# Presentation: 391216

## FIRE IN THE WEST: Science Perspectives

- People living in or adjacent to wildlands are at risk in fire-prone ecosystems.  USGS scientists bring physical, biological, and social science expertise to communities affected by fire for public education, reforestation, and restoration efforts.

- Communities Respond: Educate and Restore

- Following a wildfire, rainstorms cause increases in runoff and soil erosion. Debris and eroded material are carried downstream and can affect water quality.  USGS scientists study how wildfires affect the likelihood and magnitude of flooding and erosion in order to predict the consequences of wildfire for humans and ecosystems.

- Erosion: Looking Downstream

- Many kinds of trees, like lodgepole pine, need fire to thrive. Lodgepole pine cones may remain on the trees for decades until the heat of fires opens the cones and releases seeds to start a new generation of forest.  USGS scientists use new mapping technologies to better understand fire-adapted ecosystems.

- Life on Earth: Up from the Ashes

- Some animals, like this three-toed woodpecker, use burned forests for food and shelter.  Other animals return to burned areas as the forests regrow.  USGS scientists explore how wildlife responds to changes in plants and soils after fire.

- Life after Fire: Wildlife!

- Fire creates opportunities for many plants to grow, including exotic, or non-native species, which can compete with native plants. USGS scientists investigate how fire may help or hinder the spread of exotic species.

- What’s Growing: Good, Bad, or Ugly?

***Partners include:***

- Los Alamos National Laboratory
- National Interagency Fire Center
- National Park Service
- U.S. Forest Service
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- University of Denver

- Boise State University
- Bureau of Land Management
- Colorado Geological Survey
- Colorado School of Mines
- Colorado State University
- Denver Water Department
- Italian National Research Council

**For More Information Contact:  Sandra L. Haire**, Wildlife Biologist
- sandy_haire@usgs.gov
***Contributors***
**Susan H. Cannon**, Geologist**Geneva W. Chong**, Ecologist **John T. Hogan**, Physical Scientist **Carl H. Key**, Geographer
**Raymond F. Kokaly**, Geophysicist

**Natasha B. Kotliar**, Wildlife Biologist **Deborah A. Martin**, Hydrologist**John A. Moody**, Hydrologist**Jonathan G. Taylor**, Social Scientist

- Wildfires such as the Cerro Grande in New Mexico can spread over very large areas.  USGS scientists use information from satellite images to measure the ecological impacts of fire.

*1998 pre-fire satellite image, showing conditions before the fire.*

*2000 post-fire satellite image, showing conditions after the fire. Burned areas appear in blue.*

- The View from Space: Cerro Grande

**FIRE IN THE WEST: Science Perspectives**

- After a wildfire burned the vegetation on the steep slopes of Storm King Mountain in Colorado, torrential rains triggered the flow of mud, rock, and other debris. The flows engulfed 30 cars, sweeping 2 into the Colorado River.  USGS scientists study the links between wildfires and debris flows in order to predict such events and aid in emergency efforts after fires.

- Landslides: The Earth Moves

- © B.R. McClelland

***Fire Shapes Western Landscapes -******  *****When a wildfire burns, people often think of the loss of green forests, and in some cases, loss of human life or property.  Yet many plants and animals are adapted to fire.  Thus, fire is often required to maintain healthy ecosystems.  USGS scientists work to understand the role of fire as a natural process and its effects on soil, water, animals, plants, and people. **

- Photo credit: Don Despain