Fire Ecology Annual Report: Calendar Year 2009; Southern Plains Fire Group, Lake Meredith National Recreation Area

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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). The 2009 Field Season was a challenging year for the fire effects program of the Southern Plains Fire Group. A new lead fire effects monitor beginning work three weeks prior to the start of the field season, which was also the start of collaborative monitoring with the Southern Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network (SOPN). The collaborative effort with SOPN involved the evaluation of nested-frequency plots as compared with the point-intercept protocol currently in use on the fire effects plots to determine if it is an appropriate method to answer the questions we have, trends in vegetation change. In addition to the plots within the Southern Plains Fire Group plots were read at Fort Larned NHS, Kansas (Midwest Region), and Fort Union NM and Pecos NHP (Pueblo Fire Cluster, IMR). This is because the SOPN spans the two regions in addition Southern Plains Fire Group. We had initially planned to fill six seasonal positions; one GS-5 and five SCAs. However the GS-5 position went unfilled, as the candidate selected for the position withdrew a week prior to starting work. With no remaining candidates available on the cert there was little time to find a replacement, therefore we decided to field a seasonal crew of five plus the lead monitor. Incidents arose with three of the five SCAs resulting in their discharged early in the season and three replacements had to be found. Thus for four weeks of the field season we only had two seasonals available to carry on the work thus greatly curtailing what we were able to accomplish. A lack of effective leadership lead to additional difficulties, that for the most part left the field season in shambles, as the I&M field coordinator had little faith in the data that was collected. Consequently the collaborative effort was suspend, with work taking place at SAND, BEOL, CAVO, WABA and some work at LAMR. Fire Effects work at CHIC was focused primarily on the upcoming ARRA fuels projects with fuels plots installed in The Point Fuels Treatment Units, incorporating the nested frequency protocols used earlier in the summer at the other parks. Thus this field season failed to meet its objectives. While the SOPN chooses to the data from this field season the fire ecology program will retain and enter into FFI what has been accomplished and salvage what is salvageable.

Fire Ecology Annual Report: Calendar Year 2009; Southern Plains Fire Group, Lake Meredith National Recreation Area

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