Fuels Planning: Science Synthesis and

Integration

Environmental Consequences Fact Sheet: 15

The Wildlife Habitat Response Model

United States

Department

of Agriculture

Forest Service

Rocky Mountain

Research Station

Research Note

RMRS-RN-23-15-WWW

November 2005

Fuels planning: Science synthesis and integration, an interagency research/management

partnership to support the Ten-Year Fire Plan,

led by Russell T. Graham, RMRS, and Sarah M.

McCaffrey, NCRS.

Synthesizing

Scientific Information

for Fire and Fuels

Project Managers

Environmental Consequences

Team Leader

Elaine Kennedy Sutherland

USDA Forest Service

Rocky Mountain Research Station

Missoula, MT

David Pilliod*

Aldo Leopold Wilderness

Research Institute

Rocky Mountain Research Station

Missoula, MT

*Now at California Polytechnic State University,

San Luis Obispo, CA.

Pacific Northwest

Research Station

Rocky Mountain

Research Station

What Is the Wildlife Habitat Response Model?

The Wildlife Habitat Response Model (WHRM) is a Web-based computer tool

for evaluating the potential effects of fuel- reduction projects on terrestrial wildlife habitats. The WHRM uses species-habitat associations in ponderosa pine

(Pinus ponderosa), dry-type Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), lodgepole pine (Pinus

contorta), and mixed conifer forests to qualitatively predict how changes in critical habitat elements may affect wildlife habitat suitability of treated stands. Organizing potential responses of fauna into a conceptual framework based on

knowledge of habitat requirements can help predict outcomes of fuels treatments, even when first-hand information about treatment effects does not exist.

Mule deer on a burn pile.

Intended Users

The WHRM was created to assist

forest planners and specialists in

evaluating alternative fuels treatments on terrestrial wildlife habitats

in dry interior forests of the Western United States.

Intended Uses

The WHRM was designed as a planning tool to evaluate how alternative fuel treatments may affect the breeding, foraging, and shelter habitats of a

single species. At the present time, the model is relevant only for dry interior

forests of the Western United States, and has no specific temporal scale.

What Inputs Are Required?

Users input the percent change in key habitat elements based on fuel treatment

objectives or desired future conditions, or predicted from computer simulations

such as the Forest Vegetation Simulator with the Fire and Fuels Extension (FFE/

FVS). A keyword file is available for FVS users that will automatically generate

these reports. The WHRM uses relative change values (percent change from

pretreatment to posttreatment). Some habitat elements are subdivided into size

classes. These elements include:

• Bare mineral soil • Forbs • Crown base height

• Duff • Shrubs • Tree canopy cover

• Litter • Down wood • Live trees

• Grasses • Snags
The Fuels Planning fact sheets are based on preliminary findings. Information from fact sheets will be synthesized in an upcoming publication.

Environmental Consequences Fact

Sheets

Look for fact sheet topics from the Environmental Consequences

Team including information about the effects of fire behavior and

alternative treatment strategies, Wildlife Response Model, weed responses, riparian systems, soil erosion, restoration objectives, treated

spaces, the Fire Effects Information System (FEIS), and the First

Order Fire Effects Model (FOFEM).

Fuels Planning: Synthesis and Integration

This fact sheet is one in a series being produced as part of a larger

project supported by the USDA Forest Service to synthesize new

knowledge and information relevant to fire and fuels management.

Fact sheets address topics related to stand structure, environmental

impacts, economics, and human responses to these factors. Information in the fact sheets is targeted for the dry forests of the Inland

West, but is often applicable across broad regions of the country.

For more information, please visit our Web site at:

www.fs.fed.us/fire/tech_transfer/synthesis/synthesis_index

What the Model Does

Using data gleaned from scientific literature and expert

opinion, the WHRM first identifies habitat elements

that are important for a species’ reproduction, food acquisition, and shelter from predators and environmental

extremes. Users then decide how each habitat element

is likely to change given a proposed fuel treatment.

Changes in habitat elements are relative and categorically expressed as percent change from pre- to posttreatment levels. Based on user inputs of relative change in

habitat elements, the model then displays the expected

suit-ability of the posttreatment environment for reproduction, food, and shelter. Users can then enter variations of proposed fuel management activities by altering

habitat element changes in the model to identify how alternatives may influence the habitat suitability for a species.

Background information and citations for each species can

be displayed. All output and tables can be copied and

pasted into analysis documentation.

What the Model Does Not Do

The WHRM does not make quantitative predictions, nor

does it predict population-level responses of wildlife species. The WHRM does not include inter- and intra-specific

interactions such as competition among species, nor environmental or demographic random events. The WHRM

does not have a temporal scale, but users can predict

changes over time by altering the habitat elements appropriately. This can be effectively accom-plished by

referring to FFE/FVS habitat element predictions at

1, 5, and 10 years.

How to Obtain the Model

The Wildlife Habitat Response Model and other related

tools can be found at the following Web site:

http://forest.moscowfsl.wsu.edu/fuels

Screen capture of final model output showing projected changes in habitat elements for mule deer based on a specified

treatment.