WERC Highlights -- August 2007

Yosemite Bog-Orchid Still Making News: USGS scientists Alison Colwell and Peggy Moore were interviewed for an August 29, 2007, story in the San Francisco Chronicle on the discovery and identification of the Yosemite bog-orchid, a new species that has attracted a great amount of media interest this summer. See: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/29/HO3DRN9IP.DTL. (Alison Colwell, El Portal, CA, 209-379-1308, acolwell@usgs.gov; Peggy Moore, El Portal, CA, 209-379-1309, peggy_moore@usgs.gov)

Bobcat Tracking: On September 13, 2007, USGS scientist Erin Boydston will be the guest speaker at the Muth Interpretive Center in Newport Beach, California. She will deliver a public lecture on bobcat research and what data from GPS tracking collars are revealing about the habits and habitat of bobcats in Orange County. Researchers from the USGS Western Ecological Research Center and Colorado State University have been studying bobcats and landscape connectivity for wildlife in central Orange County from the Santa Ana Mountains to the coast since 2002 (about 260 square miles). The researchers are documenting bobcat movements and activity patterns in coordination with The Nature Conservancy, City of Irvine, Transportation Corridor Agencies, Orange County Great Park Corporation, State Parks, County Parks, and The Irvine Company, to better understand how habitat fragmentation affects wide-ranging species. To date, the researchers have successfully GPS-tracked 34 individual bobcats and collected over 20,000 GPS locations on them; they have also collected hundreds of camera trap photos of bobcats. (Erin Boydston, Irvine, CA, 714-508-4704, eboydston@usgs.gov)

Climatic Warming and Wildfires: USGS scientist Jan van Wagtendonk was interviewed for a Sunset Magazine article about links between the current climatic warming and wildfires in the western U.S. See: http://www.sunset.com/sunset/travel/article/0,20633,1650337,00.html. (Jan van Wagtendonk, El Portal, CA, 209-379-1306, jan_van_wagtendonk@usgs.gov)

Fire Research and Management: USGS scientist Jon Keeley will present a paper during a special session on Fire Ecology, Evolution, and Management at The International Mediterranean Ecosystems Conference (MEDECOS XI 2007), to be held in Perth, Western Australia, Australia, September 2-5, 2007. Keeley organized this special session with his co-authors of a book in progress on fire in Mediterranean ecosystems. Keeley has also been invited to present a seminar on Fire Management of California Chaparral at the University of Adelaide and the University of Wollongong. See: http://www.medecosxi2007.com.au/scientific/scientific.htm. (Jon Keeley, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3170, jon_keeley@usgs.gov)

A Critical Assessment of the Burning Index Used in Fighting Wildland Fires: A new study by USGS, University of California, and California State University suggests improvements in the index commonly used to predict wildland fire potential. The study, published in the August issue of the International Journal of Wildland Fire, found that the predictive capability of the commonly used Burning Index was quite limited and proposed an index with improved predictive ability for Los Angeles County, California. Since wildfire risk indices are used for multiple purposes, including insurance and urban planning as well as fire department resource management, it is important that this index is modified to provide the most accurate predictions of wildfire danger. See: http://www.werc.usgs.gov/pubbriefs/keeleypbaug2007.html. (Jon Keeley, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3170, jon_keeley@usgs.gov) Citation: Schoenberg, F.P., C-H. Change, J.E. Keeley, J. Pompa, J. Woods, and H. Xu. 2007. A critical assessment of the burning index in Los Angeles County, California. International Journal of Wildland Fire 16:473–483.

Buffelgrass and Fire: On August 20, 2007, USGS scientist Todd Esque was interviewed about fire hazards of invasive grasses in southwest deserts by a freelance writer working on a children’s science article about the dangers of buffelgrass to indigenous species. (Todd Esque, Henderson, NV, 702-564-4506, todd_esque@usgs.gov)

Buffelgrass and Fire: Several plant ecologists, including USGS scientists Julio Betancourt and Todd Esque, were interviewed for an August 20, 2007, High Country News story about threats from invasive plants in the southwest U.S., with a focus on the increasing fire hazard posed by buffelgrass, a nonnative perennial that is flourishing in the Sonoran Desert and threatens to convert the native desert landscape into a highly flammable nonnative grassland. For questions about regional impacts of buffelgrass invasion and ongoing efforts to organize buffelgrass control in southern and central Arizona, please contact Julio Betancourt; for more detailed information on field studies of buffelgrass invasion and mitigation, please contact Todd Esque. (Julio Betancourt, Tucson, AZ, 520-670-6821 X107, jlbetanc@usgs.gov; Todd Esque, Henderson, NV, 702-564-4506, todd_esque@usgs.gov)

California Fires: On August 22, 2007, USGS scientist Jon Keeley was interviewed by phone by 60 Minutes about climate change and fire. He was contacted by the Los Angeles Times for a copy of his recently published study on human influence on California fire regimes and met a photographer for the newspaper for a photoshoot on Box Springs Mountain on August 15, for an upcoming story. Keeley was also interviewed about this study by the Daily Times (MD) for a story that ran August 20. (Jon Keeley, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3170, jon_keeley@usgs.gov)

Mountain Yellow-legged Frogs: USGS scientists Cindy Hitchcock and Liz Gallegos were interviewed and photographed in the field by KPCC (Southern California Public Radio) for a story about non-native fish threatening mountain yellow-legged frogs, broadcast on August 15, 2007. The online story includes slides that show the scientists counting and tagging frogs in Little Rock Creek in Angeles National Forest, as part of a monitoring effort to determine if removal of non-native fish that prey on the endangered frogs is helping the frogs make a comeback. See: http://www.scpr.org/news/stories/2007/08/15/00_invasive_species_par.html. (Cindy Hitchcock, San Diego, CA, 714-508-4700, chitchcock@usgs.gov; Liz Gallegos, San Diego, CA, 714-508-4703, egallegos@usgs.gov)

Mercury and San Francisco Bay Birds: On August 14, 2007, USGS scientist Josh Ackerman was interviewed about mercury concentrations in San Francisco Bay waterbirds for an item that will appear in the “Ear to the Ground” column in the Oct-Dec 2007 issue of Bay Nature Magazine. USGS is involved in a large, collaborative, multi-faceted project investigating the risks of mercury to waterbirds breeding within the estuary. (Josh Ackerman, Davis, CA, 530-752-0485, jackerman@usgs.gov)

Salt Ponds Restoration: On August 13, 2007, USGS scientists John Takekawa and Kathleen Henderson, along with San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory biologist Caitlin Robinson, were filmed in interviews about salt pond restoration by a crew from KQED (Northern California Public Broadcasting) that joined them at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge complex and accompanied them on USGS and refuge boats. The salt pond project science lead and refuge manager were interviewed separately for the salt ponds restoration TV program, which will air on “Quest,” a new science, nature and education series on KQED-TV. (John Takekawa, Vallejo, CA, 707-562-2000, john_takekawa@usgs.gov)

Yosemite Bog-Orchid: On Friday, August 10, 2007, USGS scientist Alison Colwell was interviewed about the Yosemite bog-orchid, a newly described species, by NBC-KNX radio (Los Angeles) for a spot on the weekend morning show. (Alison Colwell, El Portal, CA, 209-379-1308, aelcolwell@msn.com)

Tree Deaths in California’s Sierra Nevada Increase as Temperatures Rise: A new study by the U.S. Geological Survey reports a rising death rate for trees in old-growth forests of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, paralleling increasing summer drought due to warming temperatures. These findings suggest Sierran forests, and potentially other forests of dry climates, may be sensitive to temperature-driven increases in drought, making them vulnerable to die-back during otherwise normal periods of reduced precipitation. These results pose a challenge to forest managers. Forest restoration often attempts to mimic conditions prior to Euro-american settlement. However, if forests respond rapidly to warming temperatures, attaining conditions similar to this relatively cooler target era may not be feasible or desirable. This study, by USGS scientists Phil van Mantgem and Nate Stephenson, appears in Ecology Letters. See: http://www.werc.usgs.gov/pubbriefs/vanmantgempbaug2007.html (Phil van Mantgem, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3179, pvanmantgem@usgs.gov)

Scientists Participate in Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America: USGS scientist Kristin Berry is an invited participant to discuss career strategies with students and young professionals in a session titled “How to Succeed in Ecology: Advice from Professionals,” on August 7 at the Ecological Society of America meeting in San Jose, California. (Kristin. H. Berry, Moreno Valley, CA, 951-697-5361, kristin_berry@usgs.gov)

Tree Deaths in the Sierra Nevada: A recently published study in Ecology Letters by USGS scientists Phil van Mantgem and Nate Stephenson reported a rising death rate over the past two decades for trees in the Sierra Nevada, paralleling increasing summer drought due to warming temperatures. This study, which van Mantgem presented during the Ecological Society of America (ESA) meeting in San Jose, California, sparked much media interest, including stories by the San Francisco Chronicle (August 7), E&E News PM (August 7), Stockton Record (August 8); LiveScience (August 8), Contra Costa Times (August 9); an Associated Press story appeared at a couple dozen websites representing national, international, and California media (e.g., MSNBC, International Herald Tribune, Los Angeles Daily News). A photograph by Nate Stephenson of dead trees accompanied several stories. Van Mantgem was also interviewed by NPR, and other radio stations have contacted USGS including KCBS (San Francisco) and KVMR-FM (Nevada City, CA), as well as KTVN-TV in Reno, Nevada. (Phil van Mantgem, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3179, pvanmantgem@usgs.gov)