Research Highlights

The climate of western Washington has changed over the past century — with consequences for forest dynamics and health. A new guidebook helps forest landowners in western Washington understand how their forests may be affected by climate change and identify actions they can take to reduce adverse impacts, increase resilience, and contribute to thriving forest lands and habitat across the region.

Alaska is at the forefront of a changing climate, which presents a range of challenges for farmers and ranchers. However, increasing temperatures in Alaska’s agricultural areas also bring opportunities, such as longer growing seasons and the potential to expand operations by growing more and different crops.

Historical interactions between American Indians and Euro-American settlers were not always adversarial. In fact, the development of Western ranching was heavily influenced by American Indians. Forest Service researchers conducted an ethnographic study at the Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site in the Deer Lodge Valley, Montana, to understand traditional associations that American Indian tribes and ranchers had with the site, the Valley, and each other. The National Park Service is using this knowledge to inform resource management at the historic site and to develop interpretive programs that include the history of the tribes that have lived in the area for more than 13,000 years.

Forest Service researchers studied how partnerships between communities and federal agencies promote public engagement in trail planning, development, maintenance, and management. Their findings provided insights into these partnerships, which are critical to sustainable recreation management on federal lands.

Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) is widely grown around the world and commonly sold as a Christmas tree in the United States. The pine is susceptible to Scots pine blister rust, caused by the fungus Cronartium pini. This disease is widespread across Eurasia and is a major factor in reduced forest productivity in Europe. The disease has not been found in North America. To minimize the likelihood of its introduction, and simultaneously prepare for its occurrence, researchers developed a recovery plan for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Weeds impact ecosystems and biodiversity — and can fuel wildfires and affect fire behavior. While fuel treatments are intended to reduce fire risk to communities, these treatments can increase weeds by opening the forest canopy, disturbing soil and established native species, and spreading seeds between treatment sites. A new tool, requested by land managers, is helping decision makers evaluate tradeoffs and better communicate issues related to weed management.

Tens of millions of dollars have been spent over the past decades to restore freshwater salmon and steelhead habitat — often by engineering logjams. Does this type of instream restoration lead to larger, heathier fish populations?

Boreal forest soils contain large stocks of soil carbon that may be sensitive to changes in climate and disturbance. To learn more about current and future carbon stocks across boreal Alaska, researchers analyzed data from 545 monitoring plots across approximately 13.5 million hectares in interior Alaska. Their results highlight the nuanced interactions among wildfire, landscape position of forest stands, and forest type that will play important roles in shaping boreal ecosystem carbon stocks into the future.

Data from the Kings River Experimental Watersheds project indicate greater sediment delivery from lower elevation watersheds than from higher elevation watersheds. This, combined with a strong relationship between sediment delivery and the timing of snowmelt, suggests that as the climate warms — and more precipitation falls as rain — sediment delivery will increase. Results also show no difference in sediment delivery between untreated watersheds and watersheds with fuels reduction forest management activities implemented during an extended drought period.

Researcher from multiple agencies, including the Forest Service, assessed the health tradeoffs between prescribed fire smoke and wildfire smoke for case study fires in Oregon and California. The final report, A Comparative Assessment of the Impacts of Prescribed Fire Versus Wildfire (CAIF): A Case Study in the Western U.S, is being used by the Environmental Protection Agency to better understand smoke and inform air quality regulations.

Forest thinning and fuel reduction treatments lower wildfire risk and the loss of carbon due to wildfire. However, forest thinning and fuel reduction treatments produce low-value wood which is often burned or left to decay, releasing carbon into the atmosphere. Focusing on California, researchers examined innovative uses of both low-value and merchantable wood resulting in better economic and carbon outcomes from forest management. The researchers found that by using wood in engineered wood products, such as glue-laminated timber and oriented strand board, forest management can help maximize long-term carbon storage while also reducing wildfire hazards.

Historical management practices in dry and moist conifer forests of the interior Pacific Northwest have predisposed modern forests to severe drought, insect, and wildfire events. Scientific advances support management approaches that account for tree age and species, as well as rural community needs, increasing forest resilience to changing wildfire regimes and climate.

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.

With a topography marked by mountain passes and canyons, fire behavior is challenging to predict in southern California, particularly when driven by strong Santa Ana winds. Scientists analyzed wind speed and direction—critical information for predicting fire spread—on days when fires ignite, both during Santa Ana and non-Santa Ana conditions. They also identified geographic gaps in the meteorological station network where strategic placement of additional stations would provide information useful to predicting fire risk.

Forest Service scientists worked with community leaders and others to investigate the distribution of heavy metals in air pollution in two Seattle neighborhoods adjacent to industrial areas. Moss collected from street trees revealed small-scale distribution and variability of metals in particulate matter. Concentrations of six toxic metals of interest were significantly higher in these neighborhoods compared to similar regional studies.

Homebuyers were willing to pay more for homes in neighborhoods with greater tree cover, researchers found after analyzing 30 years of data from a tree planting nonprofit organization and home sale prices.

Forest Service scientists and partners examine the effects of housing development on private forestry and help explain differences in the results of previous studies. Shifts in management intentions away from timber do not necessarily mean that private forest lands are not managed for other values.

A novel method uses spatial analysis to map public benefits of forest management in relation to low-income or minority populations. Once these populations are identified, resource managers on national forests can assess the distribution of public benefits from past accomplishments of specific programs, evaluate whether low income or minority populations have been equitably served in comparison to other populations, and consider incorporating potential remedies for any perceived past inequity as a decision criteria at parity with resource conditions when planning future work programs.

The Lake Tahoe West Restoration Partnership yields a decision-support process to evaluate modeled forest conditions resulting from five management scenarios across 100 years in California’s Lake Tahoe basin. Simulations indicated widescale biomass removal would result in more favorable ecological outcomes and the best performing strategy included extensive use of prescribed and managed fire.

Sport hunting of deer, elk, and other wild ungulates is a popular recreational activity on federal lands and the primary approach for managing their populations in North America. Novel information about how hunters use the landscape, and the environmental factors that contribute to their success, can be used by wildlife and land managers to strategically manage roads and forest cover to balance hunter opportunity and satisfaction with herd management objectives.