2018 Grand Canyon Fire Ecology Annual Report
Banwell E, McClure EJ, Brannfors L. 2019. 2018 Grand Canyon Fire Ecology Annual Report. National Park Service. Grand Canyon, AZ
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 2018 season brought change, yet again, for the Grand Canyon National Park (GRCA) Fire Ecology Program. The Lead Monitor, Li Brannfors, detailed into the Fire Ecologist position (January through May), and the Assistant Lead Monitor, Emma McClure, detailed into the Lead Monitor position for four months. The new Fire Ecologist, Erin Banwell, started work May 14th, with just enough time to get settled before fire season hit. Four seasonal crewmembers were hired, resulting in a robust crew at the start of the season. The Lead Monitor took a detail at Fire Ecologist as Zion National Park (ZION) and the Utah Parks Group in mid-August. The Fire Ecologist took over most of the administrative tasks for the crew, while the Assistant Lead Monitor oversaw day-to-day operations. In mid-August, one of the seasonal crewmembers left the crew for another job. Despite a small crew toward the end of the season, the crew monitored 39 Fire Monitoring Handbook (FMH) plots; 20 Rapid Assessment Protocol (RAP) pilot sampling plots at GRCA and 9 RAP plots on the North Kaibab Ranger District (NKRD); 27 Composite Burn Index (CBI) burn severity plots between GRCA and the NKRD; and 0 Southern Colorado Plateau Network Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) plots (Table 6). While it was a busy year for plot work, crewmembers also worked on a variety of wildfires both locally and nationally, and although non-standard, it ultimately proved to be a very diverse, successful, and rewarding year for the program.
- Type
- Unpublished Report
- Authors
- Banwell, Erin; McClure, Emma; Brannfors, Li
- Date of Issue
- 2019-03-14
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- FIEC , GRCA , WACA
- Keywords
- Arizona, Biota, Burn Severity, CBI, Colorado Plateau, Ecology, Environment, FFI, Fire, Fire Ecology, Fire Effects, FMH, Fuels, Grand Canyon, I&M, Inventory And Monitoring, Kaibab Plateau, Monitoring, Prescribed Fire, RAP, rapid assessment, Severity, Southern Colorado Plateau Network, Vegetation, Walnut Canyon, Wildfire
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Landscapes | Fire and Fuel Dynamics | Fire and Fuel Dynamics