Glacier National Park, Fire Ecology Program: 2004 Annual Report

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A summary of fire ecology activities and program information for the Park/network including fire effects plot workload, staffing, management objectives and monitoring results, and planning, fire monitoring, communications, and research. Also included are staff accomplishments/areas of focus, future program direction and other optional information (e.g. data analysis graphics or presentations, annual highlights, publications, program challenges, unique solutions to problems, collaboration, photographs of monitoring/fire activities, and suggestions on FFI). 2004 provided a busy season of work for Glacier’s Fire Effects Crew. During the 2003 fire season, approximately 136,000 acres burned within the park. This presented a valuable and interesting opportunity for us to get out in the burned areas this summer. We were able to install 43 Long Term Monitoring plots and collect data on 169 CBI plots. We also completed the 5 year read on 14 Ponderosa Pine FMH plots. The fuel reduction project around park headquarters in West Glacier gave us the opportunity to install 6 photo point plots prior to mechanical treatment. In addition, the crew also collected fuel moisture samples throughout the season. We had FEAT up and running by the start on the field season and were able to utilize our two PDA’s on the 14 Ponderosa pine forest plots. At this time, both the Ponderosa and Fescue monitoring types including all GIS layers are complete for Glacier. Big Hole will be completed this winter/spring. Fire suppression activity was slow in Glacier this year, giving the crew a break from last season’s hectic pace. A detailer program arranged with the nearby Lewis and Clark Fire Use Module provided an excellent opportunity for several crew members to contribute their skills as well as learn some new ones. Matt Kennedy went to Voyageurs National Park and Ed Hentcelt accompanied the module to the Wallowa-Whitman NF. The entire fire effects crew was active in presenting and receiving training through the local NW Montana Zone. The crew taught and assisted with Basic Fire School S-130/190 and annual fireline safety refreshers which were held at GNP. Scott Lang and Mike McClellan assisted the Flathead NF in instructing S-290 and McClellan helped out the forest during their Basic Guard School. Lang and McClellan provided Composite Burn Index (CBI) training in October for three days. The crew performed maintenance and repair of the Park’s three NFDRS RAWS throughout the summer. A new FTS RAWS was installed at Fielding along the park’s southern boundary. This new station will be valuable for both Glacier and the neighboring Flathead National Forest. The diversity of this season’s work was furthered by assisting on a water quality study conducted by the USGS’ Water Resources Division out of Denver. The project will be ongoing for the next several years and is comparing an unburned watershed with an adjacent burned one within the Middle Fork Complex of 2003. The crew helped by retrieving water samples, downloading data, and taking discharge measurements every 2-3 weeks as well as assisting with the setup and maintenance of the monitoring stations.

Glacier National Park, Fire Ecology Program: 2004 Annual Report

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