Yosemite National Park Fire Ecology Annual Report: Calendar Year 2006

Hooke, Jen; Hirschfield, Isaiah; Abrahamson, Ilana

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). 2006 was another active year for the Yosemite Fire Ecology Program. Monitoring the effects of prescribed fire, Wildland Fire Use (WFU) fire, and mechanical thinning was accomplished in a variety of ecosystems throughout the park. The program gained and sampled fifteen wildfire-burned plots that had been previously maintained by the Yosemite Division of Resources Management and Science. These plots were located within high severity areas of the A-Rock (1990) and Ackerson (1996) fires. Field work proved very challenging because of high brush cover at many plots, the difficulty of relocating old rebar, and the interpretation of less-standardized data. The newly collected data should be helpful in determining the impacts of high severity wildfire, while contributing to fire ecology and education programs. Burn severity assessments were made in last year’s PW-3 (Gin Flat) prescribed burn with assistance from the Yosemite Fire Use Module. Rapid Assessment -style monitoring was continued within mechanically thinned areas and WFU fires. Monitoring of sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana) mortality and mitigation efforts continued in the PW-3 burn unit and unburned (control) areas. Fire Ecology staff also participated in fire management operations as firefighters (FFT1, FFT2, ICT5), fire effects monitors (FEMO), helicopter crewmembers (HECM), and resource advisors (READ) on in-park and off-park assignments. The entire Fire Ecology staff participated in operations on the Frog Complex Wildland Fire Use fire, providing firefighting and operational support during the time spent in resource-strapped National Preparedness Level V.