Fire Ecology Annual Report: Calendar Year 2008; Saguaro National Park

Grisom, Perry

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). In addition to the regular fire ecology staff of two, two SCA interns were employed for 5-6 weeks. A fire effects crew from the Grand Canyon also came down to assist reading FMH plots. Fire activity picked up compared to the previous two years at SAGU. In 2006 and 2007, each year had two fires that burned eight acres. In 2008, five wildfires burned a total of 154.3 acres. Four of the fires were caused by lightning during June 25-26 in the upper elevations of the Rincon Mountains. A fifth fire (0.1 acre) was human caused and started along the boundary. Two fires were quickly put out by rain, and each was credited with 0.1 acres. One 20-acre fire was suppressed. The park had its first Wildland Fire Use fire since 1999, and it burned 130 acres before being drowned by the monsoon. Pile burning was conducted at MOWE. A burn to research fire behavior in buffelgrass was conducted in May on property owned by Tucson Water. A large human-caused wildfire, much of it with high severity, burned in cottonwood forest along the Santa Cruz River at TUMA. Plots had been recently installed by the Inventory and Monitoring Program, and TUMA staff, with help from SAGU fire staff, are monitoring post-fire effects. A wildfire also burned part of CORO, but monitoring has not been conducted. Dealing with invasive plants (mainly buffelgrass) continued to take up considerable amounts of time, especially for the fire ecologist.

Fire Ecology Annual Report: Calendar Year 2008; Saguaro National Park

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