Ozark Highlands Fire Ecology Cluster, Fire Ecology Annual Report: Calendar Year 2004

Author unknown

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 proved to be a challenging year for the Ozarks Highlands Fire Ecology Cluster having suffered a 100% turnover in staff including the lead monitor and fire ecologist in 2003. Adam Luraas, previously the assistant foreman for the Buffalo Fire Use Module, was hired as the lead monitor in October 2003 and carried the program into 2004. In January, the program was immediately moved into one office in a brand new fire cache along with rest of the OZAR Fire staff and equipment. A fuel moisture sampling program was also immediately started and will be implemented once again for the 2005 prescribed fires at Ozark National Scenic Riverways. During the 2004 burn season in the Ozarks, all of the fires at Ozark National Scenic Riverways were monitored for at least fire weather, fire behavior, and smoke production. In addition to the prescribed fires at OZAR, the three-day 11,284 acre, hand ignited Lower Wilderness Prescribed Fire was successfully monitored and completed in mid-March. After a season of monitoring prescribed fires for the Ozark Highlands, Michele Disney, previously a fire effects monitor from Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park, was hired as the assistant lead monitor in April along with 3 other seasonal monitors to begin field work in May. During the summer amid the field season, the Fire Ecology Assessment Tool (FEAT) database was initially installed and Adam attended the NPS FEAT/Statistics Workshop in Fort Collins, Colorado for further instruction in this challenging process. New fire effects plots were also established at Buffalo National River outside of the Lower Wilderness burn in three separate burn units. All plots were successfully completed and monitored by late September. Besides a few tick bites, chigger bites, and briar gouges, no one was injured nor had an accident. Earlier in the season the entire staff became red carded, but due to a slow fire season no one gained any new fire experience. In August, Dan Swanson, previously the lead fire effects monitor for Guadalupe National Park, was hired as the Ozark Highlands Fire Ecologist after being vacant for 11 months. In addition to providing fresh and experienced direction to the Ozark Highlands Fire Ecology program, Dan is a leader for testing and implementing the data conversion process from the FMH database to FEAT. Dan and Adam were fortunate to travel to Glacier National Park in order to learn and experience “hands-on” Composite Burn Index (CBI) monitoring as well as West Virginia to receive a “train-the-trainers” certificate for Fire Regime Condition Class (FRCC) monitoring and reporting. Dan has also implemented CBI monitoring in the Ozarks at the Lower Wilderness burn and is planning to implement FRCC monitoring throughout the 2005 prescribed fire season. Unfortunately, due to the vacant fire ecologist position and implementing FEAT, 2004 fire effects monitoring results are unavailable at this time. As of January 19, 2005 we are currently entering 2004 fire effects plot data into the new FEAT database by hand and expect to be finished relatively soon. However, we are excited to eventually examine the results of units that have been burned at least twice at OZAR and to see how one large-landscape prescribed fire affected woody stem density and plant diversity in the Lower Wilderness at BUFF.