Ozark Highlands Fire Ecology Annual Report: Calendar Year 2013
Author unknown. Ozark Highlands Fire Ecology Annual Report: Calendar Year 2013
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). Continued budget cuts resulted in the Ozark Highlands Fire Effects Crew being cut to half of what it had been in 2011 (6 to 3 fire-funded positions). Fortunately, I was able to work with Lincoln University to obtain a superb volunteer botany intern, Simone Johnson. Simone was a great asset to us. We also received a grant that funded our fire-dependent rare plant researcher, Christine Steinwand. Christine was primarily dedicated to monitoring and researching tall larkspur. Nevertheless, her substantial talents benefitted our regular fire-effects monitoring program in many ways. Thankfully, 2013 was not another locally record-breaking hot and dry summer. Nevertheless, we were worn thin by a large number of remote and rugged plots to monitor. This was compounded by the need for our Lead Monitor to be gone for 40 days of wildfire duty in order to stay financially solvent through a 10-week end-of-season furlough. Another crewmember was gone for 20 days due to a wildfire deployment, which further depleted our crew. We had to work at a sprinter’s pace throughout the season, but we eventually finished all of our highest-priority plot work. In order to do more with less, we have also turned to grants in order to pay for the costs associated with the new interagency 1,836-acre Jerktail Mt. prescribed burn unit. I contributed substantially in helping to obtain 3 grants totaling over $107,000 by working with the OZAR terrestrial ecologist and staff from Pioneer Forest.