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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFire Learning Network Docs Pacific Northwest Fire Learning Network A prescribed burn at Sycan Marsh, Preserve in the Sprague Watershed. © Charlie Quinn/TNC The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and others devel- oped the Northwest Fire Learning Network as part of a joint effort to restore fire adapted ecosystems. The Northwest network is one of nine regional groups across the country that make up the national Fire Learning Network. fast facts • Every terrestrial ecosystem on Earth has evolved with fire and can rely on it to stimulate growth, curb non-native plants, minimize pests and disease, and keep plant and animal communities healthy. • The Conservancy estimates that to restore fire-prone forest conditions on public lands in Oregon, we need to increase three to five times the current annual treatment levels for the next 20-25 years. • In Oregon, 21.1 million acres of forests and woodlands are moderately or highly modified from historic conditions due to fire suppression, grazing, logging and other land uses, and 13.4 million of these acres are on public lands. (continued on back) fire, biodiversity and community safety For millennia, fire has played an important role in shaping the composition, structure and processes of most native ecosystems in Oregon. Since the late 1800s, grasslands and forests have been changed due to wildland fire suppression and practices such as livestock grazing and logging. As a result, fires now burn differently across natural landscapes – less often, more uniformly or with greater intensity. Unnatural fire behavior has severe effects. Ecosystem changes resulting from either fire suppression or unnaturally severe fires threaten native species and ecological systems – especially species and systems already in decline due to other land use pressures – and also put communities at risk. Over the past 10 years, federal agencies have treated forests to reduce fuels through the use of thinning, prescribed fire and wildland fire. Local communi- ties across the West have completed Wildfire Protection Plans. However, despite these efforts, it’s generally agreed that conditions in untreated fire- prone wildland forests and woodlands are continuing to worsen. The Northwest Fire Learning Network, a network of collaborative partnerships, seeks to foster partnership, planning and innovation to accelerate the restoration of fire-adapted forests throughout the Pacific Northwest. Upper Deschutes Basin Sprague WatershedApplegate Watershed Tieton Landscape 04 0 8 0 M i l e s Northwest Fire Learning Network Projects C o l u mbia R i v e r The Nature Conservancy, 821 SE 14th Avenue, Portland, OR 97214 Phone: 503 802-8100 Fax: 503 802-8199 E-mail: oregon@tnc.org Web: nature.org/oregon science in action The Nature Conservancy, the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of the Interior, together with state and local agencies, businesses, landowners, scientists, community groups and conservationists, created a national Fire Learning Network to catalyze fuel reduction and restoration projects across the country. The Upper Deschutes Watershed in Oregon was one of the pilot project sites in the first phase of this national network. The Northwest Fire Learning Network was formed in 2005 to expand pilot efforts in the Deschutes and to bring national efforts closer to home. The Northwest network now comprises over 3,500,000 acres, including: • The Upper Deschutes Basin, the network’s 2-million-acre anchor project, where teams in central Oregon are developing new vegetation maps, forest condition maps and action maps prioritizing treatable areas. • The Sprague watershed in south central Oregon, where updated vegetation maps have been completed, and network collaborators are now looking at different treatment models and opportunities to implement thinning and burning pilot projects. • The Applegate watershed in southwest Oregon, where partners including the Applegate River Watershed Council, the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management and Applegate citizen groups will develop conservation action plans involving forest restoration. • The Tieton River Canyon in central Washington, where the Conservancy, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Forest Service have adopted a conservation action planning process and a formal agreement to facilitate collaboration to restore fire across federal, state and private ownerships boundaries. Over the next year, the Northwest network will work collaboratively with partners at each of the network sites to complete a vision for desired for- est conditions and develop a prioritized restoration action map, a com- munication plan, on-the-ground demonstrations, and implementation and monitoring plans. working together Since its inception, more than 18 agencies, organizations, tribes and community associations have been involved in the Northwest Fire Learning Network. for more information Contact Amy Waltz, fire management officer Phone: (541) 388-3020 E-mail: awaltz@tnc.org (03/07) Ponderosa pine in the Upper Deschutes East of the Cascade Range in Oregon’s ponderosa pine forests, a fire-dependant ecosystem has been starved of fire for decades. Historic photos show towering trees with large park-like open spaces where shrubs, wildflowers and grasslands thrive. Fire history studies indicate that these forests had low-severity ground fires every eight to 15 years. About 100 years ago, these historic fires were halted to promote livestock grazing, logging and other activities. Today these forests are much more dense; few old-growth trees remain, and in many places grasses and wildflowers are scarce. These forests are now at risk of unnaturally severe wildfires that can explode into the crowns of the trees, killing entire stands and destroying habitats. Current land managers are working to restore the open ponderosa pine habitat and its resilience to fire. Thinning stands to reduce the overall density makes it possible to reintroduce low-severity prescribed fire. These controlled surface fires open the forest floor and recycle nutrients, renewing the native diversity grasses, shrubs and wildflowers. The Upper Deschutes Fire Learning Network is assisting these efforts by working with partners to provide scientific tools and a public forum to engage local communities in planning and implementing effective forest restoration strategies. Fire Learning Network workshop © Craig Bienz/TNC The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. In Oregon, the Conservancy owns or manages 46 nature preserves and has helped protect over 494,000 acres of important habitats, with support from about 23,000 member households. Learn more at nature.org/oregon.