Pacific Northwest Research Station

Labor Day (Sept. 7) 2020 brought with it a storm that knocked out power to more than 100,000 people in the Pacific Northwest. Hot, dry, easterly winds reached hurricane levels. Numerous wildfires that had started in August across California, Oregon, and Washington exploded when fanned by the gusty winds.

Dr. Mee-Sook Kim is a research plant pathologist with the Pacific Northwest Research Station. Kim has spent her 21-year research career advancing our knowledge and ability to manage the threat of native and invasive forest pathogens worldwide, which can cause the loss of billions of dollars of forest products annually.

The post-fire assessment of the 2011 Texas Tanglewood Fire was a unique collaboration between state and federal agencies to assess the wildland urban interface that included researchers from the Pacific Northwest Research Station and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Fruit-producing shrubs such as huckleberries, salal, Oregon grape, and beaked hazelnut are an important component of social history and traditional tribal diets in the Pacific Northwest. The fruits of these shrubs are also an important food source for foraging wildlife and pollinators, and serve as the basis for both non-tribal harvesting and small-scale commercial operations.