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Prescribed burning near Lake Tahoe, California. Photo courtesy of Lake Tahoe West Restoration Partnership.
The Lake Tahoe basin is a prime example of a landscape in which high-value ecological and social outcomes hang in the balance as climate changes over the next century.
The 2021 Lick Fire burns at night in the Umatilla National Forest, Oregon. USDA Forest Service photo by Brendan O’Reilly.
Hot, dry air conditions fuel more intense wildfires, while cool, moist air conditions can make fires easier to manage.
Quercus rubra showing evidence of advanced root decay caused by the pathogen Armillaria gallica in Georgia, USA. USDA Forest Service photo by John W. Hanna.
Armillaria root diseases are a major cause of mortality and reduced growth of trees in forests worldwide. Trees stressed by drought, high temperatures, and other environmental stressors may be predisposed to Armillaria infection.
Xavier Lee, an intern with the Pacific Northwest Research Station, measures the diameter of a tree burned in the 2020 Archie Creek Fire, Oregon. USDA Forest Service photo by Morris Johnson.
Large, stand-replacing wildfires are expected to become increasingly common due to climate change, but there are limited scientific data available to help managers evaluate options for forest management after wildfire.
A mosaic pattern of burned and unburned areas on the Willamette National Forest with Mount Jefferson on the horizon. USDA Forest Service photo by Vicente Monleon.
As wildfires increase in size and frequency throughout the western United States, and interest in carbon accounting grows, accurate and efficient methods for measuring carbon flux are critical. This study provides an applied example of a quasi-experimental approach to quantify the effects of a natural disturbance for which experimental settings are unavailable.
A burned stand of trees on the Willamette National Forest. Oregon. USDA Forest Service photo by Vicente Monleon.
As the frequency and size of wildfires increase, accurate assessment of burn severity is essential to understanding fire effects and evaluating those effects on postfire vegetation. Remotely sensed imagery allows for rapid assessment of burn severity, but it needs to be field validated.
Roosevelt elk in western Oregon. USDA Forest Service photo.
A newly revised toolbox in ArcGIS enables users to project nutrition and habitat use for elk across 11 million hectares of western Oregon and Washington. Wildlife biologists and forest planners can also use the toolbox to evaluate how management alternatives will likely affect elk habitat.
A hunter after a successful elk hunt at the Starkey Experimental Forest and Range, Oregon. USDA Forest Service photo by Mike Wisdom.
Sport hunting of deer, elk, and other wild ungulates is a popular recreational activity on federal lands.
Willows planted to improve riparian habitat for fish also provide an important early-season foraging resource for native bees. Photo courtesy of Scott Mitchell.
Native pollinators are critical to healthy ecosystems, including rangelands, but pollinators are in decline.
Wildflowers in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, Montana. USDA photo by Preston Keres.
Pollinators—any species that moves pollen on a plant and supports plant fertilization—are essential to ecosystems worldwide. Despite their critical importance, pollinators are largely undervalued and understudied.
