National Park Service Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks and Devils Postpile National Monument Fire Ecology Annual Report Calendar Year 2004

Caprio, Anthony; Webster, Karen

During 2004 a total of 32 fire effects plots (FMH) were re-measurement in seven monitoring units with one new plot installation. Additional fieldwork involved data collection for several projects that have or will provide supplemental information to the fire management program at both the local and national levels. The most involved was the national Landscape Assessment Project (burn severity mapping) with 78 CBI (composite burn index) plots sampled in several areas burned in 2003. A significant effort was also made to incorporate and test the Fire Ecology Assessment Tool (FEAT) in a work environment by the fire effects staff, which provided valuable feedback to the developers. All FMH and CBI plots were sampled using FEAT software and PDAs. Unfortunately this meant that all 2004 data was in FEAT format and all previous data remains in FMH format. The fire effects crew also participated in three prescribed burns within Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (SEKI) and one interagency prescribed burn. The Fire Ecologist also received funding in 2004 for a fire history reconstruction at Devils Postpile N.M. (DEPO) with a crew of two working on this project throughout the summer. Preliminary results have already reshaped our ideas about fire in the DEPO area and had important input into the recently completed draft DEPO Fire and Fuels Management Plan (FFMP) and Environmental Assessment (EA). Additionally, Fire Ecology collaborated with and was actively involved in a number of fire related research projects underway in the parks by USGS, USDA, or university researchers (several funded through JFSP) and participated in developing proposals for several new projects. Several types of public outreach were also provided through publications, the Fire Information Cache website, and lectures to university classes. These reach a large audience and provide important support for fire management and natural resources activities in the parks. Significant time was also devoted in 2004 to the preparation of the draft FFMP and EA for DEPO that incorporated results from the fire ecology program. Unfortunately, there continued to be funding support issues with some positions in the Fire Ecology Program, although temporary solutions were found during 2004 with the assistance of the Fire Management Office and the Division of Natural Resources.

National Park Service Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks and Devils Postpile National Monument Fire Ecology Annual Report Calendar Year 2004

Collections