WERC Highlights -- November 2004

Learning from Chaparral Shrubland Fires: By examining the fire histories of landscapes blackened by the October 2003 firestorms in southern California, USGS and University of California scientists have learned that young fuels or even fuel breaks meant to act as barriers to fire spread were unable to stop the spread of these Santa Ana-driven fires. About 95 percent of the 742,000 acres burned in these fires were in chaparral shrublands, which naturally burn in high-intensity crown fires. Their fire cycle is unlike that of forests in the region, which have a natural fire cycle of low-intensity surface fires. By examining stand age maps, the scientists were able to determine that the landscapes burned in the October 2003 fires were already a mosaic of young and old classes of fuels, a pattern created from past prescription burning or previous wildfires. Large portions of the Cedar Fire and Otay Fire were quite young, and yet the firestorms, pushed by Santa Ana winds, either burned through or around these young fuel classes, or blew fire brands over them. While fuel reductions in chaparral shrublands will not stop fires under severe weather conditions, pre-fire fuel manipulations used strategically at the urban-wildland interface may lead to reduced fire intensity and increase the defensible space for fire fighters. This study was published in the October/November 2004 issue of the Journal of Forestry. For more: http://www.werc.usgs.gov/pubbriefs/keeleypbnov2004.html. (Jon Keeley, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3170, jon_keeley@usgs.gov) Citation: Keeley, J. E., C. J. Fotheringham, and M. A. Moritz. 2004. Lessons from the October 2003 wildfires in southern California. Journal of Forestry 102(7):26–31.

Designing Monitoring Programs: On Nov. 16, 2004, USGS scientist Andrea Atkinson of the Western Ecological Research Center gave a talk on "Designing monitoring for NCCP Adaptive Management Programs" at the Northern California Regional Conservation Planning Partners’ second annual workshop, "Habitat Conservation Planning from Tahoe to the Bay," held in Vacaville, California. Participants at the workshop included various stakeholders in planning NCCP/HCPs in northern California, wildlife agency personnel, consultants, and local officials. (Andrea Atkinson, San Diego, CA, 858-637-6906, andrea_atkinson@usgs.gov)

Point Loma: The San Diego Union-Tribune ran a Nov. 14 article on a new publication of the Cabrillo National Monument Foundation, Understanding the Life of Point Loma, which includes chapters and photographs by USGS scientists of the Western Ecological Research Center. Book chapter authors Kathryn McEachern and Robert N. Fisher are quoted in the story, and a photo by Chris W. Brown accompanies: http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20041114/news_mz1hs14point.html. (Chris Brown, San Diego, CA, 858-637-6883, cwbrown@usgs.gov)

Carnivore Conference: The new USGS video “Precipice of Survival: The Southern Sea Otter” will be featured during lunch on the final day of the Defenders of Wildlife conference on Carnivores 2004: Expanding Partnerships in Carnivore Conservation, to be held in Santa Fe, New Mexico Nov. 14-17, 2004. For info: http://www.carnivoreconference.org. (Gloria Maender, Tucson, AZ, 520-670-5596, gloria_maender@usgs.gov)

Large Forest Fires Occurred in Past Too: In a Nov. 4 story in the Los Angeles Times, USGS scientist Jon Keeley of the Western Ecological Research Center commented on research by others published this week in the journal Nature in which evidence in sediment deposits indicated that past large, severe fires occurred in the western U.S. during a warm, drought-plagued period in the Middle Ages: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-drought4nov04,1,7556560.story. (Jon Keeley, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3170, jon_keeley@usgs.gov)

San Francisco Coyotes: In a story on coyotes living in the city, the Oct. 15 San Francisco Examiner cited research by USGS scientist Erin Boydston of the Western Ecological Research Center, who had in recent years studied coyotes in Marin County: http://www.examiner.com/article/index.cfm/i/101504n_coyotes. (Erin Boydston, Henderson, NV, 702-564-4504, eboydston@usgs.gov)