Integrated Fire Science in the Rocky Mountains

Issues

Fire is an important ecological 

process that has helped shape western 

landscapes. Wildfire suppression and 

other management practices may have 

altered historic fire regimes in ecosystems adapted to frequent, low-severity 

fires. Compounding this problem is the 

encroachment of homes into fire-prone 

areas. 

Fire affects a number of abiotic and 

biotic components of ecosystems, 

and has many economic and social 

ramifications. The full range of consequences, however, remains poorly 

understood.

To implement sound fire management, 

managers require improved understanding of fire effects on public lands. 

Although the importance of fire to ecosystem function is widely recognized, 

wildfire science has not been fully 

integrated into management actions.

An interdisciplinary approach is 

essential to integrate and evaluate tradeoffs among fire management policies 

and practices.

Approach

An Integrated Fire Science Team—

including experts in hydrology, geology, ecology, social sciences, and 

remote sensing and mapping—has 

been formed to address the effects of 

wildland fire and management practices 

on public lands in the Rocky Mountain 

West. This team targets critical research 

needs related to fire effects, prescribed 

fire, non-fire treatments, and post-fire 

rehabilitation and restoration.

Objectives

• Expand understanding of the ecological role of fire in forested systems: 

Conduct basic research and develop 

applications on the effects of fire; link 

the structure and function of forested 

systems to historic conditions and 

management actions.

• Develop tools for assessment and 

modeling of post-fire effects: Provide 

maps, models, and protocols to assess 

fire effects such as erosion and debris 

flow, water quality, burn severity, 

post-fire landscape dynamics, and 

historic range of variation.

flows and erosion) and (2) the effect 

of rehabilitation on post-fire communities and landscapes (e.g., native and 

non-native vegetation, wildlife, and 

sensitive species).

Torrential rains triggered debris flow after Storm King Mountain Fire, Colorado, 1994.

Photo courtesy Los Alamos Volunteer Task Force.

• Evaluate fire management practices: 

Quantify the ecological effects of 

wildland fires and the historic role

of fire compared to prescribed fire 

and non-fire treatments. Focal topics 

include debris flow, erosion, water 

quality, native and non-native vegetation, avian communities, threatened 

and endangered species, ecological 

integrity, and social values and 

perceptions.

• Evaluate the effects and effectiveness 

of post-fire rehabilitation: Provide 

information on the ecological and 

economic trade-offs of post-fire management by quantifying (1) the effectiveness of post-fire rehabilitation on 

reducing post-fire hazards (e.g., debris 

Photo courtesy Los Alamos Volunteer Task Force.

U.S. Department of the Interior Fact Sheet 2005–3032

U.S. Geological Survey Printed on recycled paper March 2005
:

Capabilities

The research team’s capabilities include 

integrated scientific evaluation of direct 

and indirect effects of fire, expert opinion on post-fire hazards and management, and initiation of fire research programs. The research team is available 

for USGS incident consultation and 

expertise in response to wildfires.

Partners and Customers

• National Park Service

• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

• Bureau of Land Management

• USDA Forest Service

• Los Alamos National Laboratory

Variations in burn severity (mapped from sat- Burn severity map of Hi Meadow Fire, 

ellite imagery) are important to understanding Colorado.

changes after fire. Above: Post-fire image of 

burn scar, Hi Meadow Fire, Colorado. 

• Native American Tribes

• Universities

Three-toed wood- • Burned Area Emergency peckers are found Rehabilitation (BAER) teams in burn areas soon 

after fire, attracted 

by abundant wood-

• The Nature Conservancy/North

American Fire Learning Network

boring beetles.

For more information, contact

Natasha Kotliar © B.R. McClelland

U.S. Geological Survey

Fort Collins Science Center

2150 Centre Ave., Bldg. C

Fort Collins, CO 80526-8118

Tel. 970-226-9446

Fax 970-226-9230

http://www.fort.usgs.gov

Blanket flowers are early post-fire colonizers

in ponderosa pine forests. Photo courtesy 

Elizabeth Reynolds.

The Integrated Fire Science Team

Susan Cannon (Geology, Debris flow) cannon@usgs.gov; 303-273-8604

Geneva Chong (Ecology, Invasives) geneva_chong@usgs.gov; 970-491-5835

Sandra Haire (Landscape Ecology) sandy_haire@usgs.gov; 413-577-3304

John Hogan (Social Science) john_hogan@usgs.gov; 505-662-1963

Carl Key (Landscape Ecology) carl_key@usgs.gov; 406-888-7991

Raymond Kokaly (Remote Sensing) raymond@usgs.gov; 303-236-1359

Lynne Koontz (Economics) lynne_koontz@usgs.gov; 970-226-9384

Natasha Kotliar (Avian Ecology) tasha_kotliar@usgs.gov; 970-226-9446 

Deborah Martin (Hydrology, Erosion) damartin@usgs.gov; 303-541-3024

John Moody (Hydrology, Erosion) jamoody@usgs.gov; 303-541-3011

Don Ohlen (Remote Sensing, Mapping) ohlen@usgs.gov; 605-594-6026

Jonathan Taylor (Social Science) jonathan_taylor@usgs.gov; 970-226-9438

Erosion after a typical thunderstorm 

with a 1-year recurrence interval 

(Cerro Grande Fire, New Mexico).