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Geography: Montana

Mechanism of northern pike invasion in the Columbia River basin

Science Spotlights Posted on: May 26, 2022
Northern pike are voracious predators, and invasions of this species in the Columbia River basin are associated with declines in native trout and salmon. Identifying the source populations contributing to expansion of this nonnative fish is important for preventing further invasions. Researchers used genetic information to understand the mechanisms leading to the expansion of invasive northern pike in the upper Columbia River basin. To their surprise, the researchers discovered that the presence of northern pike was a result of human introduction.

How to choose and use pollinator-friendly plants

FS News Posted on: May 05, 2022
FORT COLLINS, Colo., May 13, 2022 — Helping bees helps us. About one-third of our food and three-quarters of forest and grassland plants in the United States are pollinated by insects. Pollinators, including bees, are declining worldwide. One way to restore bee populations is to use seed mixes that include their favorite flowering plants.

Selecting pollinator-friendly plants to restore habitat for bees

Science Spotlights Posted on: April 14, 2022
There is an urgent and growing need to restore habitat for pollinators, especially bees. Increasing floral resources by revegetating with native flowering plants is an effective way to benefit pollinators. We assessed the pollinator-friendliness of flowering plant species available for restoration in Region One and provide score cards to allow managers to select and tailor mixes that are most beneficial to bees. 

Restoration Catch-22: Overcoming Issues With Seed Predation by Small Mammals When Trying to Restore Habitat

Documents and Media Posted on: March 09, 2022
Restoration efforts can be negatively impacted by increases in small mammals. These small mammals consume larger seeds of the native plant community, hampering the establishment of new plants and the recovery of existing plants. Document Type: Other Documents

Idaho westslope cutthroat trout – restoration through science-based collaboration

Science Spotlights Posted on: February 15, 2022
Historically, Idaho westslope cutthroat trout (WCT) were extremely abundant and widely distributed. Despite conservation measures since 1899, many WCT populations declined and by the 1960s, populations in several major drainages were on the brink of collapse. In response, fisheries researchers began investigating WCT populations and worked with managers to develop evidence-based regulations and habitat restoration alternatives that rebuilt populations. This sustained and successful collaborative effort to restore Idaho WCT offers insights to assist fish recovery efforts elsewhere.

Pollinators

Media Gallery Posted on: January 31, 2022
Research from Rocky Mountain Research Station entomologist Justin Runyon will better position us to devise and apply management to address important issues including invasive plants, pollinators, and bark beetles. It will also advance our basic understanding of the ecology of plant-insect interactions. Watch this Science You Can Use Webinar to learn from Justin Runyon about pollinator-friendly plants for restoration.

How a Forest Disappears: Conversion of Forest to Nonforest Vegetation Following Wildfire

Documents and Media Posted on: January 26, 2022
Scientists are seeing an increase in cases where forest resilience is pushed beyond a breaking point. Within the last few decades, wildfires in the western United States have increasingly burned so severely that some forests are unlikely to return to their prefire state and may convert to different forest types or even to nonforested systems like grassland or shrubland. Document Type: Other Documents

Lessons from the past: Wilderness fire management in the Northern Rockies

Science Spotlights Posted on: January 04, 2022
A new report and video recount historically important fires and the development of wilderness fire management in Northern Rockies Wilderness areas and National Parks from the 1970s to the present. An improved understanding of this fascinating history, including the challenges overcome and lessons learned by managers in this region will continue to inform fire management policies and decisions across the Nation.

Resilience Test: Can Ponderosa Pine Bounce Back After High-Severity Fire?

Documents and Media Posted on: October 28, 2021
In the absence of active management, portions of large high-severity patches may convert from ponderosa pine forests to grasslands, shrublands, or other forest types. However, other portions of large high-severity patches, particularly cooler and wetter areas near surviving trees, may recover to ponderosa pine forests or woodlands. Where ponderosa pine forests do recover, the trees may be largely distributed in heterogeneous “groupy-clumpy” spatial patterns, rather than in random or uniform patterns. Planting in high-severity patches may be most successful where climate tends to be cooler and wetter, such as at higher elevations, as natural regeneration was most successful in these areas. Planting near downed logs or other vegetation may enhance regeneration success, though it may also increase their risk of mortality in a reburn. To mimic patterns of natural regeneration in ponderosa pine forests, planting can be done in groups. Document Type: Other Documents

Status of five-needle white pine populations in the western U.S.

Science Spotlights Posted on: August 24, 2021
Forest monitoring data collected throughout the western U.S. allowed us to assess the sustainability of five-needle pine populations, which face growing threats from stressors such as drought, disease, and insects. The good news is that some five-needle white pine species appear to be regenerating and growing faster than trees are dying. The bad news is that two species – whitebark and limber pines – are dying faster than growth of new and surviving trees.

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