Protecting Communities and Improving Forest Resilience

The Coconino National Forest surrounds thriving communities in northern Arizona that are part of an area where human development meets undeveloped wildland—known as the Wildland Urban Interface. While these beautiful and diverse forests and landscapes contribute to an amazing lifestyle, thriving economies, and wildlife habitat, they also create complexities for forest managers.

As the monsoon season is in full swing and we navigate wildfire season, the Coconino National Forest is meeting the wildfire crisis head on. Sounds of feller bunchers, logging trucks, and prescribed fire smoke in the air all demonstrate a broad commitment to protecting not only our national forests, but the surrounding communities’ commitments and partnerships as well.

In January 2022, the USDA Forest Service responded to the wildfire crisis in the West by launching a Wildfire Crisis Strategy (WCS) that steps up the pace and scale of our work to safeguard our communities and resources, protect them from destructive wildfires, and support postfire recovery and restoration. To implement the strategy, the Forest Service is working closely with Tribes and partners to build capacity, collaboratively plan and prioritize, implement, and monitor tree removal projects and prescribed fire. 

“Our communities have experienced a lot with wildfire in the recent past, and I am grateful for the collective understanding and support for the work that we are doing,” said Coconino National Forest Supervisor Aaron Mayville. 

One of the landscapes specifically identified in the WCS includes areas of the Coconino National Forest associated with the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI)—an effort started in 2009 to restore forests to healthier conditions across four national forests in northern Arizona. Specifically, the overall goals of 4FRI are to restore the structure, pattern, composition, and health of fire-adapted ponderosa pine ecosystems, reduce fuels and the risk of unnaturally severe wildfires, and provide for wildlife and plant diversity. Much work in this regard has been accomplished over the years and is now magnified through the WCS.  

What is a resilient forest?

Many of our fire-adapted forests are degraded and not as healthy as they should be. Fire-adapted forests require frequent, low-intensity wildfire to stay healthy by keeping the number of trees and other vegetation in balance with limited resources such as water, much as our own health depends on balances within our own body. A healthy forest is resilient—capable of self-renewal following drought, wildfire, beetle outbreaks, and other forest stressors and disturbances—just as a healthy person stands a good chance of recovering from disease or injury. 

Forest managers can increase forest resilience and minimize catastrophic wildfire impacts through restoration activities based on sound science. These activities, called hazardous fuels treatments or forest health treatments, reduce dangerous “fuels” in the forest such as dead trees, pinecones, pine needles that have been shed, and other forest debris, restoring forest health and resilience.

When fire-adapted forests are treated there are short-term effects like reduced understory (grass and forbes), increased run-off, and smoke. These negative effects lessen over time with increased understory response, increased water infiltration, and less smoke from longer lasting wildfires.

“Our communities need healthy, resilient forests that can withstand stresses like wildfires, droughts, and insect outbreaks,” said Mark Nabel, a silviculturist on the Coconino National Forest’s Flagstaff Ranger District. “These stressors are inevitable, and they need not be catastrophic, which is why we are focused on improving the health of our forests.” 

What about the Wildland-Urban Interface? 

Much of the wildfire crisis in the West stems from increased risk to communities and infrastructure as more homes and communities develop into fire-adapted western landscapes. The communities where homes adjoin or intersect with large areas of fire-adapted vegetation are called the wildland-urban interface, or WUI. The forest is working proactively with communities and partners to complete forest restoration in critical WUI areas like the Upper Rio De Flag Watershed on the western slopes of the San Francisco Peaks.  

Projects in this area are a top priority and the forest is partnering with Coconino County, industry, and other organizations—such as The Nature Conservancy and the National Forest Foundation—to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire. The work can be complex; balancing personnel capacity, laying out timber sales, delineating prescribed fire boundaries, and reviewing mitigation measures to protect wildlife species are all crucial to our success. 

How the Coconino National Forest is Engaging 

Many of the fire-adapted forests on the Coconino National Forest are overgrown and unhealthy. These forests require frequent, low-intensity fire to reduce hazardous forest fuels that would otherwise increase catastrophic wildfires. The Coconino National Forest supports healthy and resilient landscapes and is committed to restoring these forests to resilient conditions through a combination of prescribed fire and mechanical thinning to protect old growth, improve watershed health, and reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire. 

Through prudent use of mechanical thinning, including removal of trees combined with intentional low-intensity fire on the landscape, our communities and fire-adapted forests will continue to be resilient and thrive. For example, last fiscal year, 17,471 acres were treated through prescribed and managed wildfire and 54,364 acres have been treated so far, this fiscal year. The Coconino National Forest also treated 5,891 acres through mechanical thinning last year and has treated 4,813 acres to date.

“I am so proud of the work the Coconino National Forest has done with our partners and communities to restore so many acres to healthier and more resilient condition,” Mayville said. “Public and partner support for this work is critical as we continue implementing the Wildfire Crisis Strategy and reduce the fire hazards in places we live and work. Over the next several months, we will share more articles and information about this vision and our collective path to success.”