Open

Tuesday, December 6, 2005

Theme for Day 1 – Wildland Fire Science

6:30 - 8:00 am Continental Breakfast

Conference Registration (registration desk open all day)

8:00 - 8:20 am Welcome and Opening Remarks

Doug Buffington, Western Region Director, USGS

Pat Reid, Director, School of Natural Resources, University of Arizona

8:20 - 8:30 am Conference Overview/Objectives/Logistics

Bob Alverts, Western Region Science Advisor, USGS

(Chair, Workshop Planning Team)

Moderator for Morning Sessions: Bob Alverts, Western Region Science Advisor, USGS

8:30 - 9:00 am Keynote Address: A Western State Forester’s Perspective on Fire – Kirk Rowdabaugh, Arizona State Forester

Session on Fire Issues in the Western United States

9:00 - 9:30 am Overview of Fire in the Western United States – An Ecological Foundation for Fire Management – Jon E. Keeley, Sequoia-Kings Canyon Field Station, Western Ecological Research Center, USGS

9:30 - 9:50 am Break

9:50 – 11:30 am Fire in Five Different Western Geographies

9:50 – 10:10 am Fire in Alaska: A Management and Science Perspective – Carl J. Markon, Deputy Chief-Geography, Alaska Science Center, USGS

10:10 – 10:30 am Fire in the Northwestern US: Research Issues – Melanie Miller, BLM Fire Ecologist, Missoula Fire Lab, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Forest Service R&D

10:30 – 10:50 am Fire in the Great Basin: Too Much or Too Little? – Stephen Bunting, Department of Rangeland Ecology and Management, College of Natural Resources, University of Idaho

10:50 – 11:10 am Fire in Southern California – Jan Beyers and David Weise, Riverside Fire Lab, Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service R&D

11:10 – 11:30 am Fire in the Southwest – Craig D. Allen, Jemez Mountains Field Station, Fort Collins Science Center, USGS

11:30 am – 12:30 pm Lunch (free time for networking , informal discussions, …)

Moderator for Afternoon Sessions: Jack B. Waide, Ecosystems Program Coordinator, USGS

Session on Fire Risk and Risk to Human Communities

12:30 – 12:50 pm Fire Climatology: Using Knowledge of Climate Variability and Change in Assessing Fire Risk – Tom Swetnam, Director-Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, University of Arizona

12:50 – 1:10 pm Fire Risk, Vegetation, Fuels, and You – Jan van Wagtendonk, Yosemite Field Station, Western Ecological Research Center, USGS

1:10 – 1:30 pm Perception and Communication: Communities at Risk from Wildland Fire (WUI) – Jonathan Taylor, Policy Analysis and Science Assistance Branch, Fort Collins Science Center, USGS

1:30 – 1:50 pm Assessments and Economic Analyses of Fire Risks to Human Communities – Nathan Wood and Richard Bernknopf, Western Geographic Science Center, USGS

1:50 - 2:05 pm Break

Session on Wildfire Effects

2:05 – 2:25 pm Fire Effects on Hydrologic Processes, Runoff, and Water Quality – Deborah A. Martin, National Research Program, Water Resources Discipline, USGS

2:25 – 2:45 pm Post-Wildfire Debris-Flows – Processes, Hazard Assessments, and Warning Systems – Susan Cannon, Landslide Hazards Program, USGS; Jayme Laber, National Weather Service; Joseph Gartner, Landslide Hazards Program, USGS; and Michael Rupert, Colorado Water Science Center, USGS

2:45 – 3:05 pm Fire and Aquatic Ecosystems: Broad-Scale Implications – Robert E. Gresswell, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, USGS

3:05 – 3:25 pm Animals Can Influence Vegetation Change in Post-Fire Desert Communities – Todd C. Esque, Las Vegas Field Station, Western Ecological Research Center, USGS

3:25 – 3:45 pm Emissions from Wildfires and Effects on Air Quality and Human Health – Douglas G. Fox, Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere, Colorado State University, and Allen R. Riebau, Environmental Sciences Research Staff, Forest Service R&D

3:45 - 4:00 Break

Session on Ecosystem Restoration and Rehabilitation with reference to Wildfire

4:00 – 4:20 pm Reference Dynamics: Using Reconstructions of Ecological Processes to Restore Natural Variability – Donald A. Falk, Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, University of Arizona

4:20 – 4:40 pm Landscape Models to Guide the Restoration of Fire-Adapted Forest Ecosystems in the Southwestern USA – Thomas D. Sisk, Center for Environmental Sciences and Education, Northern Arizona University

4:40 – 5:00 pm Inter-Relationships of Fire and Invasive Plants in the Context of Ecological Restoration – Matthew L. Brooks, Las Vegas Field Station, Western Ecological Research Center, USGS

5:00 – 5:20 pm Restoration and Rehabilitation of Watersheds following Wildfire – Daniel G. Neary, Forestry Sciences Laboratory, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Forest Service R&D, and Peter F. Ffolliott, School of Natural Resources, University of Arizona

6:00 - 8:00 pm Evening Social and Poster Session (full refreshments and no-host bar provided)

Wednesday, December 7, 2005

Theme for Day 2 – Field Examination and Applications to Recent Wildfires

6:30 – 7:30 am Continental Breakfast

7:30 – 8:00 am Load Buses

8:00 am – 5:00 pm All Day Field Trip to Santa Catalina Mountains and Mt. Lemmon

[Issues covered: Fire History/Ecology, Fire Effects, Drought, Invasive Species, Rehabilitation/Restoration Activities, Post-burn Floods and Debris Flows, Community Effects]

[Hosts: USGS, University of Arizona, US Forest Service, NRCS, others]

Optional Evening Session (light refreshments and no-host bar provided)

6:00 – 7:15 pm Highlights Of USGS Responses to Recent Hurricane Katrina – Thomas J. Casadevall, Central Region Director, USGS

Thursday, December 8, 2005

Theme for Day 3 – Management Applications

6:30 – 8:00 am Continental Breakfast

Session on Fire Science Applications to Wildfire Management

Session Moderator: Randy Olsen, Central Region Science Coordinator, USGS

8:00 – 8:30 am Perspectives of the Wildland Fire Leadership Council (WFLC) and Office of Wildland Fire Coordination (OWFC) – Jim Douglas, Deputy Director, Office of Wildland Fire Coordination, DOI

8:30 – 10:45 am Panel Discussion – Needs of Managers for New Tools and Knowledge and Effective Collaboration with USGS (10 min each)

8:30 – 9:20 am Federal Agencies

>National Park Service – Tom Nichols, Deputy Fire Planning Program Leader, National Park Service, Fire Management Program Center

>Bureau of Land Management – Carl Rountree, Associate State Director for Arizona

>Fish and Wildlife Service – Mark Kaib, Regional Fire Ecologist, Southwest Region 2

>Bureau of Indian Affairs – Robert Lacapa, Forest Manager, Fort Apache Agency

>Forest Service – Tom G. Zimmerman, Director, Fire and Aviation Management, Southwestern Region (R3), USDA Forest Service

9:20 – 9:35 am Open Discussion

9:35 – 9:50 am Break

9:50 – 10:30 am Non-Governmental Organizations

>Western Governors’ Association (WGA) – Jay Jensen, Executive Director, Western Forestry Leadership Coalition (representing WGA)

>National Association of State Foresters (NASF) – James ‘Pat’ McElroy, Washington State Forester and President, NASF

>The Nature Conservancy – Reese Lolley, Fire Ecologist, TNC of New Mexico

>The Wilderness Society – Henry ‘Bo’ Wilmer, Landscape Scientist, Center for Landscape Analysis, Ecology and Economic Research Dept.

10:30 – 10:45 am Open Discussion

10:45 – 11:00 am Break

Session on Developing Geo-spatial and Risk Assessment Tools for Managers

Session Moderator: Michael E. Hutt, Rocky Mountain Geographic Science Center, USGS

11:00 – 11:20 am Progress in the Development of Fire Program Analysis – Craig Thompson, National Park Service, National Interagency Fire Center, and Howard Roose, Bureau of Land Management, National Interagency Fire Center

11:20 – 11:40 am Mapping Fuels, Fire Risk, and Forest Condition Class – Status and Future Directions of LANDFIRE – James E. Vogelmann, SAIC, National Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS), USGS; Zhi-liang Zhu, EROS, USGS; Jay Kost, SAIC, EROS, USGS; and Matt Rollins, Missoula Fire Sciences Lab, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Forest Service R&D

11:40 am – 12:00 pm Assessing and Mapping Burn Severity – Scientific Basis and Implementation – Carl H. Key, Glacier Field Station, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, USGS

12:00 – 1:30 pm Lunch (free time for networking, informal discussions, …)

Session on Fire Monitoring

Session Moderator: Michael E. Hutt, Rocky Mountain Geographic Science Center, USGS

1:30 – 1:50 pm Development of a Standardized Monitoring Approach for Post-Fire Rehabilitation and Stabilization Projects – David A. Pyke and Troy Wirth, Forest & Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, USGS

1:50 – 2:10 pm Development of Fire Effects Monitoring Frameworks and Tools in the National Park Service – Nate Benson, National Park Service Fire Ecology Program, National Interagency Fire Center

2:10 – 2:30 pm Evaluating Effects of Fuels Treatments in Arid and Semiarid Ecosystems – Matthew L. Brooks, Las Vegas Field Station, Western Ecological Research Center, USGS

2:30 – 2:50 pm The National Fire and Fire Surrogate Study – Effects of Alternative Fuel Reduction Methods on Overstory and Understory Communities – Dylan W. Schwilk and Jon E. Keeley, Sequoia Field Station, Western Ecological Research Center, USGS

2:50 – 3:05 pm Break

Session on Communicating Fire Science Results to Managers and Communities

Session Moderator: Tracy Fuller, USGS Liaison, National Interagency Fire Center

3:05 – 3:25 pm Effective Communication of Fire Research Results to Managers on the Ground: Case Studies of Lessons Learned – Jamie Barbour, Pacific Northwest Research Station (PNW), Forest Service R&D (FS R&D); Sue Barro, North Central Research Station, FS R&D; Miles Hemstrom and Heather Erickson, PNW, FS R&D; and Tim Swedberg, Joint Fire Sciences Program, DOI

3:25 – 3:45 pm Translating and Communicating Fire Research Results in Forms Useful to Managers – Anne Black and Vita Wright, Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Forest Service R&D

3:45 – 4:05 pm Development of FRAMES (Fire Research and Management Exchange System): Technology in Support of Wildland Fire Research and Management – Greg Gollberg, Forest Resources Department, College of Forest Resources, University of Idaho, and Jennifer Pollock, Center for Biological Informatics, National Biological Information Infrastructure, USGS

4:05 – 4:25 pm Fire-Climate-Society (FCS-1): Online Multicriteria Decision Support for Participatory Strategic Wildfire Planning – Barron Orr, Office of Arid Lands Studies; Barbara J. Morehouse, Institute for the Study of Planet Earth; Stephen R. Yool, Department of Geography and Regional Development; Gary L. Christopherson, Center for Applied Spatial Analysis; Thomas W. Swetnam, Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research; and Jonathan T. Overpeck, Institute for the Study of Planet Earth; all University of Arizona

4:25 – 4:45 pm Community-Based Recovery from Wildfire and Beyond: Healing Watersheds and People – the Story of the Los Alamos Volunteer Task Force – John Hogan, Jemez Mountains Field Station, Fort Collins Science Center, USGS

4:45 – 5:00 pm Open Discussion

Friday, December 9, 2005

Theme for Day 4 – Setting Future Directions for USGS Wildland Fire Science

6:30 – 8:00 am Continental Breakfast

Session on Future Directions for USGS Wildland Fire Science

Session Moderator: Matthew L. Brooks, Western Ecological Research Center, USGS

8:00 – 8:30 am Climatic Effects on Plant Invasions and Wildfires: A New World Order in the Sonoran Desert? – Julio Betancourt, Desert Laboratory, USGS

8:30 – 8:50 am Overview of Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) – Program Priorities, Process Requirements, and Advice for PIs – Erik Berg, Program Manager, JFSP, National Interagency Fire Center

8:50 – 9:15 am Wildland Fire Research and Development in the USDA Forest Service: Future Plans and Opportunities for Collaboration – Susan G. Conard, Fire Ecology Research National Program Leader, Forest Service R&D

9:15 – 9:30 am Looking to the Future of USGS Wildland Fire Science – Development of a Strategic Science Vision and Links to Future Budgets – Jack B. Waide, Ecosystems Program Coordinator, USGS

9:30 – 9:50 am Overview of FY 2006 Fire Science Thrust – Randall G. Updike, Central Region Geologist, USGS

9:50 – 10:05 am Break

10:05 – 11:20 am Breakout Groups – Recommending Future Research Directions in USGS Wildland Fire Science Program

>Pre-fire Risk Assessment, including Fuels Mapping and Treatments – Discussion Lead: Matthew L. Brooks, Las Vegas Field Station, Western Ecological Research Center, USGS

>Fire Ecology & Wildfire Effects – Discussion Lead: Jan van Wagtendonk, Yosemite Field Station, Western Ecological Research Center, USGS

>Post-fire Restoration and Rehabilitation – Discussion Lead: Craig D. Allen, Jemez Mountains Field Station, Fort Collins Science Center, USGS

>Fire Incident Response and Operations Support – Discussion Lead: Tracy Fuller, USGS Liaison, National Interagency Fire Center

11:20 – 11:30 am Break

11:30 am – 12:30 pm Breakout Session Reports/Recommendations (15 min/group)

12:30 – 1:00 pm Concluding Remarks

Bob Alverts, Western Region Science Advisor, USGS

(Chair, Workshop Planning Team)

Pat Reid, Director, School of Natural Resources, University of Arizona

Tom Casadevall, Central Region Director, USGS

1:00 pm Adjourn