Projects
Browse present and past projects.
Displaying 101 - 125 of 146
2008-2010
Mitigating old tree mortality in long-unburned, fire-dependent forests
Forest managers around the country have expressed concerns about large-diameter and old tree mortality when prescribed burning in long-unburned forests. This project developed a… moreContact(s): Sharon Hood
2024-present
A major goal of forest restoration and fuels management is reducing risk of high-severity fire and building resilience, yet currently there is high uncertainty about when and where prescribed fire can be used to successfully reduce forest density… moreContact(s): Kimberley Davis, Sharon Hood
2014-2015
In the United States, outdoor target shooting has been suspected as the source of numerous wildland fires. The ammunition involved in most incidents is thought to be of ordinary commercial varieties with bullets composed of inert materials including… moreContact(s): Mark Finney
2023-present
The Forest Service Wildfire Crisis Strategy (WCS) sets ambitious goals to reduce risk to communities in the western United States by increasing fuel reduction treatments on and off Forest Service lands. A first step toward achieving these goals is… moreContact(s): Greg Dillon
1993-present
Evaluating effects of various prescribed burning and silvicultural techniques used for restoring whitebark pine ecosystems (RWPE)
The loss of whitebark pine is serious for upper subalpine ecosystems because it is considered a keystone species… moreContact(s): Sarah Flanary
2012-present
Obtaining Integrated, Quality-assured Fuels, Fire, and Atmospheric Data for Development and Evaluation of Fuels, Fire Behavior, Smoke, and Fire Effects Models
The lack of co-located, multi-scale measures of pre-fire fuels, active fire processes,… moreContact(s): Daniel Jimenez
2017- present
The USDA Forest Service Scenario Investment Planning Platform was developed by Forest Service Research & Development to help the agency modernize its approach to prioritizing land management investments. The system can be used to model spatially… moreContact(s): Alan Ager, Michelle Day
2020-present
This project responds to the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP)’s FY 2020 Statement of Need: “DoD WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT RESEARCH FOR IMPROVED MILITARY LAND USE”, for which the overarching objective was “to improve… moreContact(s): Russell Parsons
2008-present
Since 2008, the Fire, Fuel, and Smoke Science Program has worked with the University of Montana, the University of Idaho, and the Rocky Mountain Research Station’s Wildland Fire Management RD&A Program in a University-Forest Service partnership… moreContact(s): Thomas Dzomba
2013-2015
Soil heating and fire effects resulting from in situ oil spill burning.
When petroleum is spilled on land, clean up can be difficult. Sites may be inaccessible to mechanical containment, recovery, and clean up, and the equipment may cause… moreContact(s): Jim Reardon
2012-Present
Both firefighters and fire scientists have observed a period of peak crown fire activity in the Great Lakes area during spring when a dip in foliar moisture content occurs. For decades, the cause and timing of this ‘dip’ have been poorly understood… moreContact(s): Matt Jolly
2019-present
Wildland fires are a major source of pollutants resulting in both air quality impacts and climate interactions. Wildland fire smoke can trigger severe pollution episodes with substantial effects on public health and fire emissions can degrade air… moreContact(s): Shawn Urbanski
2010-present
There is a lack of high resolution measurements of wind speed and direction with which to test wind model accuracy. This project is directed at collecting needed data sets in mountainous terrain.
Wind predictions in complex terrain are important… moreContact(s): Natalie Wagenbrenner
2002 - present
High resolution surface wind modeling in support of fire management
Wind can be the dominant environmental variable affecting wildland fire intensity and spread. When fire is burning in mountainous terrain, winds can vary widely in speed and… moreContact(s): Natalie Wagenbrenner
1996 - 2016
Monitoring wildland fuel characteristics on a 330 m grid across the entire TCEF.
Most ecological studies fail to account for ecosystem response and its variability over large space and long time scales. Impacts of many disturbances and management… moreContact(s): Duncan Lutes, Russell Parsons
1961-present
For a more indepth overview, see our TCEF Story Map.
The Tenderfoot Creek Experimental Forest (TCEF) encompasses the headwaters of Tenderfoot Creek in the Little Belt mountains of central Montana.TCEF is uniquely suited to study lodgepole pine… moreContact(s): Russell Parsons
2020-present
Using destructive samplings methods and a Leica BLK360 terrestrial lidar scanner (TLS), we measured and scanned 20 small diameter trees. We then compare our lab-based results to the 3D quantitative structure model output retrieved from inputting our… moreContact(s): Russell Parsons
2019-present
Prioritizing forest and fuel management investments to reduce wildfire risk to developed areas
The Fireshed Registry is a geospatial dashboard and decision tool built in ArcGIS online. It provides an interactive system to view a wide array of… moreContact(s): Alan Ager, Michelle Day
2017-2021
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The impetus for the wildland fire meta-review were the fatalities that occurred in the 2015 Twisp River wildfire. The Twisp River Fire Fatalities and Entrapments Learning Review recommended that the… moreContact(s):
2016-2023
California is currently in the midst of a record-breaking drought and its forests are undergoing massive die-offs. This extensive tree mortality will drastically alter fuel loads, likely changing fire behavior and severity in fire-prone ecosystems… moreContact(s): Sharon Hood
2012-present
Machine learning matched forest plot data with biophysical characteristics of the landscape to produce a seamless tree-level forest map.
The TreeMap 2016 dataset is a spatial model of the trees in continental US forests. It provides detailed… moreContact(s): Karin Riley
2010-present
A Spatial Database of U.S. Wildfires
Wildfire occurrence records provide baseline information that is essential for wildfire management and research in the United States. However, there are multiple federal, state, and local entities with wildfire… moreContact(s): Karen Short
2019-present
Fire spread can be characterized as a continuous sequence of ignitions. Ignition is a local phenomenon, governed by complex interactions between fuel and environment. Seemingly insignificant changes in vegetation orientation or spacing can… moreContact(s): Daniel Jimenez
2008-2021
Whitebark pine populations are declining across their entire range due to the combined effects of mountain pine beetle, whitebark pine blister rust, and changing fire regimes. This species is incredibly important for ecosystem diversity as well as… moreContact(s): Sarah Flanary
2014 - 2018
Documenting trends in growth, regeneration, and mortality of whitebark pine: a climate perspective
Upper subalpine whitebark pine forests are rapidly declining throughout western North America because of the interacting and cumulative effects of… moreContact(s): Sarah Flanary