Teton Interagency Fire Ecology Annual Report: Calendar Year 2008

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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 Teton Interagency Fire Effects Monitoring Program completed its tenth field season in 2008. New Crew Lead Kristen Shive led the field operations during the summer, with crew members Becky Spies, Adam Pfleeger, and Katie Brandt. In addition, our first SCA intern, Janice Bang, joined the crew for a short but intense season of monitoring work. Diane Abendroth made the transition from SCEP employee to Fire Ecologist. The Teton Interagency Fire Effects Crew’s transition to a project level monitoring process is now nearly complete, with over 20 projects with individual monitoring plans in Grand Teton National Park (GRTE), 30 in the Bridger-Teton National Forest (BTNF), and five at satellite parks Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area (BICA) and Fossil Butte National Monument (FOBU). In 2008, field data was collected from 12 of these projects on National Park Service lands, and 14 projects on National Forest. Much of this work was done in conjunction with agency partners including the Wyoming Game & Fish Department. Summary Reports including data analysis and conclusions are found in the attached appendices. In addition to regular fire effects data collection, the crew assisted in a research project funded by NASA to test a predictive model for identifying invasive species habitats in burned areas. In February, the fifth Teton Interagency Fire Effects Symposium was held at the Teton Science School Jackson Campus. Morning presentations outlined findings from local and regional research and monitoring including mechanical thinning at GRTE, invasive species modeling in burned areas of the park, and prescribed fire in aspen using spring prescriptions. The afternoon focused on hot topics affecting fire management, with guest presentations about sage grouse habitat mapping, lynx habitat needs, and whitebark pine ecology. Posters were also provided about prescribed fire in Yellowstone, cheatgrass monitoring in Jackson Hole, and landscape scale burns in southwest Wyoming sagebrush communities. The Fire Effects Symposium provides a great opportunity for fire managers to connect with research and monitoring information for adaptive management.

Teton Interagency Fire Ecology Annual Report: Calendar Year 2008

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