◀ Forest collaborative members, national 

forest staff, and researchers tour sites 

of potential collaborative projects in 

the Willamette National Forest. 

The Pacific Northwest Research Station is a leader in the 

scientific study of natural resources. We generate and communicate 

impartial knowledge to help people understand and make informed 

choices about natural resource management and sustainability.

Our Mission

Emily Jane Davis, Oregon State University

2
A Message From the Station Director .............. 5 PNW Research Station: The Setting ................... 6 Finances and Workforce ......................................... 7 Funding Partners in 2015 ....................................... 8 Sharing What We’ve Learned...............................10

Featured Research ....................................................19 Climate Change .......................................................19 Fire and other Natural Disturbances ..............27 Fish and Wildlife ......................................................35 Inventory and Monitoring.................................. 45 Resource Management and 

Landscape Resilience ........................................ 51

Socioeconomic Dimensions ........................... 63

Experimental Forests and Ranges .................... 73 Honors and Awards ............................................... 80

PNW Research Station Organization............... 82

Contents

3

Johnny H. Carson

A Forest Inventory and Analysis field- crew member hikes into a plot on the flanks of Mount Jefferson, Oregon. 

▶

3
4
2015 SCIENCE ACCOMPLISHMENTS 5

the latest set of post-eruption measurements on 

the ecological response of a severely disturbed 

landscape. It was also a time of knowledge 

exchange as the original cohort of post-eruption 

scientists begin to pass the care of long-term 

study plots onto the next generation.

Like a tree laying down growth rings each 

year, at the station we grow and learn with 

each passing season. This learning is a key to 

our resilience. Just as a resilient landscape is 

one that is able to adapt to change and accommodate disturbance, the strength of an organization also lies in its resilience. We practice 

resilience while staying true to our values of 

producing high-quality, unbiased science and 

thinking creatively about the work we do and 

the way we do it. We are driven by unbridled 

curiosity and bound by our service to society. 

A recent example is a study that examined if 

moss is an effective bio-indicator of air quality 

in an urban area. Findings from the study have 

had an immediate impact toward improving air 

quality in the Portland area when state agencies 

and local companies took action to reduce air 

pollution. 

Another milestone of note in 2015 is our new 

virtual Center for Advanced Forest Ecosystem 

Research. My thought was to gather many of 

the station’s most accomplished scientists from 

various disciplines and give them an opporA Message From the Station Director

Greetings!

Last year was marked 

by anniversaries. Forest Service Research 

and Development celebrated 100 years as a 

distinct branch within 

the agency. The Pacific 

Northwest Research 

Station turned 90, 

although the first 

forest research in the 

region traces back to 1909 with a study near 

Wind River, Washington, to determine growth 

rates of Douglas-fir. 

Last year also marked the 75th anniversary 

of the Starkey Experimental Forest and Range 

in eastern Oregon, and the 25-year partnership of the Blue Mountains Elk Initiative. This 

is the longest-running wildlife partnership in 

the Forest Service and includes more than 25 

state, federal, private, and tribal partners. The 

findings from research done at Starkey through 

the Blue Mountains Elk Initiative are now used 

across western North America for effective elk 

management. 

And 2015 was also the 35th anniversary of 

the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. This 

milestone was marked by the 5th science pulse, 

an international gathering of scientists to collect 

Robert Mangold

Tim LeBarge

tunity to work together. I asked them to focus 

on developing pioneering concepts of forest 

ecosystem research, with an emphasis on 

climate resilience. Their research will provide 

a scientific foundation for decisionmaking in a 

changing climate. 

I like to think of this as the research advantage. Well-crafted, timely research that helps 

others—from land managers to public health 

agencies—to anticipate, understand, and solve 

the problems of the day. By talking about our 

research from the perspective of those who 

have need for high-quality, relevant information, 

our science will be more readily adopted by the 

world of practitioners. To that end, in 2016, the 

station looks forward to building on its many 

partnerships with the National Forest System, 

tribes, universities, nongovernmental organizations, private industry, and state and other 

federal agencies. 

◀ Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. The station has a strong partnership 

with this national forest and others in the region. Photo by Tom Iraci. 

Let’s stay in touch, 

Station Director Robert Mangold
6 PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

Seattle

Olympia

Wenatchee

6

7

Fairbanks

Anchorage

Juneau

Sitka

2

1

3

4

Portland

Corvallis Prineville

8

12

9

11

La

Grande

Seattle

Olympia

Wenatchee

Fairbanks

Anchorage



Juneau

Sitka

Portland

Corvallis Prineville

La

Grande

WASHINGTON

5

10

OREGON

ALASKA

PNW Research Station: The Setting 

Laboratories and Centers

• Alaska Wood Utilization and 

Development Center (Sitka, Alaska)

• Anchorage Forestry Sciences Laboratory

• Boreal Ecology Cooperative Research 

 Unit (Fairbanks, Alaska)

• Corvallis Forestry Sciences Laboratory

• Juneau Forestry Sciences Laboratory

• La Grande Forestry and Range 

Sciences Laboratory

• Olympia Forestry Sciences Laboratory

• Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences 

Laboratory (Seattle, Washington)

• Portland Forestry Sciences Laboratory

• Wenatchee Forestry Sciences Laboratory

• Western Wildland Environmental Threat

Assessment Center (Prineville, Oregon)

Experimental Areas

1. Bonanza Creek Experimental Forest

2. Caribou-Poker Creeks Research Watershed

3. Héen Latinee Experimental Forest

4. Maybeso Experimental Forest

5. Olympic Experimental State Forest

6. Entiat Experimental Forest 

7. Wind River Experimental Forest

8. Cascade Head Experimental Forest

9. Starkey Experimental Forest and Range

10. H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest

11. Pringle Falls Experimental Forest

12. South Umpqua Experimental Forest 

The Pacific Northwest Research Station is 

one of five research stations in the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Forest Service.

 Headquarters are in Portland, Oregon.

 11 laboratories and research centers in 

Alaska, Washington, and Oregon.

 12 active experimental areas (forests, 

ranges, and watersheds).

 Research is conducted in more than 

98 research natural areas.

 300 employees (272 permanent, 

28 temporary).
2015 SCIENCE ACCOMPLISHMENTS 7

Finances and Workforce 

Two sources of funding support the workforce 

of the Pacific Northwest (PNW) Research Station: 

federal appropriations, which contributed 88 percent 

of the funds in fiscal year 2015, and direct client 

support, which comes from organizations in need of 

scientific information.

The numbers below are for the fiscal year 

October 1, 2014, to September 30, 2015.

Incoming funding

 Base research appropriations: 

$40.5 million (88%)

 Client support: $5.4 million (12%)

 Total funding: $45.9 million

 Discretionary funding: 34% 

 Nondiscretionary funding: 66%

Distribution of funds

 Permanent employee cost: $28.9 million (63%)

 Support and operations: $8.7 million (19%)

 Distributed to cooperators: $8.3 million (18%) 

 Of the $8.3 million to cooperators, 

77% went to educational institutions

Workforce statistics

 Total station workforce: 300 employees

 Permanent workforce: 272 employees 

 Of the permanent workforce, 79 employees 

(29%) are scientists

 Temporary workforce: 28 employees

2006200720082009

201020112012201320142015

Incoming funding

Dollars in millions

45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

Base research appropriations

Support from clients

Number

Total employees

Total positions

Permanent positions

Temporary positions

2006200720082009201020112012201320142015

600

500

400

300

200

100

0
8 PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

Funding Partners in 2015 

Educational Institutions

Boston University

Colorado State University

Cornell University

Desert Research Institute

Loyola University

Michigan Tech University

Mississippi State University

Oregon State University

Portland State University

Regents of the University of California

Regents of the University of Idaho

Regents of the University of Michigan

San Jose State University Foundation

State University of New York

University of Alaska

University of Alaska Anchorage

University of Alaska Southeast

University of British Columbia

University of Hawaii at Manoa

University of Maryland

University of Montana

University of Oregon

University of Washington

Utah State University

West Virginia University

Willamette University 

Foreign Institutions

New Zealand Forest Research Institute 

Limited (Scion)

Municipal Governments

Cascadia Conservation District

Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle

Nonprofit Organizations

American Fisheries Society

Association for Fire Ecology

Conservation Biology Institute

Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition

Earth Systems Institute

Ecohealth Alliance

Mount St. Helens Institute

Sitka Conservation Society

Southern Oregon Small Diameter 

Collaborative

Student Conservation Association

Terrainworks

Willamette Partnership

Other Federal Agencies

Department of Energy

Department of the Interior, Bureau of 

Land Management

Department of the Interior, National Business 

Center Aviation Management

Department of the Interior, National Park 

Service

Private Industry

Street Sounds Ecology, Washington

State Agencies

Alaska Department of Natural Resources

Alaska Energy Authority

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

Oregon Department of Forestry

Oregon Office of Energy

Tribes

Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla 

Indian Reservation

Partners Who Received Funding From the PNW Research Station for Studies
2014 SCIENCE ACCOMPLISHMENTS

9

Metolius River, Oregon. 

Photo by Glenn Christensen. ▶

Partners Who Provided Funding to the 

PNW Research Station for Studies

Educational Institutions Colorado State University Cornell University Mississippi State University Oregon State University Portland State University Regents of the University of Idaho Regents of the University of Michigan State University of New York University of Alaska Anchorage University of Alaska Southeast University of British Columbia University of Hawaii at Manoa University of Maryland University of Montana University of Oregon University of Washington Utah State University West Virginia University Willamette University 

Nonprofit Organization Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition National Council for Air and 

Stream Improvement

Other Federal Agencies Environmental Protection Agency Department of Agriculture, Office of 

the Chief Economist, Climate Change 

Program Office

Department of the Interior, Bureau of 

Land Management Department of the Interior, Fish and 

Wildlife Service Department of Interior, Office of 

Surface Water National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Goddard Space Flight Center Department of Defense, Army Corps 

of Engineers Department of Defense, U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers, Environmental 

Resources Branch Department of the Interior, Geological 

Survey, Office of Acquisitions 

and Grants Department of the Interior, Geological 

Survey, Northeast Climate 

Science Center

Private Industry Eco Logical Research, Inc. Portland General Electric, Oregon

State Agencies Oregon Department of Forestry Oregon State Marine Board Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife

9
10 PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

Sharing What We’ve Learned

The station produced 255 publications in fiscal year 2015. 

This includes station series publications, journal articles, books or 

book chapters, theses and dissertations, and other publications.

 94,700 hard copies of station publications distributed.

 4,810 station publications available online through Treesearch

 340 hardcopies of historical publications (1947—2010) on tree 

genetics scanned and placed online, now readily available to 

students, natural resource professionals, and scientists

 12 issues of PNW Science Findings published, about 8,000 copies 

of each issue distributed or downloaded. 

Web Visitors

 Total number of visits: 110,407

 Total number of page views: 290,909

 Percentage of new visitors: 77%

Twitter

The station’s Twitter account has 1,523 

followers—up from 1,162 in 2014. Reporters, 

natural resource professionals, and nonprofit 

groups comprise the majority of subscribers, 

who receive instant electronic alerts (tweets) 

about station news releases, new publications, 

and other information.

RSS Feeds

Readers can receive alerts about new publications by 

subscribing to a Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feed at 

www.fs.fed.us/pnw/RSS/index.shtml.

600

500

400

300

200

100

0

Number of publications

2006200720082009

201020112012201320142015

154 journal articles (60%)

14 books or chapters (6%)

37 station series (15%)

11 proceedings (4%)

22 theses and dissertations (9%)

17 other (7%)
2015 SCIENCE ACCOMPLISHMENTS 11 Mary Rowland

Knowledge and tools for applying 

this knowledge are the products of research. At 

the Pacific Northwest Research Station, some 

of our studies address the immediate needs 

of our clients. Other studies develop foundational knowledge that provides a launchpad 

for answering pressing questions of the future. 

Some years may pass before new knowledge 

and tools are fully adopted. At some point, the 

knowledge becomes “common” and the tools 

“standard.” These are the marks of our greatest 

achievements. Following are a few examples of 

station research that is on its way to becoming 

How Is PNW Research Used? 

Responding to climate change in national 

forests: a guidebook for developing adaptation 

options: Written to provide guidance for the 

National Forest System when developing climate 

change vulnerability assessments and adaptation strategies, this publication (PNW-GTR-855) 

has been used in more than 50 national forests 

throughout the United States. Nearly all regions 

of the Forest Service (Regions 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 

and 9) have used it, resulting in a consistent, 

science-based approach to assessments and 

adaptations.

common knowledge and tools that are the current standard.

BlueSky used across the country to support 

air quality forecasting: In 2015, the BlueSky 

Smoke Modeling Framework was used across 

the country during one of the worst fire seasons 

on record. BlueSky daily model runs were used 

by air resource advisors, regional forest and air 

quality offices, and public health departments 

as well as directly by the public. The BlueSky 

model viewer was accessed more than 20,000 

times a day during particularly bad smoke 

events in Washington and Oregon.

Output from the BlueSky modeling framework shows the 

day’s projected smoke dispersal from the 2015 Okanagan 

Complex fire in eastern Washington.

Federal, state, and tribal representatives celebrate a 25-year partnership through the Blue Mountains Elk Initiative with a tour of the Starkey Experimental Forest and Range. 
SHARING WHAT WE’VE LEARNED

12 

Consume used to estimate carbon emissions 

during wildfires: The Washington Department 

of Natural Resources used Consume, fire decision-support software developed by the station, 

to prepare an estimate of carbon emissions from 

wildland fires in 2014 for Washington’s governor’s office. This is an example of an operational 

planning tool being applied to inform policy 

decisionmaking.

Fire history study used to craft Teanaway 

Conservation Forest Management plan: The 

Washington Department of Natural Resources 

used the fire history study of the Teanaway 

River drainage, (Wright and Agee. 2004. Ecological Applications. 14: 443–459) when developing the forest management plan for the newly 

created Teanaway Community Forest in central 

Washington.

Elk nutrition and habitat use models and 

methods adopted for use in Idaho and Montana: Originally developed for Oregon and 

Washington, landscape tools to evaluate elk 

nutrition and habitat have now been adapted for 

use in Idaho and Montana. The Clearwater Basin 

Collaborative used them in the Clearwater Basin 

of north-central Idaho. Results will be used for 

early-seral forest restoration planning by the 

Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest. 

The types of data collection needed to build 

or validate these elk landscape evaluation tools 

are now being adopted by the Idaho Department 

of Fish and Game. Similarly, the Oregon-Washington elk models have been applied to elk 

habitats across Montana, and are undergoing 

validation tests by the Montana Department of 

Fish, Wildlife, and Parks with field data on animal condition, reproductive status, and habitat 

use. These adaptations of the Oregon-Washington elk models will provide a consistent and 

effective means of evaluating environmental 

conditions across a large set of ecoregions in 

the northwestern United States for land use 

planning and elk population management.

Applying the science of decisionmaking: In a 

study led by a station scientist, managers and 

analysts with the National Forest System were 

surveyed about their familiarity and use of decision science methods and tools. The findings are 

being used by the U.S. Forest Service Washington Office to guide training in, and development 

of, decision-science methods and tools.

Decision support for integrated resource 

restoration in east-side forests of the Pacific 

Northwest: Okanogan-Wenatchee National 

Forest managers and station scientists pooled 

their resources to create a core set of foundational research studies, a peer-reviewed, 

state-of-knowledge restoration strategy, and an 

advanced, customizable spatial decision-support 

system for landscape evaluation and restoration 

planning. The system, based on the Ecosystem 

Management Decision Support framework, is 

used to evaluate key changes and restoration 

needs of modern-day terrestrial landscapes, 

resulting in more efficient planning related 

to the National Environmental Policy Act, 

improved project design. It is also used to facilitate a focus on ecological outcomes and landscape conditions, and an increased restoration 

footprint. Since FY 2012, the Colville National 

Forest has used the tool on two districts, and 

the Umatilla National Forest began its first 

project in early 2016. 

Evaluating tradeoffs among ecosystem services in the management of public lands (2013, 

PNW-GTR-865): The National Forest System 

used this research to develop technical guidance for national forest staff regarding how to 

address ecosystem services in the assessment 

phase of national forest planning, as required 

under the new forest planning rule.

Integrated Landscape Assessment Project 

used in support of several forest plan revision 

efforts: Originally funded by the American 

Recovery and Reinvestment Act, models from 

the Integrated Landscape Assessment Project 

(ILAP) are being used in the Blue Mountains 

(Umatilla, Wallowa-Whitman, and Malheur 

National Forests) in the Pacific Northwest; by 

the Rio Grande National Forest in the Rocky 

Mountain Region; and Coronado, Cibola, Carson, 

and Santa Fe National Forests in the Southwestern Region. In most cases, ILAP models are 

being run with multiple management scenarios 

to help conduct the ecological assessments 

required under the new planning rule.
SHARING WHAT WE’VE LEARNED

2015 SCIENCE ACCOMPLISHMENTS 13

Science Delivery Highlights 

Hugh Luce

Writers tour the Pumice Plain with scientists during the Mount St. Helens Science Pulse, marking the 35th

anniversary of the 1980 eruption.

Delivering science in accessible formats 

to the people who need it to make informed 

decisions is a key part of the station’s mission. 

In 2015, station scientists engaged with our 

stakeholders, using a variety of formats to share 

information. A few of the events are highlighted 

below. In summary, station scientists gave: 

 250 presentations

 70 consultations

 50 workshops

 20 webinars

Some webinar topics:

 BlueSky modeling framework updates

 Climate change

 Coldwater fish, wildfire, and climate change

 Development and use of seed zones

 Genetic adaption in forest trees

 National Emissions Inventory for wildland fire

 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

 Smoke column and plume dynamics

 Postfire ecology of the East Cascades

Major Events 

Air Resource Advisor Training Workshop: 

Fifteen students received training from station 

scientists on the current state of wildland fire 

air quality tools and how to fill the role of 

air resource advisor during a wildland fire incident. Training topics included computer models, 

interpretation of smoke monitor data, communication and messaging tools, and an opportunity to establish relationships with other air 

resource advisors. 

Blue Mountains Stakeholder and Science 

Forums: Two forums with 65 stakeholders were 

held to address socioecological research needs 

in the Blue Mountains, Oregon. These were 

followed by a science forum with 35 researchers 

to discuss potential socioecological research for 

the region. 

Climate Change Adaptation: A station scientist 

reached 535 people with multiple presentations 

about climate change to resource specialists in 

the Intermountain Region, Northern Region, and 

Pacific Northwest Region of the Forest Service. 

This includes students at the University of 

Washington, and the nongovernmental organization Alliance for Clean Jobs and Energy. 

Ecosystem Services Champions Forum: About 

70 Forest Service employees from the National 

Forest System, Research and Development, and 

State and Private Forestry attended a policy 

forum in Washington, D.C., organized by a station scientist. The forum was titled, “Integrating 

ecosystem services into Forest Service programs 

and operations.”
SHARING WHAT WE’VE LEARNED

14 PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

Four Focal Years of Herpetofauna: 

2011—2014 were the years of the turtle, lizard, 

snake, and salamander, respectively. Working 

with Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, a station technician edited and designed 

monthly newsletters, outreach posters, and 

synthesis documents, which have been viewed 

online by more than 20,000 readers.

International Union of Forest Research Organization’s 24th World Congress: More than 25 

station scientists gave presentations and organized sessions at this event held in Salt Lake 

City, Utah, in October 2014. Topics included 

climate change, community forestry, ecosystem 

services, forest health, remote sensing, science 

communications, and ungulate herbivory. More 

than 3,500 people attended, including 2,500 scientists from more than 100 countries and 1,200 

professional foresters from North America. A 

PNW research forester helped organize the 

conference program for the Society of American Foresters, which was held in conjunction 

with the congress. Another station employee 

co-chaired the Congress Communications Committee and conducted a science communications 

workshop for about 40 scientists from Africa, 

Asia, and Latin America in a pre-congress training as part of the IUFRO Program for Developing Capacities. 

Mount St. Helens Science Pulse: About 120 

scientists, land managers, writers, and students 

convened on Mount St. Helens in August. Held 

every 5 years, the Pulse gatherings have facilitated long-term research within the national 

volcanic monument since the 1980 eruption. 

Hundreds of long-term plots are sampled for 

mammals, birds, amphibians, fish, insects, 

plants, lichens, fungi, and soil. Collectively, 

these 5-year measurements chronicle the reassembly of life at the volcano and give land managers information about landscape restoration. 

The writers and poets create science-inspired 

works that provide a further narrative about 

the natural world and our place in it. Students 

from five high schools across Washington state 

participated as part of the Science, Technology, 

Engineering, and Math (STEM) program with 

the aim of providing them with life-changing experiences and opportunities for career 

development. 

Native Seed Field Day: Fifty attendees—seed 

producers, scientists, land managers, nursery 

owners, and nonprofit organizations—learned 

about seed transfer zones for bluebunch wheatgrass, an important native grass used in restoration efforts. The field day was held at Oregon 

State University’s Malheur Experimental Station.

At Oregon State University’s Malheur Experimental Station, seed producers, land managers, and others learn 

about research on bluebunch wheatgrass, a species often used to restore burned areas.

Holly Prendeville
SHARING WHAT WE’VE LEARNED

2015 SCIENCE ACCOMPLISHMENTS 15

Station scientists led a workshop for science teachers, offering tips on experimental design and statistical inference by using station research on tree physiology as an example. 

NEPA Knowledge Café Webinars: Eleven 

webinars in this series were hosted in 2015 

on a variety of topics including public-private 

partnerships that conserve working forest and 

agriculture lands, integrating climate change 

with forest management, and a new electronic, 

searchable archive of forest plans. Webinar 

attendance ranged from 78 to 122 per session. 

NEPA Line Officer Team Inaugural Workshop: 

A station scientist organized this workshop to 

establish a NEPA Line Officer Team to better 

facilitate environmental planning within the 

agency. The initial workshop for forest supervisors and district rangers (line officers), held 

in Washington, D.C., was followed by three 

different webinars with line officers from across 

the agency to address issues related to environmental planning. The first webinar had 

260 attendees. 

Science Teacher Workshop: Ten Washington 

high school teachers participated in a full-day 

workshop titled, “Mentoring students to create 

high quality science fair projects.” The workshop 

emphasized experimental design and statistical 

inference while also providing participants with 

information on tree physiology and examples of 

Forest Service research. 

SEEDS: The station participated in the Oregon 

State University College of Forestry’s Strengthening Education and Employment for Diverse 

Students Program (SEEDS) by providing paid 

mentored work experiences to underrepresented students preparing to enter professional 

forestry and natural resource management. 

Forty-five college students participated.

Wildland Fire National Emissions Inventory 

Training Sessions: About 130 students were 

introduced to the process that will be used to 

create the 2014 EPA National Emissions Inventory for wildland fire. Students learned what 

data are being requested from the states, how 

that data will be used, and modeling methods 

that will be used to estimate emissions for each 

wildland fire. 

Wood Scaling and Moisture Sample Collection 

Training Course: The Gwitchyaa Zhee Utility 

Company in Fort Yukon, Alaska, requested training from a station scientist. The 12 participants 

learned how to estimate harvest volume of 

cordwood and how to collect moisture samples. 

The utility company is in the process of installing a biomass boiler to heat tribal buildings and 

potentially generate electricity.

Ashley Steel
SHARING WHAT WE’VE LEARNED

16 PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

Conservation Education 

It’s vital that young people discover and maintain their connection to nature. They are the 

next generation of land stewards, scientists, and 

decisionmakers. Recognizing this, the station 

contributes to a variety of conservation education activities for students from elementary to 

high school and their teachers.

Biodiversity Conservation Research Panel: About 

40 eighth graders conducted environmental 

research projects at Jane Goodall Environmental 

Middle School in Salem, Oregon. A station scientist provided guidance on these projects.

Cascade Head Ecosystem Charrette: Five 

high school students sampled small mammal 

populations with a station scientist at the 

Cascade Head Experimental Forest to learn how 

the mosaic of private and public lands affects 

coastal ecosystem management. Students will 

use this knowledge to propose a meadow restoration plan.

Duwamish Valley Youth Corps: The Duwamish 

Valley Youth Corps in Seattle, Washington, is a 

new youth conservation education and stewardship group composed of local youth living in 

low-income, ethnically diverse neighborhoods in 

the Duwamish River Valley. The station sponsors this group and provides scientific expertise. 

Thirty high-school-age youth participated in 

6-week classes where they did trail maintenance, participated in river and trail cleanup 

activities, and planted trees, shrubs, and rain 

gardens in the Duwamish River Riparian Zone. 

Ecological Restoration and Monitoring in 

Garfield Gulch: A station scientist led a field trip 

for 40 students from Mason Middle School in 

Tacoma, Washington, at an event sponsored by 

Tacoma Public Schools and Metro Parks.

Field-Based Studies of Pond-Breeding Amphibians: In its ninth consecutive year, 60 high 

school students at the Battle Ground School 

District’s Center for Agriculture, Science, and 

Environmental Education (CASEE) learned about 

the biology and general ecology of resident 

amphibians in classroom, laboratory, and field 

settings. Each year, students spend 4 to 6 weeks 

developing research questions, gathering and 

analyzing data, and presenting their research 

results. 

Forests Inside Out! In its seventh year, the 

station and the nonprofit World Forestry Center 

provided a series of 2-day immersive indoor 

and outdoor experiences for 300 children ages 

6 to 10 and their family members from diverse 

and underserved communities in the Portland 

Washington high school students with the Duwamish Valley Youth Corps learn about stewardship of their 

local watershed.

Duwamish Valley Cleanup Coalition
SHARING WHAT WE’VE LEARNED

2015 SCIENCE ACCOMPLISHMENTS 17

metropolitan area. The program promotes 

active, healthy outdoor lifestyles for young 

children and their families and fosters positive 

associations with urban forests, natural areas, 

and national forests. Eight high school and college-age students from the Portland area were 

mentors for the program, two of them from 

the Inner City Youth Institute, another youth 

program sponsored by the station. 

H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest: More than 

270 students, kindergarten through twelfth 

grade, participated in tours and structured field 

activities throughout the year at this experimental forest in Blue River, Oregon. Participating 

schools included: Fern Ridge Middle School, 

King’s Valley Charter School, McKenzie Middle School, Prairie Mountain Middle School, 

Presbyterian Coming of Age Program, Ridgeline 

Montessori Public Charter School. The Youth 

Conservation Corps also participated.

Inner City Youth Institute: The station reached 

about 100 students from Portland inner-city 

high schools through the Inner City Youth 

Institute (ICYI). The program connects underrepresented youth with careers and experiences 

in natural resources and is a partnership among 

the Forest Service, Oregon State University’s 

4-H program, and the Bureau of Land Management. During the school year, students with 

ICYI planted trees and participated in a beach 

cleanup and invasive plant removal. During 

the summer, students went on day-hikes and 

attended a weeklong camp at Oregon State 

University. They traveled to the Oregon coast 

where they worked alongside Siuslaw National 

Forest field rangers and trail crew members. 

The camp concluded with student presentations 

to parents and sponsoring agency representatives. The ICYI program has reached 2,600 

students since 1995. 

Inter-Tribal Youth Climate Leaders Congress: 

A Tlingit high school student from Juneau, 

Alaska, and a Haida Culture Bearer from 

Kasaan, Alaska, were sponsored by the station 

and Forest Service Alaska Region to attend the 

Inter-Tribal Youth Climate Leaders Congress 

in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. They shared 

An Inner City Youth Institute field trip to the Oregon Coast.

Becky Bittner
SHARING WHAT WE’VE LEARNED

18 PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

their experiences with the Alaska Tribal Leaders 

Committee and Forest Service employees.

Measuring Levels of Air Pollution: Fifty thirdand fifth-graders collected moss samples with 

a station scientist and learned how moss can be 

used to measure air pollution and how trees can 

help clean the air.

Salmon Watch Program: 

About 65 students from 

Linus Pauling Middle 

School in Corvallis, Oregon, 

learned about macroinvertebrates 

from a station scientist 

during a salmon 

watch program.

Science Fairs: The station 

sponsored “Outstanding 

Natural Resource Science” 

awards for middle and 

high school students at the 

Northwest Science Expo, 

a science fair for young 

scientists, engineers, and 

mathematicians held at 

Portland State University. 

Station statisticians were 

judges at the Seattle School 

District Middle School 

Science sFair held at the 

Museum of Flight in Seattle, 

Washington. Three station 

scientists served as judges at the Washington 

State Science and Engineering Fair in Bremerton, Washington. They provided feedback to 

a diverse group of students working on many 

types of projects. There were 600 projects, and 

more than 3,000 people attended. 

Scholastic Math: A station scientist collaborated on an article about changing habitats 

in Alaska for moose for a classroom print 

magazine about math for grades 6 through 9. 

This information was also used to develop a 

teaching module about the effects of climate 

change on Alaska’s ecosystems.

STEM Field Ecology Program: Focused on 

Mount St. Helens, this program for 10-grade 

biology students engage them in ecological 

projects that include all aspects of field-based 

studies and subsequent analyses, interpretation and presentation. Over 700 students and 

nine teachers have conducted relevant field 

research at Mount St. Helens with natural 

resource professionals from a variety of public 

and private entities. In addition to the multiday field experience, this program includes a 

summer teacher training workshop, pre- and 

postfield trip curriculum which included 

data entry and analysis, and an end-of-year 

research summit at Washington State University in Vancouver, Washington. 

Trout Release Day: A station scientist organized this event for 70 third- and fourth-grade 

students from Chapman Hill Elementary in 

Salem, Oregon, and Timber Hill Elementary in 

Albany, Oregon. It was part of Trout International, an environmental education program. As 

part of the program, the classes hatched native 

rainbow trout in classroom tanks and later 

released them. 

Children from a Portland area school collect moss samples and learn how 

moss serves as a living record of local air pollution. 

Heather Crow, Riverdale Grade School
Climate Change

Janelle Cossey

Climate change is expected to profoundly alter 

vegetation structure and composition, ecosystem processes, 

and the delivery of important ecosystem services over the next 

century. Science from the Pacific Northwest Research Station is 

helping land managers and decisionmakers prepare for these 

changes. Actions taken 

now may help mitigate 

the effects of climate 

change so that our forests, 

streams, and grasslands 

can continue providing lifesustaining benefits.

What lies ahead? Josephine County, Oregon.

Climate Change
A sedge species extends its range into 

interior Alaska

Associated with drying lake margins, a sedge species 

is found in Yukon Flats in interior Alaska. Previously, 

Yukon, Canada, was as far northwest as this species 

had been documented. 

During fieldwork documenting a climatechange-induced lake drying in the Yukon Flats 

area of interior Alaska, scientists found the 

sedge species Carex sartwellii. This species has 

a very specific habitat associated with drying 

lake margins. Owing to the vast terrain and 

limited access to the region, this species likely 

has occurred in the Yukon Flats for some time. 

However, as a component of plant communities 

20

Climate Change

 Tree seedlings of most species in 

California, Oregon, and Washington 

are germinating in areas cooler 

than those occupied by mature 

trees. The mean annual temperature of the range of seedlings is 

0.12 °C colder than that of the 

range of mature trees across all 

forest lands in the region.

 In southeast Alaska, forest area 

is increasing. Gains are concentrated on the northern sides of 

slopes and at higher elevations, 

while loss in forest area is 

skewed toward southern aspects 

and lower elevations. 

 Modeling vegetation response 

to climate change in the western United States reveals that 

precipitation is a stronger driver 

than temperature. In a scenario 

assuming increasing greenhouse emissions, (Representative 

Climate Pathway 8.5), most of 

the U.S. West will be a carbon 

sink because of increases in 

live vegetation.

 National forests in Oregon use 

analyses on projected future 

stream flows in the western 

Cascades to incorporate climate 

change in their forest plans.

CLIMATE CHANGE

Highlights in 2015

Along the West Coast, seedlings are becoming established in areas with cooler mean annual temperatures 

compared to the areas occupied by mature trees of the 

same species. 

Seedlings seek cooler temperatures

Rhonda Mazza

Seedlings of most tree species in California, 

Oregon, and Washington have shifted toward 

areas colder than those occupied by mature trees. 

Global warming is predicted to cause 

systematic changes in the distribution of tree 

species. Changes in tree distribution begin 

with seedling colonization of newly favorable areas. Determining if and where these 

changes are occurring and estimating their 

magnitude is crucial for large-scale policy 

and management decisions.

Scientists compared the distribution of 

seedlings and mature trees for most tree 

species in California, Oregon, and Washington. The mean annual temperature of the 

range of seedlings is 0.12 °C colder than 

that of the range of mature trees across all 

forest lands in the region. Individual species 

followed the same pattern, except for some 

species common in California’s mixed-conifer 

forest. For most species, the estimated shift is 

less than the increase in temperature during the 

past decades. This suggests that tree migration 

may be lagging temperature increases.

The broad scale of analysis, exhaustive 

sampling of tree species, variety of disturbance 

regimes examined, and direct relationship 

between temperature response and a warming 

climate provide strong evidence for attributing 

the observed shifts to climate change.

Contact: Vicente Monleon, 

vjmonleon@fs.fed.us

Partner: Oregon State University
associated with drying lake margins, its local 

presence may be a good indicator species of 

climate-induced changes in the lake area. 

Eight specimens of this species are now cataloged in the University of Alaska Herbarium for 

use by botanists. The Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge was very interested in the discovery 

of this species within its borders and has added 

the sedge to its regional species list.

Contact: Teresa Hollingsworth, 

thollingsworth@fs.fed.us 

Partners: University of Alaska Fairbanks, U.S. 

Geological Survey

Spatial patterns found in disturbance 

and regrowth within southeast Alaska 

forests 

Southeast Alaska is gaining forest area on the 

northern side of slopes, at higher latitudes, and at 

higher elevations while losing forest area on southern 

aspects and at lower latitudes. Gains in forest area 

and biomass exceed the losses. 

Tool

Climate Change Adaptation 

Library for the Western United 

States

Description: 

The Climate Change Adaptation Library 

provides menus of options for adapting to 

climate change, summarized by vegetation, 

water resources, fisheries, wetlands-riparian 

habitat, wildlife, and recreation.

Use: 

This library was developed for federal land 

managers, other land managers, tribes, and 

other stakeholders throughout the United 

States.

How to get it: 

http://adaptationpartners.org 

Contact: 

David L. Peterson, peterson@fs.fed.us 

Natural forest growth is important to carbon sequestration patterns, and climate is 

likely to alter both disturbances and regrowth. 

Scientists used remote sensing and inventory 

data to examine recent trends in biomass and 

forest area in southeast Alaska. They found 

that although rain forest dynamics occur at 

a very small spatial scale (<1000 m2), the net 

result of thousands of individual events is 

regionally patterned change. Forest area gains 

were concentrated on northerly aspects and at 

lower elevations and higher latitudes, whereas 

loss was skewed toward southerly aspects and 

lower latitudes. Repeated measures on inventory 

plots also showed biomass increases on gentler 

slopes and at higher latitudes. Early detection 

of changes can help land managers anticipate 

how the temperate rain forests of Alaska may 

continue to change in the future.

Contact: Tara Barrett, tbarrett@fs.fed.us

Partner: University of Alaska Southeast

Temperate rain forest in southeast Alaska.

Rick Edwards

21
CLIMATE CHANGE

22 PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

chemical and physical environments affect plant 

health and alter plant susceptibility to insect 

and pathogen attack. For the first time, scientists reviewed the combined effects that these 

physical and chemical changes may have on 

forest pathogens. They propose a generalized 

modelling approach to incorporate the complexities of these effects on host and virulent pathogen into dynamic vegetation models. This will 

increase efficiency in model vegetation response 

to climate change.

Contact: Nancy Grulke, ngrulke@fs.fed.us

Partner: Auburn University

Fire may become more frequent in high-elevation forest. Above, evidence of a burn at treeline in 

the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, Idaho. 

C. Alina Cansler

Climate change, fire, and alpine treeline

High-elevation forests are expected to be especially sensitive to a warming climate. Treelines may 

advance upslope as temperatures warm, displacing alpine meadows and changing hydrology. Or, 

increased fire could reduce tree cover, thereby 

lowering treelines. 

Scientists used satellite data to examine 

the area burned by fires at the alpine-treeline 

ecotone from 1984 to 2012 and compared it to 

total area burned by fire in the region. Intensive 

field data from two fires in Washington and two 

fires in Montana were used to quantify both the 

spatial patterns of fire severity and the relative 

success of seedling establishment after fire.

The scientists found that area burned near 

treeline was significantly correlated with 

regional area burned. In some regions of the 

Pacific Northwest and northern Rocky Mountains, subalpine parkland—characterized by 

alpine meadow and dispersed trees—is burning 

proportionally more than the region as a whole. 

Although no clear predictions can be made 

about treelines moving either up or down en 

masse, it is very likely that given the varying 

severity of fire and varying success of seedling 

establishment, the alpine treeline ecotones 

will be wider and have more complex spatial 

patterns in the future.

Contact: Don McKenzie, 

donaldmckenzie@fs.fed.us

Partners: Joint Fire Science Program, 

University of Washington, UDSA Forest 

Service Rocky Mountain Research Station

Considering effects of climate change 

and air pollution on forest pathogens 

A favorable environment, a susceptible host, and 

a virulent pathogen create a “disease triangle.” 

How will physical and chemical changes in the 

environment influence forest pathogens? 

Climate change is triggering physical changes 

in the environment through warming, temperature extremes, and type, amount, and pattern of 

precipitation. Chemical changes in the environment are also occurring: carbon dioxide and 

ozone levels are increasing as is the deposition 

of air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides. The 
CLIMATE CHANGE

2015 SCIENCE ACCOMPLISHMENTS 23

Ecological disturbances are expected to 

increase and will be extremely important in 

affecting species distribution, tree age, and 

forest structure, facilitating transitions to new 

combinations of species and vegetation patterns. Mountain pine beetle may be particularly 

important in lodgepole pine and ponderosa 

pine forests, and western spruce budworm and 

Douglas-fir tussock moth may also increase 

periodically. Annual area burned by wildfire 

is expected to increase substantially, and fire 

seasons will likely lengthen. The interaction of 

multiple disturbances and stressors will create 

or exacerbate stress complexes. 

Contact: Becky Kerns, bkerns@fs.fed.us; 

John Kim, jbkim@fs.fed.us 

Partners: Oregon State University; University 

of Washington; USDA Forest Service Malheur 

National Forest, Umatilla National Forest, and 

Wallowa-Whitman National Forest 

A changing climate is expected to trigger changes in vegetation in the Blue Mountains of Oregon. Above, the 

Malheur National Forest, with a view of the Strawberry Mountain Wilderness. 

Tom Iraci

Projections indicate likely changes in 

vegetation and disturbance in the Blue 

Mountains of Oregon over next century

Scientists assessed potential climate-change effects 

on upland vegetation in the Blue Mountains of 

Oregon. The Pacific Northwest Region is using this 

information in climate-change-vulnerability assessments and other forest planning efforts. 

Climate-induced changes will affect wildlife 

habitat, biodiversity, hydrology, future disturbance regimes, ecosystem services, and the 

ability of ecosystems to absorb and sequester 

carbon from the atmosphere. Working with the 

three national forests in the Blue Mountains as 

they assess their climate-change vulnerability, 

scientists reviewed the literature and projected 

vegetation change by using the MC2 dynamic 

vegetation model with downscaled CMIP5 

climate projections.

The projections indicate that:

 Subalpine and alpine systems are potentially vulnerable.

 Juniper woodlands may be reduced if 

longer and drier summers lead to more 

wildfire.

 Grasslands and shrublands at lower elevations may increase across the landscape

 Nonnative species, including annual 

grasses, may increase in abundance 

and extent. 
Tool

MC2 

Description: 

MC2 is used for visualizing vegetation change. 

The model produces maps showing the 

distribution of current and future vegetation 

and above- and belowground carbon under 

appropriate assemblages of global circulation 

models as drivers of climate input.

Use: 

This model has many Forest Service and nonForest Service users. It can be used by climate 

change coordinators at the regional and forest 

level, by forest plan revision teams, state and 

other land managers, tribes, collaboratives, 

and other nongovernmental organizations.

How to get it: 

http://www.fs.fed.us/wwetac/threat_map/

index.html 

Contact: 

John B. Kim, jbkim@fs.fed.us

Simulating vegetation response to 

climate change in the western 

United States 

Projections under a no-climate-policy scenario 

indicate most of the western United States will be a 

strong carbon sink because of increases in live vegetation. The Forest Service is using this information in 

forest planning, and its Pacific Northwest and Pacific 

Southwest Regions are also using it in biophysical and 

socioeconomic vulnerability assessments. 

Climate change is expected to profoundly 

alter vegetation structure and composition, terrestrial ecosystem processes, and the delivery 

of important ecosystem services in the western 

United States over the next century. These 

changes will affect wildlife habitat, biodiversity, 

hydrology, future disturbance regimes, and the 

ability of ecosystems to absorb and sequester 

carbon from the atmosphere. 

Scientists assessed potential climate change 

effects on the vegetation of the western United 

States. They used MC2, a dynamic vegetation 

model, and standard experimental protocol 

established by the World Climate Research Project as part of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project. The projections were downscaled to 

about 4 km resolution. They found that future 

climate projections vary widely across the 

western United States. Generally, precipitation is 

a stronger driver of live-vegetation carbon than 

temperature, but there is greater uncertainty 

with projections of change in precipitation. 

Under the scenario that assumes increasing 

greenhouse emissions (2014 Intergovernmental 

Panel on Climate Change, Representative Climate Pathway 8.5), most of the western United 

States will be a strong carbon sink because of 

increases in live vegetation.

Contact: John B. Kim, jbkim@fs.fed.us

Partners: USDA Forest Service Regions 1-6, 10

Continent-wide simulations of a 

dynamic global vegetation model 

A newly assembled dataset for the United States 

and Canada can be used to address continent-scale questions regarding climate change 

and ecosystem responses to it. The data are 

available for download and are suitable for both 

researchers and land managers. 

Finer grid projections of climate change under 

different greenhouse gas emissions are needed 

for research purposes and land management. 

To address this, station scientists produced 

downscaled relatively fine-grid climates (5 arc‐

minutes), and soil variables, as well as ecosystem responses to the future climates across the 

United States and Canada. Ecosystem responses 

come from the MC1 Dynamic Global Vegetation 

24
CLIMATE CHANGE

2015 SCIENCE ACCOMPLISHMENTS 25

model and include vegetation types, carbon 

cycle variables (e.g., total vegetation carbon and 

net primary production), water cycle variables 

(e.g., actual evapotranspiration and streamflow), 

and fire variables (e.g., biomass consumed by 

fire). Monthly climate data included minimum 

and maximum temperature, precipitation, and 

vapor pressure. Soil data include mineral 

depth and percent sand, rock, and clay for 

three depths. 

Contact: John B. Kim, jbkim@fs.fed.us

Reduced growth is traded off for 

increased resistance to drought and 

extreme temperatures

The successful establishment of tree seedlings is 

crucial for future forest and stand regeneration. 

Understanding the physiological mechanisms and 

functional traits that drive successful seedling establishment may improve our ability to predict future 

species distributions, especially as climate change 

is predicted to alter the dynamics, composition, and 

diversity of many plant ecosystems. 

Seeds from two populations of ponderosa 

pine from sites with contrasting precipitation 

and temperature regimes east and west of the 

Oregon Cascade Range were sown in a common 

garden experiment. First-year shoot growth 

was lower in the drier-site seedlings largely 

because they became dormant by early October, 

whereas the western population continued to 

grow throughout the fall. Water-use efficiency 

was greater in the drier-site seedlings and they 

also showed greater ability to maintain cell 

turgor during soil drying. Overall, the eastern, 

drier-site population exhibited more conservative behavior, suggesting that reduced growth 

is traded off for increased resistance to drought 

and extreme temperatures.

These findings provide insights concerning 

functional adaptations contributing to successful seedling establishment in different types of 

environments and may have implications for 

understanding the adaptability of individual 

populations to future climate change.

Contact: Rick Meinzer, fmeinzer@fs.fed.us; 

David Woodruff, dwoodruff@fs.fed.us

Partners: Oregon State University, University 

of Wisconsin

A portable photosynthesis system measures the rate of photosynthesis occurring in ponderosa pine seedlings 

from different populations. 

Kelly Kerr
CLIMATE CHANGE

26 PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

climate change into the forest plans for the Malheur, Umatilla, and Wallowa-Whitman National 

Forests. These analyses are also being used to 

provide the fundamental hydrologic assessment 

in the ongoing South Central Oregon Adaptation 

Partnership. This effort involves a collaborative 

assessment of climate change vulnerabilities 

for a consortium that includes the Deschutes, 

Ochoco, and Fremont-Winema National Forests, 

the Crooked River Grasslands, and Crater Lake 

National Park. Results from these analyses 

were also featured prominently in the Climate 

Change Toolkit developed by the Pacific Northwest Region to provide state-of-science tools for 

resource managers to address climate change 

vulnerabilities.

Contact: Gordon Grant, ggrant@fs.fed.us 

Partners: Oregon State University, USDA 

Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region

As precipitation changes from snow to rain, more flooding is projected for streams in much of the Cascade 

Range and Olympic Mountains by 2080. Above, the projected changing risk of increased peak flows in 

Oregon and Washington for 2020, 2040, and 2080 for 2-year, 10-year, 25-year, 50-year, and 100-year floods. 

Warmer colors indicate greater relative increase over current peak flows.

New mapping of landscape sensitivities 

to changes in peak and low streamflow 

helps national forests plan ahead 

Forest planning efforts throughout the Pacific Northwest are using this research to develop adaptation 

strategies that address changes to streamflows. This 

information is vital for watershed restoration and 

management decisions, including where to build or 

remove roads, invest in restoration, and anticipate 

water stress. 

A changing climate over the coming decades 

poses serious challenges to the Pacific Northwest’s streamflow. How can predictions of 

future flows be used to guide intelligent choices 

about current infrastructure and restoration 

investments? New analyses demonstrate that 

impacts of climate change on streamflows will 

not be uniformly distributed across the landscape but are strongly controlled by both hydrologic regimes (i.e., rain versus snow) and the 

underlying geological setting (deep groundwater versus shallow runoff-dominated landscapes. 

Watersheds that provide much of Oregon and 

Washington’s summertime flow, such as the 

Cascade Range, may continue to have water as 

the climate warms, but paradoxically, also are 

most sensitive to reduced stream flows under 

climate change. 

The information in these analyses is being 

incorporated into forest planning efforts around 

the region. The Blue Mountain Adaptation 

Partnership used this analysis as a cornerstone 

of its hydrologic assessment that incorporates 
Natural 

Disturbances

From fires to floods, insect 

outbreaks, and volcanic eruptions, natural 

disturbance is instrumental in shaping the 

landscape. Station research seeks to learn 

about these disturbances so that risk to 

human life, property, and uses of the land 

and its resources are minimized.

A sunset through heavy smoke from 

wildfires on the east side of Oregon’s 

Cascade Range. 

Tom Spies

Fire and Other 

Natural Disturbances
Mount St. Helens has a central role in 

field of volcano ecology

Ecological lessons and methods developed during 

studies on Mount St. Helens are now used to shape 

research and monitoring at other volcanic sites in 

Alaska, Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Japan, 

Papua New Guinea, and Russia. 

Volcanoes are broadly distributed around the 

earth, with more than 1,500 currently active 

and dozens erupting at any point in time. After 

eruptions, natural, agricultural, and social 

systems are often profoundly disrupted and may 

remain so for centuries. The formal study of volcano ecology began in 1883 with the eruption of 

Krakatau (Indonesia). Since then, 404 volcanoes 

have erupted, but only 76 of these have been the 

focus of ecological inquiry, and most investigations have been limited in scope. 

The breadth and duration of research (35 

years and counting) on Mount St. Helens following the 1980 eruption puts this body of integrated research at the fore of volcano ecology. 

The methods and monitoring protocols developed there are now being adopted at volcanic 

sites around the world. 

To further the field of volcano ecology, scientists conducted a massive literature search 

to determine what is known about ecological 

28

NATURAL DISTURBANCES

 Initial maps were produced for 

the National Forest System’s 

Terrestrial Condition Assessment. The assessment sets the 

stage for the Forest Service’s 

integrated restoration program.

 An assessment approach was 

developed to identify gaps 

in local planning and prioritizing by state and federal 

agencies in mitigating wildfire risk to nearby communities. It will be piloted in more 

than 120 communities in the 

western United States.

 Station scientists worked 

with Wallowa-Whitman 

National Forest to quantify 

tradeoff among restoration 

goals and prioritize areas in 

need of restoration. 

 Three LiDAR datasets were 

produced for pre- and postfire conditions within the 

area of the Rim and King 

Fires. This will facilitate 

study of these unusually 

large fires that burned in 

California in 2013 and 2014. 

Highlights in 2015

Natural 

Disturbances

Field crew sample willow shrubs on the Pumice Plain of Mount St. Helens as part of a study on the role of 

herbivory on nutrient cycling, species turnover, and assembly of small mammal and bird communities during 

early primary succession. Pyroclastic flows during the 1980 eruption removed all traces of the old-growth forest 

here, about 4 miles north of the volcano. 

Charlie Crisafulli
Tool

FIDAR

Description: 

Quickly assesses forest stand types and tree 

age classes that have experienced the greatest 

disturbance.

Use: 

FIDAR is used to prioritize field work. It 

helps users determine which areas are most 

disturbed by a particular agent. The Medicine 

Bow-Routt National Forest (Colorado and 

Wyoming) has used this tool.

Contact: 

Nancy Grulke, ngrulke@fs.fed.usJanelle Cossey

responses to volcanism. The extensive bibliographic database, currently for research 

use only, will provide information on eruption 

impacts and responses. The identified gaps in 

knowledge about volcano-ecology interactions 

are a starting point for developing a research 

strategy that will lead to new insights and 

understanding about volcano ecology. 

Contact: Charlie Crisafulli, 

ccrisafulli@fs.fed.us

Partners: Universidad Austral de Chile, USDA 

Agricultural Research Station, U.S. Geological 

Survey Cascades Volcano Observatory 

Assessment of disturbance agents 

provides foundation for nationally 

integrated restoration program 

Initial map products, for use in national strategic 

planning, were developed for the agency’s Sustainable Landscape Management Board of Directors, to 

be followed by customized regional map products for 

regional Forest Service planning staffs. 

The Terrestrial Condition Assessment is an 

effort to assess terrestrial ecosystem conditions 

through a process that is objective and consistent for all national forests. To support this, a 

station scientist led the design and implementation of a logic model in a spatial decision 

support system that can be used to assess 

effects of disturbance agents and other stressors on terrestrial conditions within the National 

Forest System of the conterminous 48 states. 

Some of the major stressors addressed include 

insect and disease incidence and risk, road 

densities (as they pertain to impacts on habitat 

fragmentation, for example), soil acidification, 

uncharacteristic wildfire, wildland-fire potential, 

and departure of fire regimes and vegetation 

departure from their historical range. 

The Terrestrial Condition Assessment provides foundational information that sets the 

stage for further decision support of strategic 

planning for the integrated resource restoration 

program of the agency. 

Contact: Keith Reynolds, kreynolds@fs.fed.us

Partners: USDA Forest Service National Forest 

System, Remote Sensing Applications Center, 

and Washington Office

Standing dead trees and regeneration 12 years after the 

Biscuit Fire in southern Oregon.

29
A property line may be all that separates an area that has been treated to reduce fuels from an area that has not 

been treated.

Paige Fischer

National forests and communities test 

new approach for wildfire risk mitigation

A new assessment approach that couples biophysical 

and social dimensions of risk can potentially improve 

wildfire protection within the wildland-urban 

interface. 

Scientists developed an assessment approach 

and planning framework to address gaps in 

local planning and broad-scale prioritization 

of federal and state assistance to mitigate 

wildfire risk on federal lands near high-risk 

communities. This work explicitly incorporates 

social-science information pertaining to mitigation potential among private landowners and 

information on risk transmission to identify the 

sources of wildfire exposure to communities. 

The Forest Service’s State and Private Forestry, Washington Office, and Pacific Northwest 

Region have funded pilot studies to apply this 

approach in more than 120 communities in the 

western United States. Results from these pilot 

studies can potentially help funding allocation 

that targets specific communities for risk-reducTool

Fuel and Fire Tools v. 2.0

Description: 

Fuel and Fire Tools (FFT) is a platformindependent software application 

that integrates the Fuel Characteristics 

Classification System (FCCS), Consume, 

Fire Emissions Production Simulator (FEPS), 

Pile Calculator, and Digital Photo Series 

into a single user interface. FFT is used for 

characterizing fuels and estimating fire 

behavior, fuel consumption, emissions 

production, heat release rate, and emissions 

rate during wildland and prescribed fires in 

different fuelbed types using measured fuel 

characteristics. This version adds the ability 

to estimate heat release and emissions rates 

through the inclusion of FEPS.

Use: 

FFT is routinely used by fire and fuels 

planners, prescribed fire practitioners, and air 

quality regulators to characterize fuels and 

estimate fire behavior and effects for use in 

prescribed fire planning, implementation, 

and regulation; ecological and wildfire 

risk assessment; and evaluations of fuel 

treatment effectiveness.

How to get it: 

http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/fera/fft/

Contact: 

Roger Ottmar, rottmar@fs.fed.us 

30
tion activities, and improve community wildfire 

protection planning process as case studies 

are implemented. The outputs from this study 

are being distributed through a new interactive 

geospatial Web portal that allows communities 

to interact with social and biophysical assessment data and strategize potential mitigation 

activities. 

This work contributes a landscape-science 

foundation for an “all lands-all hands” risk management approach consistent with the broad 

goals of the new federal wildland fire cohesive 

strategy. The work also has led to new science to 

analyze and understand wildfire risk transmission between federal, state, and private lands. 

Contact: Alan Ager, aager@fs.fed.us, Jeff Kline, 

jkline@fs.fed.us

Partners: Portland State University, Oregon 

State University, USDA Forest Service 

Washington Office, State and Private Forestry, 

Rocky Mountain Research Station

Learning to coexist with wildfire

The impacts of escalating wildfire in many regions 

necessitate a more sustainable coexistence with 

wildfire. Homeowners and local government can 

take action through risk management and land-use 

planning informed by measures of local and regional 

fire hazard. 

Viewing fire-related problems in the context 

of coupled socioecological systems provides 

insights into achieving a more sustainable 

coexistence with wildfire. Station scientists and 

collaborators summarized research on fireprone ecosystems and fire effects on human 

communities through this lens, identified linkages in these coupled systems, and discussed 

recommendations for greater resilience in three 

fire-prone regions in the Mediterranean basin, 

the western United States, and Australia.

This research can help managers integrate 

current science into land use management and 

policy decisions that have broad implications for 

the future. Regardless of the surrounding ecosystem conditions, all communities can better 

coexist with fire by retrofitting homes against 

ember attack, managing fuels around homes, 

developing household and community plans for 

evacuation, and participating in risk-awareness 

education. For existing high-hazard wildland-interface areas, landowners have primary 

responsibility for pursuing the optimal combinations of adaptation measures, based on their 

local vulnerabilities and wildfire exposure. For 

development of new communities in high-hazard wildland-interface areas, governments will 

need to take a leadership role in planning. All 

these efforts can be guided by better mapping 

the local and regional fire hazard.

Contact: Paul Hessburg, phessburg@fs.fed.us. 

Partners: Australian National University, 

Canberra, Australia; Conservation Biology 

Institute, Corvallis, Oregon; CSIRO, Victoria, 

Australia; RMIT University, Melbourne, 

Australia; University of California Berkeley; 

University of California, Santa Barbara; 

University of Colorado, Boulder; University of 

Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia 

Tool

BlueSky Playground prototype 

for the U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers 

Description: 

This prototype tool was developed to 

meet the specific needs of military bases 

across the southeastern United States that 

do significant prescribed burning. The 

tool allows for a fast assessment of smoke 

impacts under a variety of burn prescription 

conditions, allowing the user to determine 

what prescription window will minimize 

the likelihood of adverse smoke impacts to 

populations or sensitive equipment. 

Use: 

The Army Corps of Engineers is currently 

testing this tool. Changes based on user 

feedback for this prototype have been 

extended to the regularly used BlueSky 

Playground web tool available to land 

managers across the country.

How to get it: 

http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/airfire

Contact:

Sim Larkin, larkin@fs.fed.us

31
Coupled biophysical and social dimensions planning framework 

used to mitigate wildfire risk mitigation in Wallowa-Whitman 

National Forest

Scientists demonstrated a new approach to prioritize planning areas and identify 

tradeoffs with respect to ecological restoration, forest health, fire protection in the wildland-urban interface, and wood production on the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest in 

eastern Oregon. 

The backlog of active restoration needs on national forests in Oregon and 

Washington has stimulated interest in new ways to prioritize projects and 

improve the efficiency of restoration and fuel management programs. The 

Landscape Treatment Designer, a spatial optimization program, can be used at a 

Output from the Landscape Treatment Designer showing planning area priorities for treating 

ecological departure (A) versus wildfire transmission to the urban interface (B) for the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest in northeastern Oregon. The program can quickly prioritize 

planning areas and perform tradeoff analysis between alternative restoration scenarios.

Tool

LiDAR data products for the Rim and King 

fires in California

Description: 

In August 2013, the Rim Fire burned over 257,000 acres in 

Yosemite National Park and the Stanislaus National Forest. 

In September and October 2014, the King Fire burned 

over 96,000 acres on the Eldorado National Forest. Three 

datasets are available for pre- and postfire conditions: 

(1) hyperspectral Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging 

Spectrometer (AVIRIS), (2) MODIS/ASTER Airborne Simulator 

(MASTER), and (3) high resolution (~1m) LiDAR. Coverage 

for the prefire conditions varies but postfire data products 

cover the entire burned area for both fires.

Use: 

In the past 5 years, unusually large fires have become 

more frequent across the western United States. Because 

of their historically rare nature and different behavior from 

other, more typical fires, information regarding drivers 

and their relationship to forest management practices has 

been limited. This project compiled prefire LiDAR data and 

postfire LiDAR data. An organized dataset is useful to ensure 

that any studies of pre- and postfire conditions and their 

relationships to fire behavior and severity are comparable. 

How to get it: 

http://wildfire.jpl.nasa.gov/

Contact: 

Bob McGaughey, bmcgaughey@fs.fed.us

Partners: 

California Institute of Technology Jet Propulsion Laboratory; 

University of California, Irvine; University of Washington; 

USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station; 

Utah State University

32
Seven core principles for restoring 

fire-prone landscapes of the Inland 

Pacific Region

The Nature Conservancy is applying these principles 

to land in central Washington. 

More than a century of forest and fire 

management of Inland Pacific landscapes has 

transformed their successional and disturbance 

dynamics. Current efforts to address these 

impacts yield a small footprint in comparison 

to wildfires and insect outbreaks. Many current 

projects emphasize thinning and fuels reduction 

within individual forest stands while overlooking large-scale habitat connectivity and disturbance-flow issues.

Station scientists and collaborators focused 

on landscape-level prescriptions as foundational to restoration planning and execution. 

They offer seven core principles, which provide 

a solid framework for landscape restoration 

throughout the Inland Pacific. To restore key 

resilience characteristics to current landscapes, 

planning and management are needed at 

ecoregion, local-landscape, successional-patch, 

and tree-neighborhood scales. Restoration that 

works effectively across ownerships and allocations will require active thinking about landscapes as socioecological systems that provide 

services to people within the finite capacities of 

ecosystems. This research can help managers 

Tool

Wildland Fire Emissions 

Information System v. 0.5

Description: The Wildland Fire Emissions 

Information System (WFEIS) is an online 

application that allows users to compute 

wildland fire emissions in any location across 

the continental United States and Alaska for 

the time period 1984-2013. WFEIS uses Fuel 

Characteristic Classification System (FCCS) 

fuelbeds and Consume in its computations. 

This version of WFEIS was updated to use 

Consume v. 4.2.

Use:

WFEIS is used by landscape, carbon, and 

air quality modelers to estimate large-scale 

carbon fluxes to the atmosphere associated 

with wildland fire.

How to get it: 

http://wfeis.mtri.org/

Contact: 

Don McKenzie, donaldmckenzie@fs.fed.us

33

range of scales to prioritize management activities and understand policy tradeoffs associated 

with specific restoration goals. The work quantifies tradeoffs and conflicts associated with 

multifaceted restoration programs on national 

forests. Understanding these tradeoffs as part of 

the collaborative planning process can facilitate the development of optimal restoration 

scenarios to meet the socio-ecological goals of 

accelerated restoration programs.

Scientists used the Landscape Treatment 

Designer to quantify tradeoffs among restoration goals and prioritize planning areas on the 

Wallowa-Whitman National Forest. The demonstration yielded several outcomes: (1) The Wallowa-Whitman National Forest incorporated the 

results into its 5-year program of work; (2) The 

analysis was presented to the local collaborative 

group to illustrate specific tradeoffs in their 

restoration program and explain the rationale 

for prioritizing future restoration projects; (3) 

The forest developed a comprehensive understanding of the variation among and within its 

42 planning areas in need of restoration and the 

potential to address socioeconomic issues. 

Contact: Alan Ager, aager@fs.fed.us 

Partners: USDA Forest Service Pacific 

Northwest Region, Washington Office State 

and Private Forestry
and decisionmakers integrate current science 

into land use management and policy decisions 

that have broad implications for the future.

Contact: Paul Hessburg, phessburg@fs.fed.us 

Partners: Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research 

Institute, The Nature Conservancy, The 

Wilderness Society, University of Montana, 

University of Washington, Washington 

Conservation Science Institute, USDA Forest 

Service Pacific Southwest Research Station 

and Rocky Mountain Research Station

The 2015 Okanogan Complex Fire in eastern Washington was the largest in the state’s history. BlueSky was 

used to project smoke dispersal from that fire.

U.S. Forest Service

Tool

Air Quality Monitoring Reporting 

Web Tool

Description: 

This new Web-based tool makes it simple 

to see the real-time updated conditions 

measured from both permanent and 

temporary air quality monitors across a 

wide array of monitoring networks. The 

tool allows the user to quickly generate a 

report for monitors of concern (e.g., near a 

fire) and easily obtain updates to this report 

throughout the day.

Use: 

This tool is now a standard part of the Air 

Resource Advisor toolkit, used in incident 

support nationwide.

How to get it: 

http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/airfire

Contact: 

Sim Larkin, larkin@fs.fed.us 

34
Fish and Wildlife

A Pacific marten in Lassen National Forest. California. 

Katie Moriarty

What makes habitat a home? Our scientists work to 

answer this question for the many different species of fish and wildlife 

that live, hunt, breed, spawn, or otherwise spend time in national 

forests and waterways. Information about the specific needs and 

interactions among species and their environment helps land managers 

plan treatments with 

minimal impact, 

and where possible, 

enhance the habitat for 

fish and wildlife.

Fish and Wildlife
Increased winter stream flows: effects on 

salmon egg and embryo survival 

Will higher flows scour salmon eggs from their nests 

(redds)? Scientists identified streams within the Tongass National Forest where higher stream flows could 

reduce the suitability of spawning habitat for pink 

and Coho salmon.

Fish and Wildlife

36

 Streams in Tongass National 

Forest were classified based 

on their likely suitability for 

salmon spawning habitat 

with predicted higher stream 

flows. This information can 

be used to focus mitigation 

and restoration efforts.

 Cold-water refuges for fish 

will benefit from management that enhances riparian 

habitat and decreases wildfire intensity under projected 

future climates.

 Radio-tagged barred owls 

yield better understanding 

regarding the degree of similarity in habitat preferences 

between barred owls and 

threatened northern spotted 

owls.

 Expanded habitat models for 

key prey of northern spotted 

owls help Siuslaw National 

Forest plan forest thinning 

projects while ensuring adequate prey near areas with 

known spotted owl pairs.

FISH AND WILDLIFE

Highlights in 2015

Station scientists found that salmon spawn in areas where the energy of high streamflows can dissipate across 

the floodplain like this one in southeast Alaska. This reduces potential for high streamflows to wash the eggs 

downstream. 

Don MacDougall

Warmer winters resulting from climate 

change will lead to higher streamflows in 

southeast Alaska. Some studies suggest that 

the higher flows will result in more salmon 

egg mortality as the eggs are scoured from the 

streambed. However, the geomorphic features 

of a stream largely determine the response of 

the streambed to high flows. Salmon spawn in 

low-gradient, wide-valley portions of the stream 
FISH AND WILDLIFE

2015 SCIENCE ACCOMPLISHMENTS 37

Engineered log jams and rock barbs extending from streambanks were installed to enhance 

instream habitat for Chinook salmon and 

steelhead in the Entiat River watershed, Washington. Scientists found more Chinook salmon 

using pools and the microhabitats created by 

the restoration structures compared to sites 

without restoration structures. Increased water 

depth at restoration structures appears to be 

the mechanism leading to increased Chinook 

abundance. The scientists also found that 

increased abundance of Chinook in pools with 

network where the energy of high flows is dissipated laterally onto the floodplain, reducing the 

potential for scour. 

Scientists classified the suitability of streams 

in every watershed in the Tongass National 

Forest for spawning by pink and Coho salmon 

(Oncorhynchus gorbuscha and O. kisutch). 

They determined potential changes in winter flows that could occur in the future with 

climate change and they modeled the likelihood 

of increased scour of developing eggs and 

embryos. These findings will inform management decisions relative to road restoration, mitigation efforts such as placing instream down 

wood, and other stream restoration activities.

Contact: Gordon Reeves, 

greeves@fs.fed.us

Partner: Oregon State University

Instream habitat restoration benefits 

Chinook salmon and steelhead trout

Study finds positive response by fish to instream 

restoration projects in the Entiat River watershed in 

Washington. These results are being used by restoration planners and by a larger monitoring program 

to help design and implement additional restoration 

structures in this watershed and others throughout 

the Upper Columbia River basin. 

Karl Polivka 

Researchers prepare to conduct fish surveys along the Entiat River, Washington, to assess the effect of instream 

habitat restoration, a practice based on science published by the PNW Research Station decades ago.

restoration structure was a result of increased 

habitat capacity for the fish, rather than the fish 

relocating from the untreated, poorer habitats. 

Steelhead trout were much more variable in 

their use of restored vs. unrestored microhabitats and were inconsistent in their numerical 

response to physical habitat variation.

Contact: Karl Polivka, kpolivka@fs.fed.us

Partners: Cascadia Conservation District, 

Integrated Status and Effectiveness 

Monitoring Program (ISEMP), NOAA-Fisheries, 

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation 
FISH AND WILDLIFE

38 PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

Joel Sartore, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Management can help keep cold-water 

refuges cool in the face of climate 

change and wildfire

How vulnerable are cold-water fish to changes in 

climate and wildfire? Is it possible for management to 

mitigate for either of these potential hazards? 

Along with altering fire regimes, climate 

change has the potential to increase stream 

temperatures in many freshwater systems in 

the western United States. Cold-water fish, such 

as bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus), are not 

physiologically adapted to survive in warm 

environments and may become isolated in cool 

upriver areas, particularly during the summer. 

This isolation coincides with wildfire season, 

making these fish particularly vulnerable to the 

potential for local extirpation events. 

Scientists modeled the potential effect of 

climate change and wildfire on the resilience 

of bull trout populations throughout the 

Wenatchee River watershed, Washington. They 

found that management actions that enhance 

riparian habitat and decrease predicted wildfire 

intensity may keep streams cooler and thus help 

bull trout. This research contributes to the body 

of work that allows managers and scientists to 

integrate current science into land-use management decisions that have broad implications for 

the future. 

Contact: Rebecca Flitcroft, rflitcroft@fs.fed.us

Partners: Earth Systems Institute, 

Environmental Protection Agency, Joint Fire 

Sciences Program, University of Alaska in 

Fairbanks, USDA Forest Service OkanaganWenatchee National Forest 

Understanding the complexity of natural 

stream thermal regimes 

Water temperature is a key element of aquatic habitats. New findings suggest that year-round monitoring of water temperature patterns can add value 

beyond summer-only data. 

Stream temperatures can affect the metabolic 

rates of fish and other organisms, interactions 

between aquatic species, and timing of life history transitions such as egg hatching or migra- Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) are cold-water fish that are particularly vulnerable to warming stream temperatures.
FISH AND WILDLIFE

2015 SCIENCE ACCOMPLISHMENTS 39

tion between habitats. Natural stream thermal 

regimes fluctuate over days and years as well 

as across the stream network. Relatively new 

spatial stream network models, which account 

for the branching nature of stream networks 

and the directionality of flow, can be used to 

harness water temperature monitoring data, 

providing predictions of biologically important 

aspects of stream thermal regimes across entire 

networks and understandings about how human 

actions may affect aquatic thermal regimes. 

Scientists found that no single metric of 

stream temperature was sufficient to predict all 

A station scientist measures water temperature in the Snoqualmie River, Washington. 

biologically relevant aspects of stream thermal 

regimes. They found that insights from models 

of mean temperatures or summer-only data are 

not necessarily sufficient to predict other facets 

of the thermal regime, such as daily fluctuations 

in water temperature when salmonid eggs are 

incubating in gravels. Conclusions based on data 

collected in the summer may differ from those 

based on winter data. 

Contact: Ashley Steel, asteel@fs.fed.us

Partners: NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science 

Center; University of Washington

Colin Sowder

Local stream conditions may protect 

trout populations from effects of timber 

harvest and climate change 

Local habitat variability in northwest streams can 

help shield coastal cutthroat trout from the effects 

of forest harvest and climate change. In some cases, 

increased summer stream flows, a byproduct of 

timber harvests that left fewer trees to store and 

use groundwater, countered the effects of 

climate change. 

Scientists designed a study to better understand habitat changes at the local scale. 

Considering both land use and climate change, 

they modeled local variability for trout habitat 

in Pacific Northwest streams. Their findings 

provide critical insights into the processes 

behind potential changes in species distribution and abundance. This study illustrates the 

importance of integrating local characteristics 

of watersheds into land-management decisions. 

The findings are relevant to resource managers 

developing plans that accommodate climate 

change, habitat needs of trout, and timber 

harvests. 

Contact: Brooke Penaluna, 

bepenaluna@fs.fed.us

Partners: Oregon State University, Trask 

Watershed Study, U.S. Geological Survey 

Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science 

Center
Peter Singleton

The barred owl (above) is contributing to the 

decline of the federally threatened northern 

spotted owl. 

Tool

Global Ranavirus Reporting 

System (GRRS)

Description: 

The Global Ranavirus Reporting System 

(GRRS) is an open-source Web platform 

designed for storing, sharing, and 

visualizing surveillance data on ranavirus. 

It is designed to meet the needs of a wide 

variety of users, including natural resource 

managers and researchers. Ranavirus is an 

emerging infectious disease associated 

with amphibian losses; it also affects fish 

and reptiles. Ranavirus is relatively poorly 

understood, and there is a need to enhance 

communication among researchers and 

managers.

Use: 

Ranavirus scientists in the field or the lab 

will be able to upload datasets in multiple 

formats to the system, where they will be 

stored for easy download and analysis. 

GRRS users are able protect and share their 

uploaded datasets and examine datasets 

in views appropriate to their content (e.g., 

tables, maps, and charts). The GRRS will 

rapidly advance the scientific community’s 

understanding of ranavirus epidemiology 

and help natural resource agencies and 

other organizations respond intelligently to 

new outbreaks. 

How to get it: 

https://mantle.io/grrs

Contact: 

Dede Olson, dedeolson@fs.fed.us 

Barred owl and northern spotted owls 

share some habitat preferences

Competitive interactions with barred owls are contributing to the population decline of the threatened 

northern spotted owl. Prior to the turn of the 20th

century, barred owls were only found east of the 

Mississippi River. They have since expanded their 

range into the forests of western Canada and the 

Pacific Northwest and are now common throughout 

the range of the northern spotted owl. 

Understanding the degree of similarity in 

fine-scale habitat associations for the two species will help land managers identify strategies 

for effective spotted owl conservation despite 

competition from barred owls. Station scientists 

sampled forest structure within home ranges 

of 14 radio-tagged barred owls in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. Three major 

forest types were found within the barred owl 

home ranges: (1) open ponderosa pine,(2) simple-structure Douglas-fir, and (3) complex-structure mixed grand fir. During the breeding 

season (spring and summer), barred owls used 

the complex-structure mixed grand fir more 

than the other forest types, but all three forest 

types were used equally the rest of the year. The 

vegetation conditions used by barred owls were 

similar to those used by spotted owls.

This research can help managers and scientists understand and plan for the effects of 

competitive interactions between barred owls 

and spotted owl populations and will contribute 

information for review of the listing status of 

the northern spotted owl under the Endangered 

Species Act.

Contact: Peter Singleton, psingleton@fs.fed.us

Partners: University of Washington, U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service

40 
FISH AND WILDLIFE

2015 SCIENCE ACCOMPLISHMENTS 41

Where are the flying squirrels 

and woodrats?

Flying squirrels and woodrats are the primary prey of 

the northern spotted owl, a threatened species protected by the Endangered Species Act. An expanded 

model projects their abundance across the Pacific 

Northwest. The Siuslaw National Forest is using 

information from this study to determine where to 

conduct forest thinning to help ensure adequate 

prey near areas with known spotted owl pairs. 

There is limited information for quantifying 

and predicting high-quality habitat for the key 

prey species of the northern spotted owl in 

some regions of the Pacific Northwest. This 

makes it difficult to know how timber harvest 

activities actually affect northern spotted owls 

and their prey. 

To help close this knowledge gap, scientists 

are working on models that can predict prey 

habitat at the stand level to ensure that efforts 

to improve owl habitat over the long term have 

minimal effects on owls during the short term. 

They expanded on a model originally built for 

flying squirrel populations in western Washington to include woodrats, and extended it to 

Oregon. All land managers operating under 

the Northwest Forest Plan in Oregon and 

Washington will be able to use this information to help refine timber harvest prescriptions 

as well as the timing and location of those 

prescriptions to better support spotted owls. 

Contact: Todd Wilson, twilson@fs.fed.us

Partners: Oregon State University; USDA 

Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region, 

Rogue-Siskiyou National Forest, Siuslaw 

National Forest, Umpqua National Forest; 

USDI Bureau of Land Management 

A scientist coaxes a bushy tailed woodrat out of a trap. This field work is informing efforts to develop models 

that predict where quality habitat for key prey of the northern spotted owl is likely to be found.

Dave Roelof, Bureau of Land Management
Woodpeckers are picky about the 

wood hardness of snags excavated for 

nest sites

Only 4 to 14 percent of snags on the landscape can 

be used for nesting by six species of woodpeckers, 

finds a study on the east side of the Cascade Range. 

Current snag management guidelines may not provide enough suitable snags to sustain populations of 

woodpeckers and other cavity excavators. 

Woodpeckers and other excavators are 

widely regarded as ecological keystone species 

for excavating cavities in trees. The cavities 

created by woodpeckers may be used by up to 

25 percent of all forest wildlife. Land managers 

are often tasked with providing snags to meet 

conservation objectives, but many snags are 

never used and several species of woodpecker 

are at risk. 

To learn more, station scientists conducted 

the first study to examine the role of wood 

hardness in limiting nesting opportunities. They 

measured wood hardness in more than 800 

snags in different forest types on the east side 

of the Cascades. They found that all woodpecker 

species in the study were limited by wood 

hardness, even in burns where snag density was 

high. Most snags were too hard to be used for 

nesting during the study period. Lack of suitable 

snags for cavity excavation not only affects 

woodpecker populations; it limits populations of 

Tool

Revised west-side elk-nutrition 

and elk-habitat-use models 

Description: 

The west-side elk-nutrition and habitat-use 

models for western Oregon and Washington 

were reformulated for easier application 

by users in ArcGIS® python script. The 

streamlined models will allow biologists and 

planners to more easily run the models in a 

GIS environment.

Use: 

The elk-nutrition and elk-habitat-use models 

help managers evaluate the nutritional and 

habitat conditions of west-side landscapes 

and predict how likely elk are to use these 

landscapes. The models also project the 

effects of land management activities, like 

road closures and thinning, on elk nutritional 

resources and habitat use. Managers are 

using these models in forest planning and 

management projects.

How to get it: 

http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/research/elk/

westside/index.shtml

Contact: 

Jen Hafer, jhafer@fs.fed.us

other wildlife that also use the cavities. Current 

guidelines may not provide enough snags for 

sustaining populations. These findings may also 

explain the rarity or declines in some snag-dependent wildlife.

Contact: Teresa Lorenz, tlorenz@fs.fed.us

Partners: Okanogan-Wenatchee National 

Forest, University of Idaho, Washington 

Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oak Creek 

Wildlife Area

42

Woodpeckers often use snags—standing dead 

trees—for nesting and to forage for insects. 

Above, a female white-headed woodpecker. 

Teresa Lorenz
FISH AND WILDLIFE

2015 SCIENCE ACCOMPLISHMENTS 43

A marten fitted with a GPS collar to collect information on its movements in Lassen National Forest. 

Forest thinning and fuels treatments 

that simplify forest structure hamper 

marten movements 

The Lassen National Forest incorporates this information about marten movement in fuel treatment 

planning to minimize impact on species. 

U.S. Forest Service

Habitat connectivity at landscape and 

regional scales is essential for gene flow 

among wildlife populations. Large, high-severity wildfires remove and separate habitat, 

as can fuel reduction treatments that simplify 

forest structure by removing downed logs, low 

branches, and small-diameter trees. Pacific 

martens (Martes caurina) live at high elevation 

(5,000 feet) and are associated with forests with 

older characteristics (e.g., trees with cavities). 

Martens are considered an indicator species for 

that ecosystem. It is unknown how martens will 

respond to changes in habitat resulting from 

fuel reduction treatments across large portions 

of the landscape. To gain a better understanding, scientists examined how marten movements 

in Lassen National Forest reflect the animals’ 

perceptions of stand types that represent a gradient in forest complexity. The scientists found 

that forest management that simplified forest 

structure negatively affects connectivity of 

marten habitat and movement. Lassen National 

Forest is using the data on marten movements 

and rest sites in its planning efforts to minimize 

negative effects of fuel treatments on martens. 

The forest is also considering ways to strategically increase structural complexity within 

managed stands at higher elevations.

Contact: Katie Moriarty, 

kmoriarty02@fs.fed.us

Partners: California Department of Fish and 

Wildlife, Oregon State University, USDA Forest 

Service Lassen National Forest
FISH AND WILDLIFE

44 PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

Small mammals and riparian restoration 

efforts in the Blue Mountains, Oregon

A multi-year study is underway to learn what small 

mammals are present in riparian ecosystems in 

the Upper Grande Ronde river system targeted for 

restoration (tree and shrub plantings, adding woody 

debris, installing fencing to exclude cattle and elk). 

Small mammals play important roles for 

healthy riparian systems—they serve as prey 

for hawks, owls, reptiles, and other top-level 

predators. They also disperse seeds, pollen, 

and spores, including fungi needed by many 

trees and shrubs for nutrient and water uptake. 

Species of interest include mice, voles, shrews, 

squirrels, chipmunks, and woodrats. 

This study fills a critical gap in our knowledge 

about how riparian restoration efforts affect 

the broad suite of wildlife species that depend 

on these ecosystems. The information could 

be used in the future to modify restoration 

prescriptions to improve the overall health and 

function of these ecosystems. 

Contact: Todd M. Wilson, twilson@fs.fed.us

Partners: Oregon State University, USDA 

Forest Service Wallowa-Whitman National 

Forest 

Todd Wilson

An employee of Oregon State University (a station partner) records data for a small mammal study at a site 

along Meadow Creek in the Starkey Experimental Forest and Range. 
Inventory and 

Monitoring

Knowing what species are growing, thriving, or in peril in our 

national forests and waterways is essential for informed decisionmaking. 

Station research 

develops new tools and 

methods to efficiently 

and economically 

conduct inventory 

and monitoring that 

is fundamental to 

many of the land 

management activities 

in the region.

Forest Inventory and Analysis in southeast Alaska.

D.R. Irvine

Inventory and Monitoring
Inventory and 

Monitoring

46 

 The Forest Inventory and Analysis program implemented a 

new method for estimating the 

amount of carbon stored in moss 

and lichen in boreal and temperate forests.

 Software updates to FUSION/

LDV—used worldwide for 

processing and modeling LiDAR 

data—include a tool for computing topographic metrics. This is 

useful when looking at factors 

influencing vegetation patterns 

across a landscape, for example, 

or local topographic features 

used by wildlife.

 A tablet-based system for 

collecting field data was developed and tested on 300 Forest 

Inventory and Analysis plots 

throughout the country. Data 

are uploaded daily to a server, 

allowing for near-real-time 

checks to data quality and 

prompt feedback to field crew. 

Highlights in 2015

INVENTORY AND MONITORING

station scientists developed a nondestructive, 

repeatable, and efficient method for gauging 

these functions and evaluating responses to 

ecosystem changes. They used this method 

to estimate biomass, and carbon and nitrogen 

content for nine moss and lichen functional 

groups among eight contrasted habitat types in 

the Pacific Northwest and boreal Alaska. 

Ground-layer cover, volume, standing biomass, 

carbon content, and functional group richness were greater in boreal forest and tundra 

habitats of Alaska compared to moss and lichen 

ground layers in Oregon forests and steppes. 

The tundra of interior Alaska hosts an incredible diversity of moss and lichen species that sequester carbon and 

regulate the water table, among other ecosystem services.

Sarah Jovan

New method for estimating carbon 

storage in moss and lichen layers in 

boreal and temperate forests 

Mat-forming ground layers of mosses and lichens are 

responsible for sequestering one-third of the world’s 

terrestrial carbon. They also regulate water tables, 

cool soils, and inhibit microbial decomposition.

Mat-forming mosses and lichens have important functional roles in the ecosystem. Without 

reliable assessment tools, the potential effects of 

climate and land use changes on these important functions remain unclear. To fill this need, 
INVENTORY AND MONITORING

2015 SCIENCE ACCOMPLISHMENTS 47

Biomass of up to 22,769 kg/ha in upland black 

spruce forests was nearly double other reports, 

likely because this method included viable, 

nonphotosynthetic tissues. Functional group 

richness was greatest in lowland black spruce 

forests. High biomass and functional distinctiveness in Alaska ground layers highlight the 

need for increased attention to boreal and Arctic 

regions, which are projected to be among the 

most affected by climate change.

Contact: Sarah Jovan, sjovan@fs.fed.us

Partners: Oregon State University, USDA Forest 

Service Forest Health Monitoring 

Tool

Tablet-based field data collection 

system for carbon monitoring

Description:

To increase the efficiency of data collection 

and management, station scientists developed 

an iPad®-based field data collection system 

and are testing it on 300 plots distributed 

throughout the United States. The data 

collected on field plots is uploaded (wirelessly) 

to a server and the main plot database is 

updated on a daily basis, allowing for data 

quality checking and feedback to crews on a 

near-real-time basis. 

Use: 

The products developed from this study could 

help to inform and improve the efficiency 

of larger field data collection programs, 

such as Forest Inventory and Analysis, in the 

future. Although there will be challenges to 

implementing this system on a large scale, 

the benefits of managing data “in the cloud” 

(including near-real-time quality assessment) 

could increase the quality and timeliness of 

inventory database delivery in the future. This 

system is currently used only in a research 

setting, but it may provide insights into how 

tablet devices and cloud storage can be used 

to increase the efficiency of both research and 

production inventory applications.

Contact: 

Hans-Erik Andersen, handersen@fs.fed.us

Partners: 

Cirrus North, Inc., University of Washington 

Improving estimations of regional tree 

biomass and carbon 

Developing nationally consistent methods for defining, 

measuring, and calculating biomass components will 

improve the reliability and application of biomass and 

carbon estimation.

Accurate biomass measurements and analyses 

are critical components in quantifying carbon 

stocks and sequestration rates, assessing the 

potential effects due to climate change, locating 

bioenergy processing plants, and mapping and 

planning fuel treatments. To this end, biomass 

equations will remain a key component of future 

carbon measurements and estimation. Researchers reviewed the present scenario of aboveground 

biomass estimation, focusing particularly on 

estimation using tree-level models. They identified 

opportunities to improve the accuracy of biomass 

and carbon estimates. For example, integrating 

taper and other attributes and combining different data sources would improve the accuracy of 

the estimates. Making use of already available 

resources such as wood density and forest inventory databases is one option. Sampling trees across 

the full range of forest conditions is also important. Researchers recommend a focus on collecting 

new data that merges tree taper and biomass 

sampling and includes estimates of belowground 

(root) biomass.

Contact: Andrew Gray, agray01@fs.fed.us

Partners: Oregon State University, University 

of Montana 

47

A field technition sets a transect across a study plot. 

Accurate biomass measurements are essential for 

quantifying carbon stocks, locating bioenergy processing plants, and mapping fuel treatments. 

H.M. Johnson
48 

New indices using lichens are 

developed to monitor changes in 

air pollution and climate for the 

northeastern United States

Even the cleanest areas in the Northeast may have air 

pollution that exceeds the critical threshold to fully 

protect lichen communities.

Lichens have a long history as strong indicators of air quality. They have also been used as 

indicators for forest response to other environmental factors such as climate. Scientists 

developed two lichen-based indices to efficiently 

monitor changes in air pollution and climate in 

forests across the northeastern United States. 

The Pollution Index was correlated with modeled deposition of acidifying sulfur and oxidized 

nitrogen and with lichen community ordination 

pollution axes. The Climate Index was correlated 

with minimum January and annual maximum 

temperatures. The two indices are statistically 

independent. Repeat sample variability for each 

index was 7 to 14.5 percent, supporting detection of consistent trends of 16- to 20-percent 

change over time or variation across space. The 

continuous gradient of Pollution Index values 

suggests that even the cleanest areas in the 

Northeast may have air pollution that exceeds 

levels above the critical threshold to fully protect lichen communities.

Contact: Sarah Jovan, sjovan@fs.fed.us

Partners: Pennsylvania State University, 

University of Wisconsin, USDA Forest Service 

Northern Research Station, USDI National 

Park Service 

48

Tool

Updated user tools for PNW-FIA 

database

Description:

This tool integrates the public Forest 

Inventory and Analysis (FIA) database 

with a simple interface, allowing users to 

begin working with complex FIA data to 

answer meaningful questions about forest 

resources. This updated set of user-friendly 

tools now includes data from Alaska, 

California, Oregon, Washington, and U.S.-

affiliated Pacific Island groups. Additional 

features include re-measurement data 

from FIA plots sampled from 2001–2014, 

an expanded set of summary tables, and 

greater customization for specific users. 

Distribution: 

The annually updated PNW-FIA database 

user tools (PNW-FIADB) are publicly 

available. Existing clients and known users 

receive email alerts when website updates 

are posted. Workshops are available for 

those interested in learning more about the 

database and FIA data in general. 

How to get it: 

http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/rma/fia-topics/

inventory-data/index.php.

Contact: 

Karen Waddell, kwaddell@fs.fed.us

This lichen (Evernia mesomorpha), common in the northeastern United States, is a strong indicator of air 

quality and climate. It is sensitive to pollution and is associated with cooler habitats. 

Jason Hollinger
An example sample areas (2 acres) for each forest-type, fire-severity combination from study in Yosemite National Park. Analysis on the influence of past fire activity on the spatial structure 

of a forest can help guide current forest restoration efforts.

Tool

Update to FUSION/LDV LiDAR 

processing and visualization 

software (version 3.50)

Description:

FUSION/LDV is free software developed by 

station scientists that is used worldwide in 

research, academia, and industry to process 

LiDAR data and then use the data to model 

vegetation structure over large areas. The 

newly released version 3.50 includes a tool to 

compute topographic metrics using bareearth surface models. It computes basic 

metrics describing the terrain shape and 

orientation along with a topographic position 

index that compares local and surrounding 

topography. When computed using large 

window sizes, this index informs analyses of 

landform shape and position and has proven 

useful when looking at factors influencing 

overall vegetation patterns across a landscape 

and assessing variables such as moisturerelated stress or solar input into riparian areas. 

When small window sizes are considered, the 

index helps identify local topographic features 

that influence vegetation patterns or serve as 

resting sites for animals. 

How to get it: 

http://forsys.cfr.washington.edu/fusion/

fusionlatest.html

Contact: 

Bob McGauhey, bmcgauhey@fs.fed.us

Landsat and airborne LiDAR 

data used to assess fire effects 

on forest spatial structure in 

Yosemite National Park

Low-to moderate-severity fires best 

replicated the historical clump-opening 

patterns that were common in forests 

with frequent fire regimes. 

Mosaics of tree clumps and 

openings are characteristic of 

forests dominated by frequent lowand moderate-severity fires. When 

restoring these fire-suppressed 

forests, managers often try to reproduce these structures to increase 

ecosystem resilience. Scientists 

examined unburned and burned 

forest structures for 1,937 two-acre 

sample areas in Yosemite National 

Park. They estimated severity for 

fires from 1984 to 2010 using the 

Landsat-derived relative differenced 

Normalized Burn Ratio (RdNBR) 

and measured openings and canopy 

clumps in five height strata using 

airborne LiDAR data. They found 

three spatial structures—canopy-gap, clump-open, and open—that 

differed in spatial arrangement and 

proportion of canopy and openings. 

As fire severity increased, the total 

area in canopy decreased while the 

number of clumps increased, creating a patchwork of openings and 

multistory tree clumps. 

49
INVENTORY AND MONITORING

50 

These results suggest the following objectives when 

designing forest restoration activities: (1) reduce 

total canopy cover by breaking up large contiguous 

areas into clumps and large trees; (2) create a range 

of opening sizes and shapes, (3) create multistory 

clumps in addition to single-story clumps; (4) retain 

historical densities of large trees; and (5) vary treatments to include canopy-gap, clump-open, and open 

The Decayed Wood Advisor (DecAID)—an online tool used to evaluate the likely effects of proposed manage actions on wildlife that use snags and other decaying wood—has been updated with 2014 field data. 

Janelle Cossey

mosaics across project areas to mimic the range of 

patterns found for each forest type in this study.

Contact: Bob McGaughey, bmcgaughey@fs.fed.us 

Partners: University of Washington; USDA 

Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research 

Station, Utah State University, U.S. Geological 

Survey, Yosemite National Park

50

Tools

Updated DecAID (Decayed 

Wood Advisor) 

Description:

DecAID is a publicly-available online tool 

that can be used by land managers to 

evaluate the effects of forest conditions 

and proposed management activities 

on wildlife species that use snags, down 

wood, or other wood-decay elements. 

DecAID is a statistical summary 

of published research data on 

wildlife and forest inventory data, 

and of professional knowledge on 

fungi, insects, and pathogens. The 

tool was updated to include field 

data through 2014, and additional 

functionality is being added.

Use: 

Users can incorporate this 

information into stand growth and 

harvest simulators, such as the Forest 

Vegetation Simulator (FVS), to predict 

snag and down wood numbers or 

to determine what numbers would 

be provided under management 

scenarios, and relate those outcomes 

to levels of wildlife use.

How to get it: 

http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/nr/wildlife/

decaid/

Contact: 

Sharon Stanton, 

sharonmstanton@fs.fed.us
Connie Harrington

Resource 

Management

 and Landscape Resilience

An Oregon State University student examines a Douglas-fir for needle cast diseases at a study site near Menlo, 

Washington, that is part of Douglas-fir Seed-Source 

Movement Trial.

The Pacific Northwest Research Station

provides big-picture science, often working in partnership with 

national forests. We provide tools and information that can be 

used to assess tradeoffs and 

improve understanding of how 

restoration and management 

activities affect ecosystem 

resilience.
water systems. Several lines of evidence indicate 

that 50-foot minimum variable-width buffers 

effectively retain sensitive salamander species, 

accelerate growth of streamside riparian trees, 

and provide down wood for instream habitat, as 

well as protect other resource conditions and 

processes along headwater streams in western 

Oregon. These findings have bearing on management decisions relative to streamside riparian reserve widths along headwater streams in 

the Oregon Coast Range and western Cascades.

Contact: Dede Olson, dedeolson@fs.fed.us

Partners: Environmental Protection Agency, 

Oregon State University, U.S. Geological 

Survey, USDI Bureau of Land Management 

 Several lines of evidence indicate 

that 50-foot minimum variablewidth buffers along headwater 

streams in western Oregon 

sufficiently mitigate effects to the 

riparian and aquatic environment 

from upland forest thinning. 

 A science-management partnership 

yields information about smoke 

transport during prescribed burns. 

Better understanding of the meteorological conditions near Bend, Oregon, will help fire managers initiate 

prescribed burns on the Deschutes 

National Forest at times when smoke 

is least likely to intrude on the 

nearby city. 

 Logging burned stands after severe 

wildfire resulted in less surface 

fuel 10 to 39 years after the fire, 

compared to unlogged burned 

stands. The amount of the reduction depended on logging methods, 

post-logging fuel treatments, and 

amount and size of wood left onsite 

to support wildlife habitat and other 

management objectives.

 A climate adaptation strategy for 

the conservation and management 

of yellow-cedar was developed 

for Alaska.

Highlights in 2015

Resource

Management

52 

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

The Density Management and Riparian Buffer Study in western Oregon tested the effects of various buffer 

widths on headwater habitat and organisms.

50-foot minimum variable-width buffers 

along headwater streams sustain aquatic 

and riparian resources

How wide does a riparian buffer need to be to 

maintain aquatic and riparian habitat in and along 

forested headwater streams when upland forest 

thinning occurs? This is a controversial topic in the 

Pacific Northwest, where riparian buffers in western 

Oregon and Washington vary tremendously with land 

ownership and stream size. 

Long-term experiments as part of the Density Management and Riparian Buffer Study 

of western Oregon investigate the interaction 

between upland forest thinning and various 

riparian buffer widths, ranging from 20 to 480 

feet, on aquatic and riparian resources in head-
2015 SCIENCE ACCOMPLISHMENTS 53

River conditions are improved with 

a modified dam removal strategy in 

Washington state 

A modified dam-removal strategy used on the 

Hemlock Dam successfully minimized downstream 

sedimentation while restoring migratory steelhead 

access and improving conditions for other aquatic 

life. This study compared with other dam-removal 

strategies and their ecological effects. The findings 

can help watershed managers determine the best 

method of dam removal given specific restoration 

objectives, while establishing benchmarks for 

future comparisons. 

Trout Creek, Washington, 2 years after removal of the Hemlock Dam. 

Shannon Claeson 

Throughout the nation, dams have dramatically altered many rivers and ecosystems. Now 

many of these dams are aging and becoming 

unsafe, have reservoirs that are filled with 

sediment, or are simply no longer needed. Dam 

removal is increasingly considered for river 

restoration. Environmental responses to dam 

removals differ because of differences in the 

type of dam and the hydrologic and geomorphic 

context of the river. The size of a dam and river 

limit the range of feasible dam removal and restoration strategies. Removal of moderate-sized 

dams may significantly affect water quality and 

aquatic habitat, yet mitigation of effects may be 

possible with a modified removal strategy.

The Hemlock Dam on Trout Creek in southwest Washington (26 feet tall, 184 feet wide) 

impeded migration of an important run of 

threatened steelhead. However, standard 

removal operations were anticipated to release 

high volumes of fine sediment, which could 

harm juvenile fish downstream and lead to habitat degradation. Therefore, a modified removal 

strategy was designed to limit channel erosion 

and improve aquatic habitat by excavating 

stored sediment and reconstructing a channel 

in the former reservoir, in addition to removing 

the dam. 

The modified dam-removal strategy successfully minimized downstream sedimentation 

while restoring water temperatures and other 

aquatic conditions. Currently, watershed managers have few dam-removal case studies on which 

to base expected results for river systems and 

even fewer where modified removal strategies 

are required. This study’s comparison of ecological effects with other dam-removal strategies 

may help watershed managers plan future dam 

removals by informing expectations of response 

time of the river system to the new conditions. 

Contact: Shannon Claeson, sclaeson@fs.fed.us

Partners: USDA Forest Service Gifford Pinchot 

National Forest
FLAT also can be used as a monitoring tool to 

evaluate changing conditions and inform adjustments in management strategies and priorities.

The Department of Natural Resources and 

Parks for King County, which encompasses Seattle, used FLAT to collect and map data on the 

county’s parklands. The Green Everett Partnership also used FLAT when developing a 20-year 

forest management plan for the city of Everett, 

Washington.

Contact: Dale Blahna, dblahan@fs.fed.us 

Carbon dynamics in the hyporheic zone 

of a headwater stream 

How do hydrology and biogeochemistry interact to 

control stream respiration and processing of carbon 

in forested headwater streams of the Pacific Northwest? Respiration of terrestrially derived organic 

carbon from the vast network of headwater streams 

could be a significant flux in global carbon budgets. 

Forest Landscape Assessment Tool for 

urban settings

Washington’s King County used this tool to collect 

and map data on 24,700 acres of county lands; 

information was used to develop and implement the 

county’s forest stewardship plan and target restoration efforts of its volunteer program. 

The Forest Landscape Assessment Tool 

(FLAT) is designed for use by municipal, park, 

recreation, and forest land managers and agencies. It is a set of procedures and tools used to 

rapidly determine forest ecological conditions 

and potential threats in urban settings. FLAT 

enables planners and managers to understand 

baseline conditions, determine and prioritize 

restoration needs across a landscape system, 

and conduct ongoing monitoring to achieve 

land management goals. The rapid assessment 

process presents a cost-effective opportunity to 

use ecological data to guide decisionmaking and 

improve environmental outcomes on their lands. 

Tool

Ecosystem Management Decision 

Support (EMDS) System, version 5

Description: 

EMDS is a spatial decision-support framework for 

environmental analysis and planning that brings 

logic processing and multi-criteria decision analysis 

to integrated, multiscale spatial decision support. 

The new version of EMDS has been completely 

re-engineered and optimized, resulting in 10- to 

100-fold improvements in processing speed and 

database handling capacity. 

It has improved interfaces for viewing and 

customizing map products, and producing and 

comparing multiple alternative scenarios that let 

users explore changes to data and models. EMDS 

5.0 lays essential groundwork for integrating 

extremely powerful new tools to the framework 

over the next few years, including support for 

designing and implementing workflows so that 

users can extend the functionality of the system or 

automate complex geoprocessing sequences, and 

introduction of provenance tracking, which will 

provide comprehensive documentation of project 

development as well as support backtracking and 

branching in complex analytical sequences.

Use: 

The Forest Service uses EMDS as the primary 

system to support implementation of the agency’s 

national Terrestrial Condition Assessment. The 

system has been used by universities, natural 

resource agencies, and research organizations 

around the world for environmental analysis and 

planning since 1997. 

How to get it: 

http://emds.mountain-viewgroup.com/

Contact: 

Keith Reynolds, kreynolds@fs.fed.us

Restoration plantings in the Three Forks Natural Area in King County, Washington.

Eli Brownell, King County Parks
2015 SCIENCE ACCOMPLISHMENTS 55

temperate rain forest. Nutrient cycling and 

export of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in 

peatlands and the cumulative impact of these 

cycles across several spatial scales is now better 

understood because of this collaborative terrestrial and aquatic research program. 

These combined studies have established a 

fundamental understanding of the movement 

of carbon from terrestrial to aquatic zones in 

watersheds with significant wetland acreage. 

The information has established values for dissolved carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus export 

from watersheds that can be used to develop 

methods for evaluating watershed conditions by 

forest managers.

Contact: Dave D’Amore, ddamore@fs.fed.us

Partners: Colorado State University, University 

of Alaska Fairbanks, University of Alaska 

Southeast, University of Washington, USDA 

Forest Service Alaska Region 

Nutrient cycling through wetlands in 

southeast Alaska affects stream carbon 

To better understand the role that the region’s 

extensive wetlands play in nutrient cycling, station 

scientists and partners designed and implemented a 

regional watershed evaluation in southeast Alaska. 

The coastal temperate rain forest of southeast 

Alaska can be characterized by the constant 

flow of water between terrestrial and aquatic 

systems. As the water drains from steep slopes 

into wetlands, streams, rivers, and estuaries of 

the Gulf of Alaska, it carries nutrients that influence the productivity of the watershed.

A regional watershed evaluation in southeast 

Alaska revealed that wetlands affect stream 

carbon concentrations. The research team’s 

findings were integrated to create a model for 

the production and export of abundant organic 

material from wetland soils that is closely 

associated with the flux of water in the coastal 

Integrated terrestrial and aquatic research is revealing how water flux drives nutrient movement through 

the temperate rain forest, wetlands, peatlands, and streams of southeast Alaska.

Rick Edwards

Pacific Northwest forests have high rates 

of primary production, absorbing significant 

quantities of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the 

atmosphere. Absorbed CO2 is transformed into 

organic carbon, the bulk of which is respired 

directly back to the atmosphere or stored as 

biomass or in soils. However, as much as 25 percent of the organic carbon may be transported 

to streams. 

A study at H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest 

revealed that hydrologic interactions between 

the stream and the shallow aquifer underneath 

the riparian zone were critical in controlling 

the stream carbon budget. The stream water 

was always supersaturated with CO2 with the 

greatest concentrations in late summer. 

Concentrations of CO2 in the saturated 

streambed sediment reached as much as four 

times that of the CO2-saturated stream water. 

These high CO2 concentrations in the hyporheic 

zone can’t be explained solely by respiration 

of stream-source dissolved organic carbon. 

Rather, organic carbon in riparian soils appears 

to be an additional, critical source of carbon to 

stream ecosystems. Full accounting of carbon 

fluxes is critical for understanding the global 

carbon budget with respect to global change 

impacts. Accurate accounting will be critical 

for market-based approaches to control CO2

emissions.

Contact: Steve Wondzell, swondzell@fs.fed.us

Partner: Oregon State University
Giant yellow-cedar growing in the Olympic National Forest, Washington.

Connie Harrington

Tool

Yellow-cedar website

Description: 

Yellow-cedar can found from northern 

California to the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska. 

It is an ecologically and economically 

important species with special cultural 

value for Native Americans, yet relatively 

little information has been available about 

yellow-cedar. This website features more 

than 1,000 pictures of yellow-cedar. Pictures 

include shots of tree boles, tops of trees, and 

groups or stands of trees as well as specific 

features such burls, bark, or foliage. The site 

includes links to other sources of information 

on the species. 

Outcome: 

The website has been viewed by many 

natural resource professionals and others 

with a general interest in the species. Several 

national forests in Washington and Oregon 

have used it to add the tree to their list of 

species. To minimize vandalism, specific site 

locations are not posted online.

How to get it: 

http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/olympia/silv/

YellowCedar/ycedarCover.html

Contact: 

Connie Harrington, charrington@fs.fed.us

Partner: 

USDI Bureau of Land Management

A climate adaptation strategy for 

conservation and management of 

yellow-cedar in Alaska

A new report assesses past, current, and expected 

future conditions of yellow-cedar in Alaska. The 

report reveals specific areas of yellow-cedar forest 

that are expected to remain healthy in the future 

and gives related options for monitoring 

these populations. 

Yellow-cedar is an extremely valuable tree 

species along the northern Pacific coast but has 

been experiencing widespread mortality over 

the last century. Research by a team of Forest 

Service scientists and colleagues identified the 

cause of tree death as freezing injury to shallow 

fine roots during cold-winter and early-spring 

weather that occurs when snow is not present. 

A summary research paper published several 

years ago outlined a conceptual framework to 

develop a climate adaption strategy for yellow-cedar. This year, station scientists worked 

with a team of Forest Service Alaska Region 

experts to a write a comprehensive report that 

summarizes current knowledge on yellow-cedar, 

assesses its health status throughout Alaska, 

and offers opportunities to adapt conservation 

and management of yellow-cedar in Alaska. 

The report has four sections: a review of 

the silvics, ecology, genetics, and many other 

aspects of yellow-cedar; a summary of the cause 

of forest decline and involvement of climate; 

considerations for conservation and management of yellow-cedar on suitable and unsuitable 

habitats; and new models that predict the health 

status of yellow-cedar forests now and in the 

future. An appendix gives detailed tables and 

maps for yellow-cedar occurrence, ongoing 

forest decline, and future risk to decline for 

34 subregions in Alaska. 

56
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

2015 SCIENCE ACCOMPLISHMENTS 57

Contact: Paul Hennon, phennon@fs.fed.us; 

Dave D’Amore, ddamore@fs.fed.us; Rich Cronn, 

rcronn@fs.fed.us

Partners: Stanford University; USDA Forest 

Service Alaska Region, State and Private 

Forestry 

For more info: Hennon, P.E.; McKenzie, C.; 

D’Amore, D.V., et al. 2016. A climate adaptation 

strategy for conservation and management of 

yellow-cedar in Alaska. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNWGTR-917. Portland, OR: USDA Forest Service, 

Pacific Northwest Research Station. 382 p. 

http://www.treesearch.fs.fed.us/pubs/50115

This publication is set to provide the foundation 

for management of yellow-cedar in Alaska. 

The tradeoffs among carbon storage, wildlife 

habitat, and timber production depend on the 

management scenario that is used. H.J. Andrews 

Experimental Forest, Oregon. 

Timber and habitat tradeoffs associated 

with managing west Cascades forests to 

increase carbon storage

A new analysis describes potential timber and wildlife 

habitat outcomes that could result from national 

forest policies and management intended to store 

carbon. It characterizes joint production possibilities 

for multiple ecosystem services that are likely to 

result from specific management scenarios. 

Policies for increasing carbon storage on fed-

eral lands are being proposed to address climate 

change. Although the effects of forest manage-

ment on carbon dynamics generally are known, 

few studies have examined how carbon dynam-

ics are influenced by different forest manage-

ment regimes within specific ecosystems. 

Scientists analyzed how different manage-

ment regimes would affect carbon storage, 

habitat, and timber production in the Pacific 

Northwest. They found that the tradeoffs among 

these ecosystem services depend on the man-

agement regime. For example, managing Pacific 

Northwest forests to store forest carbon can be 

roughly complementary with the production of 

habitat for the olive-sided flycatcher, northern 

spotted owl, and red tree vole. However, manag-

ing forests to increase carbon storage poten-

tially can be competitive with timber production 

and habitat for pacific marten, pileated wood-

pecker, and western bluebird, depending on the 

disturbance interval and harvest intensity.

▶

Rhonda Mazza

57
Scientists found that forest management 

regimes typical of industrial forest lands 

(e.g., 40- to 80-year rotations with some tree 

retention for wildlife) represent only a small 

fraction of joint production outcomes possible 

in the region. Although some of the production 

possibilities sets developed in this study may 

be unachievable in the current management 

environment, they can be used to define the 

long-term potential of managing forests to 

produce multiple goods and values within and 

across multiple forest ownerships.

Contact: Jeff Kline, jkline@fs.fed.us; Tom 

Spies, tspies@fs.fed.us 

Partners: H.J. Andrews Long-term 

Ecological Research program, NASA, 

Oregon State University

Tools

Within-year prediction of tree 

mortality from bark beetles and 

wood borers 

Description: 

Provides a quick statistical assessment of 

the probability of tree mortality by using 

Aerial Detection Survey data from prior years, 

simulated weather data (PRISM), and elevation, 

slope, and aspect for the state of California.

Use: 

The Pacific Southwest Region and CalFire are 

using this tool to prioritize high-risk stands in 

need of thinning. 

Contact: 

Nancy Grulke, ngrulke@fs.fed.us

Wood borer insect damage. 

Janelle Cossey

Weighing tradeoffs: reducing fire 

hazard, preserving water quality, 

protecting owl habitat 

Scientists work with the Deschutes National Forest 

to apply an ecosystem services framework in a 

management context. 

A science-management collaboration helped 

to identify the ecosystem services provided by 

the Deschutes National Forest and incorporate 

them into the design of management goals and 

restoration activities. Building on this work, a 

station scientist led a team in using optimization 

to weigh the tradeoffs inherent in reducing fire 

hazard in forested areas that also yield drinking 

water for residents in and around Bend, Oregon. 

The team also included the habitat of northern spotted owls as a consideration, allowing 

managers to understand the multifaceted 

effects of reducing fire hazard on water quality 

and owls. This is one of the first examples to 

quantitatively assess tradeoffs among ecosystem services that are important to managers 

when using an ecosystem services framework. 

This collaboration has reaped multiple benefits, 

and the Deschutes National Forest has achieved 

impressive restoration work that could not have 

happened otherwise. 

Contact: Robert Deal, rdeal@fs.fed.us

Partners: Deschutes National Forest, 

University of Washington

58
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

2015 SCIENCE ACCOMPLISHMENTS 59

A thinning treatment in the Deschutes National Forest. The fuel is piled for burning or transporting 

off site. 

Svetlana Schroder, University of Washington

Tools

FP_DECK: Forest Plan Database 

and Exchange of Current 

Knowledge 

Description: 

This Web-based tool electronically archives 

completed forest plans in a searchable 

database.

Use: 

Forest planners and managers will be able to 

examine similar forest-based activities, explore 

specific forest issues, and develop consistent 

templates that incorporate knowledge 

and expertise from several levels. National 

Environmental Policy Act coordinators will be 

able to efficiently evaluate the consistency of 

proposed actions and guide land managers 

through in-depth plan building. The public 

will be able to easily find information about 

specific topics.

How to get it: 

http://fpdeck.taccimo.info/phpv_plan_list.php

Contact: 

Nancy Grulke, ngrulke@fs.fed.us

59
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

60 PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

Station scientists successfully modeled smoke 

intrusion in Bend using a high-resolution smoke 

model. They are now analyzing the data to 

determine how the predominant wind directions 

vary diurnally and seasonally. A better understanding of the conditions that cause smoke 

to drain into Bend will allow for more targeted 

burn windows. Specifically, will smoke from a 

prescribed burn be transported up-drainage 

during the day of the burn, only to reverse flow 

and be transported down-drainage (toward 

Bend) over night and in early morning hours? 

Or is the problem smoldering on the burn unit 

overnight that continues to generate smoke 

close to the ground, which is then transported 

into Bend? Answering these questions will 

inform decisions about when to start and 

stop ignitions. 

Contact: Susan O’Neill, smoneill@fs.fed.us, 

Miriam Rorig, mrorig@fs.fed.us, Sim Larkin, 

larkin@fs.fed.us 

Partners: USFS Region 6; Deschutes 

National Forest; National Weather Service

U.S. Forest Service

Scientists set up a meteorological monitor prior to a prescribed fire in the Deschutes National Forest. The data 

from this and 12 other monitors were used to model smoke movement and intrusion into Bend, Oregon.

Study models smoke intrusion 

during prescribed burn, yields better 

knowledge about smoke transport

This information is crucial for land managers wanting 

to use prescribed burning as a management tool 

while protecting air quality in nearby communities. 

Understanding the meteorological and fuel conditions that cause smoke to move in a certain direction 

will inform decisions about when to start and 

stop ignitions. 

Smoke from prescribed fires in the Deschutes 

National Forest has negatively affected the city 

of Bend, Oregon, nine times over the past 2 

years. These smoke events threaten the ability 

of land managers to use prescribed burning 

as a tool to mitigate hazardous fuels in the 

wildland-urban interface around Bend. Further 

complicating the situation is the narrow window 

that managers have to safely conduct prescribed 

burns. Meteorological and fuel conditions only 

meet burn requirements about 9 days per year. 

The station and Pacific Northwest Region 

partnered the Deschutes National Forest to 

better understand meteorological conditions 

near Bend. This was part of an effort to increase 

the pace and scale of forest restoration while 

protecting air quality in nearby communities. To 

better understand when and how smoke intrusions from prescribed burns occur, scientists 

deployed up to 12 meteorological and smoke 

monitors during fall 2014 and spring 2015 in a 

40-mile north-to-south transect from Sisters to 

Sunriver, Oregon. 
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

2015 SCIENCE ACCOMPLISHMENTS 61

Contact: David W. Peterson, 

davepeterson@fs.fed.us

Partners: Joint Fire Science Program, 

Oregon State University, USDA Forest Service 

Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest 

Scientists assess effectiveness of fuels 

reduction treatments in California

Fuel treatments are used to abate undesirable fire 

behavior and effects. Short-term effectiveness of fuel 

treatments to alter fire behavior and effects is well 

documented; however, long-term effectiveness is not 

well known. 

Scientists evaluated surface fuel load, vegetation cover, and forest structure before and 

after mechanical and fire-only treatments over 

8 years across 11 national forests in California: 

the Inyo, Klamath, Lassen, Modoc, Mendocino, 

Plumas, San Bernardino, Shasta-Trinity, Stanislaus, and Tahoe National Forests and the Lake 

Tahoe Basin Management Unit. Eight years 

after treatment, total surface fuel load neared or 

exceeded pretreatment levels and herbaceous or 

shrub cover exceeded pretreatment levels twothirds of the time. 

Nicole Vaillant

Photo points 1 year (left) and 8 years (right) after prescribed fire on the Modoc National Forest, California. 

Postfire logging reduces future surface 

woody fuels in dry coniferous forests

Reductions in surface fuels were evident 10 to 39 

years after wildfire in stands that were logged. 

Unlogged burned stands had less surface fuel 5 to 7 

years after fire. 

Severe wildfires create pulses of dead trees 

that affect future fuel loads, fire behavior, and 

fire effects as they decay and fall to the ground. 

A regional survey of surface woody fuels in dry 

coniferous forest stands that burned with high 

severity between 1970 and 2007 showed that, 

in unlogged stands, surface woody fuel levels 

were low shortly after wildfire, peaked 10 to 20 

years after wildfire, and then declined gradually 

out to 39 years after wildfire. Stands that were 

logged shortly after wildfire had higher levels 

of surface woody fuels than unlogged stands 

for the first 5 to 7 years after fire, but then had 

lower levels of surface woody fuels from 10 to 

39 years after fire.

This study shows that postfire logging can 

significantly reduce future surface woody fuels 

in forests regenerating following wildfires. The 

amount of fuel reduction depends on the volume 

and sizes of wood removed, logging methods, 

post-logging fuel treatments, and amounts of 

coarse woody debris left onsite to support wildlife habitat, erosion control, and other competing management objectives. This study provides 

a sound scientific basis for forest managers to 

consider fuel management goals along with 

recovery of economic value and wildlife habitat 

concerns when deciding when and where to 

propose postfire logging.

Nicole Vaillant
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

62 PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

Fire-only treatments warranted re-entry at 8 

years to reduce accumulating fuel, understory 

vegetation and small-diameter trees. This would 

maintain and extend the intended effectiveness of fuels reduction treatments. In general, 

mechanical treatments were more effective. 

However, elevated surface fuel loads, canopy 

base height reductions in later years, and lack 

of restoration of fire as an ecological process 

suggest that adding prescribed fire to this treatment would be beneficial.

This information can be used in land management planning. 

Contact: Nicole Vaillant, nvaillant@fs.fed.us

Partners: USDA Forest Service Adaptive 

Management Services Enterprise Team, 

Pacific Southwest Region, Southern Research 

Station; Wildland Fire Management Research 

and Development

New seed zones for bluebunch 

wheatgrass are being field tested

The results will help local, state, and federal land 

managers in the Interior Northwest determine 

sources of bluebunch wheatgrass populations for 

postfire restoration 

Bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria 

spicata) is an ecologically important species. It 

is found throughout the western United States 

and is often used to re-seed burned areas. 

Bluebunch wheatgrass populations differ in 

traits important for adaptation to precipitation 

and temperature. Scientists developed seed 

zones for bluebunch wheatgrass for the Interior 

Northwest. Now, a new transplant experiment 

is underway to investigate the efficacy of these 

seed zones. The study will explore how different populations of bluebunch wheatgrass will 

adapt to changing climate. The results will help 

land managers determine the best sources of 

bluebunch wheatgrass populations for postfire 

restoration for a particular area. This research 

will inform the Native Seed Strategy by enhancing our understanding of methods that yield 

locally-adapted plant materials in an economical 

fashion.

Contact: Holly R. Prendeville, 

hollyrprendeville@fs.fed.us

Partners: USDA Forest Service Rocky 

Mountain Research Station, USDI Bureau of 

Land Management 

Researchers plant bluebunch wheatgrass to test the efficacy of seed transfer zones at a study site in the Bureau 

of Land Management’s Burns District, Oregon. Their findings will help postfire restoration efforts. 

Holly Prendeville
Socioeconomic 

Dimensions

Forest Service research exists because society values 

forests—for many different reasons. At the Pacific Northwest 

Research Station, our challenge is to generate understanding about 

the many different values citizens hold for natural resources. 

With this information, 

decisionmakers and land 

managers can work to 

sustain the quality of life 

that natural resources 

provide.

Resource managers, scientists, and members of several local 

forest collaboratives discuss forest restoration during a field trip 

in the Umatilla National Forest, Oregon.

Susan Charnley

Socioeconomic Dimensions
and interior Alaska can experience air quality 

problems year round owing to motor vehicle 

emissions and smoke from wildfires. Reducing 

the amount of coal burned can help improve 

air quality by reducing emissions from power 

plants, including sulfur and nitrogen compounds, as well as lowering ash levels. Woody 

biomass is plentiful in interior Alaska and can 

easily be cofired with coal using existing technologies. Although several test burns have been 

conducted in the past, cofiring wood and coal 

has not been conducted on an ongoing basis in 

Alaska. This work, led by station scientists, is 

helping to demonstrate the feasibility of using 

low-value waste woods for energy, including 

residues from a wood pellet production facility 

in interior Alaska.

Contact: David Nicholls, dlnicholls@fs.fed.us

Partners: Aurora Power, Superior Pellet Fuels, 

University of Alaska Fairbanks 

A wood-coal cofiring test burn at Aurora Power in Fairbanks, Alaska. 

Dave Nicholls

Socioeconomic

Dimensions

 Alaska-specific Community 

Biomass Handbook is published. 

The companion calculator helps 

users quickly assess wood-energy options so they can make 

informed investment decisions.

 Timber demand projections 

through 2030 for the Tongass 

National Forest are completed. 

The Alaska Region of the 

Forest Service is using these 

to set allowable cut targets for 

the forest.

 Inexpensive method developed that uses moss to 

measure air pollution around 

schools in Portland, Oregon. 

The Oregon Department of 

Environmental Quality used 

these results to guide placement of air quality monitors.

 Research on the capacity of 

forest collaboratives in Oregon and the similarities and 

differences among them sets 

groundwork for understanding their potential to achieve 

goals and which characteristics may be linked to their 

successes. 

Highlights in 2015

64 

SOCIOECONOMIC DIMENSIONS

Wood and coal cofiring tests 

demonstrate feasibility at interior 

Alaska power plant

Plant operations were not adversely affected, and 

cofiring woody biomass resulted in no appreciable 

changes in fuel storage, fuel handling, fuel mixing, 

combustion, or other measures of plant performance. 

These tests included using a wood-coal mix where 

the wood yielded 15 percent of the energy produced.

Burning a wood-coal mix to fuel power 

plants, rather than 100-percent coal, is one way 

to use woody residues and reduce fire risk if 

the woody residues come from fuel-reduction 

activities. This process, known as cofiring, also 

lowers carbon dioxide emissions from power 

plants because renewable energy feedstocks are 

generally regarded as carbon-neutral. 

In Alaska, nearly 600,000 tons of coal are 

burned each year for electricity production, 
SOCIOECONOMIC DIMENSIONS

2015 SCIENCE ACCOMPLISHMENTS 65

Community Biomass Handbook 

Volume 2: Alaska, Where Woody 

Biomass Can Work

This handbook is the first stop for individuals, 

businesses, and communities considering biomass 

heating in Alaska. It is designed to empower Alaska 

communities by helping them determine the best 

choices for their energy needs. 

With little access to natural gas, many rural 

Alaskans depend on fuel oil to meet their heating needs. Alaska is the highest per-capita consumer of petroleum in the country, which makes 

Alaskans particularly vulnerable to high oil 

prices, price spikes, and delivery interruptions. 

Using forest biomass for heating is a proven way 

to meet the thermal energy demands of communities and businesses, while also creating jobs, 

building infrastructure, and retaining wealth 

in rural Alaska communities. It also provides a 

financial means to use the byproducts of forest 

health restoration and wildfire risk reduction 

treatments throughout the state. This has 

national significance. It directly responds to 

goals of reducing reliance on nonrenewable 

fossil fuel, promotes diversification of energy 

portfolios, and addresses the USDA goal of 

advancing installation of commercially viable 

wood-energy systems.

Community Biomass Handbook Volume 2 and 

the companion interactive Wood Energy Financial Calculator, provide Alaska communities 

with the opportunity to quickly assess energy 

options that can help them save time and 

resources and allow them to make investments 

in appropriate technologies. 

The Biomass Thermal Energy Council is now 

hosting the site where the financial calculator 

resides. The U.S. General Services Administration has also used the calculator to assess 

biomass heating options in federal buildings.

Contact: Eini C. Lowell, elowell@fs.fed.us

Partners: Alaska Energy Authority; Bihn 

Systems LLC; University of Alaska Extension; 

University of Minnesota; USDA Forest Service 

Alaska Region, State and Private Forestry 

For more info: http://www.treesearch.fs.fed.

us/pubs/49700. 

Local production of wood pellets 

in southeast Alaska could yield 

environmental and financial benefits 

Findings will benefit the Sealaska Corporation and 

Tlingit-Haida Regional Housing Authority as they 

attempt to develop a regional demand for wood 

pellets, while more efficiently using their pellet 

resources.

Wood pellets are an emerging renewable 

energy source in Alaska, yet currently pellets 

must be imported from Washington. A local 

production facility could greatly facilitate the 

use of pellets, while using resources from 

southeast Alaska. 
SOCIOECONOMIC DIMENSIONS

66 PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

Interweaving science and traditional 

knowledge about shoreline changes in 

southeast Alaska 

The southeast Alaska shoreline supports many fish 

and wildlife used for subsistence by Native Alaskans. 

Oral histories are being gathered from six villages to 

document observed physical changes to this environment and their effect on shoreline resources. 

Southeast Alaska’s coastlines extend nearly 

19,000 miles, exhibiting a diversity of habitats 

from rocky cliffs to estuaries. Many stretches of 

beach are bounded closely by steep mountains, 

which limit settlement and wildlife habitat to 

the strip of coastline. These narrow bands at 

the boundary between land and sea support 

numerous fish and wildlife species and are critically important to the communities living there. 

The shoreline habitat is threatened by oil spills 

and toxic shellfish poisoning and is subject to 

tectonic shift and sea level rise. 

Information about shoreline resources 

adjacent to southeast Alaska Native villages has 

been hard to find. A station scientist is gathering oral histories from Alaska Natives about 

the changes they are seeing. For example, some 

Alaska Natives say storms are more intense and 

beaches are starting to erode. Others says they 

have to go farther and farther out on the beach 

for clams. The scientist is studying sites at six 

Alaska Native villages and working with colleagues to summarize the relationship between 

physical features such as slope, nearshore 

ocean depth, substrate type, and length of open 

water, and biological features such as algae, blue 

mussels, eelgrass (important salmon and mussel 

habitat), and giant kelp. 

Contact: Linda Kruger, lkruger@fs.fed.us

Partners: National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration, Forest Service Region 10, 

Central Council Tlingit and Haida Indian 

Tribes of Alaska, Sitka Conservation Society, 

University of Alaska Juneau

A Tlingit high school student and a station hydrologist conduct a beach survey in Yakutat, Alaska. 

Linda Kruger

Potential pellet producers need information 

on local system operations and project economics, including return on investment. Station 

scientists conducted a case study that examined 

two pellet burners at different scales of operation and different energy needs. They found that 

two Alaska Native organizations in Juneau that 

use wood pellets realized financial and environmental benefits. Favorable economic conditions 

were realized over a range of operating conditions, despite having to import pellets from 

Washington. Locally produced wood pellets 

would likely provide greater energy cost savings 

while creating local jobs. Because the wood 

pellets (a carbon-neutral fuel) were used instead 

of heating oil, additional environmental benefits 

have been realized. Within the past year, a third 

wood pellet burner has been installed in Juneau, 

helping to create infrastructure needed to use 

pellets more effectively. This research is helping 

guide the next generation of wood-energy systems in southeast Alaska. 

Contact: David Nicholls, dlnicholls@fs.fed.us

Partners: Sealaska Corporation, TlingitHaida Regional Housing Authority, USDA 

Forest Service, Alaska Region, State and 

Private Forestry
SOCIOECONOMIC DIMENSIONS

2015 SCIENCE ACCOMPLISHMENTS 67

Oregon forest collaboratives: what 

are the similarities and differences 

among them?

Collaboration is a currently a popular approach to 

resolving conflict around national forest management in Oregon, particularly in regards to forest 

health and wildfire-risk reduction. Are expectations 

about the influence forest collaboratives may have 

on management transferable to other regions? Or 

are group characteristics and processes uniquely 

place-dependent? 

Oregon has at least 24 collaborative groups 

engaged with all 11 national forests in the 

state. As efforts increase to expand policies that 

encourage collaborative activities statewide, 

there is a need to better understand them. Scientists conducted a rapid census assessment of all 

Oregon collaboratives to better understand their 

composition and organizational capacity. For 

example, does the collaborative have a dedicated 

facilitator, active committees, and established 

policies and procedures? The scientists found 

many differences among the groups in terms of 

age, land-ownership focus, and dominant activities. This suggests that the groups’ management 

interests and outcomes are likely to differ across 

the state. However, the assessment found a 

common set of organizational capacities across 

most the groups, indicating that a particular 

“model” of formal governance structure may 

have become the norm. This research is the first 

in a multiphased project to study Oregon’s forest 

collaboratives, rate their efficacy at achieving 

their stated goals, and identify which characteristics may be linked to their successes.

Contact: Lee Cerveny, lcerveny@fs.fed.us

Partners: Oregon State University, 

Sustainable Northwest

Study of Blue Mountains forest 

collaboratives reveals trends in 

participation

Groups participating in multiple collaboratives 

might be candidates for outreach for landscape-scale 

engagement. A significant portion of groups 

involved in litigation or who have filed objections or 

appeals do not participate in collaboratives. 

This study supports efforts by Blue Mountains forest collaboratives and the U.S. Forest 

Service to strengthen public engagement and 

outreach capacity for forest restoration efforts 

designed to address forest health and fire risk 

in dry, fire-prone forests in eastern Oregon and 

southeastern Washington. The scientists used 

social network diagrams to explore the composition of five different collaborative groups. 

This revealed trends in participation related to 

the diversity of groups included the balance of 

different types of groups, and the makeup of 

the “core” group of participants. The scientists 

also examined the groups that filed legal cases 

against Blue Mountains national forests, as well 

as groups that objected to or appealed national 

forest decisions between 2007 and 2014. They 

found that balance among different group 

categories within a collaborative is important. Most organizations focus their efforts on 

smaller geographic regions, such as one or more 

national forest. 

Contact: Lee Cerveny, lcerveny@fs.fed.us

Partner: Portland State University

A field tour of potential collaborative projects in the Willamette National Forest. 

Emily Jane Davis, Oregon State University
the natural landscape. She set up booths at 

more than a dozen farmers’ markets in the 

greater Seattle region, including rural communities, and displayed a large map of King County. 

People put dots on the map to show places they 

favored in their free time for outdoor recreation, 

and such questions as, “Where do you go most 

often? What do you do there? How much time 

do you spend there?” More than 500 people 

participated, yielding thousands of data points 

that can be used to reveal patterns. Capturing 

this information at farmers’ markets was a good 

opportunity to reach a cross-section of people 

Outdoor recreation study maps the 

places people love 

Shoppers at farmers’ markets in King County, Washington, shared information about their favorite places 

for outdoor recreation. This kind of citizen mapping could play a valuable role in helping agencies 

enhance public access and recreation opportunities.

Many Oregon and Washington residents 

report participating in outdoor recreation. 

Through a novel study using citizen mapping 

exercises, a station scientist studied trends in 

recreation and other ways that humans value 

Tools

Human Ecology Mapping Tool

Description: 

The Human Ecology Mapping (HEM) tool 

is a set of protocols and procedures used 

to engage the public around critical forest 

management issues using maps and other 

geospatial applications. HEM enables planners 

and managers to understand public values and 

uses of forest and rangeland landscapes. The 

tool captures public preferences for ecosystem 

services as well as desired future conditions for 

forest management. HEM also can be adapted 

for many types of planning processes, including 

travel management planning, forest plan 

revisions, and sustainable recreation planning, 

among others. 

Use: 

The tool can be used in many settings and in 

a variety of applications including with paper 

maps, electronic tablets and online applications. 

HEM is designed for use by forest planners 

and public affairs staff to bring together a 

diverse array of citizens, partners, stakeholders, 

landowners, and agencies together to provide 

systematic input to a planning process. 

The Olympic National Forest, Mount BakerSnoqualmie National Forest, Deschutes National 

Forest, and Ochoco National Forest have used 

HEM to gather public input. 

How to get it: 

http://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/geog_

occasionalpaper/7/

Contact: 

Lee Cerveny, lcerveny@fs.fed.us 

The Human Ecology Mapping Tool is applied to better understand how people use and value the forest. National forests in Oregon and Washington have used it to gather public input. Above, a child picks huckleberries 

in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. 

Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

68
2015 SCIENCE ACCOMPLISHMENTS 69

whose views might not otherwise be heard 

by federal land management agencies. This 

research could play a valuable role in helping 

these agencies enhance public access and recre-

ation opportunities.

Contact: Lee Cerveny, lcerveny@fs.fed.us

Partner: Oregon State University 

Cultural ecosystem services from forest 

land include sense of place

People living near the Deschutes National Forest 

value it for diverse reasons. Understanding the local 

context may help forest managers manage for these 

cultural ecosystem services. 

Station scientists monitored recreation 

permits and held focus groups with forest staff 

and local stakeholders to find out what people 

consider to be the benefits of living near the 

Deschutes National Forest. The answers differed 

from the ecosystem services categories defined 

by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, a 

report called for by the United Nations that 

assessed the consequences of ecosystem change 

to human well-being. 

The researchers found that some of the 

provisional services (for example, symbolic uses, 

hunting, fishing) had strong cultural meanings. 

Sense of place was hugely important. They also 

captured new categories that were not included 

in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment list 

such as homes for the homeless and boundar-

ies for growth and development. Their results 

suggest that forest managers will be more 

successful if they understand the local context 

for ecosystem services instead of following a 

standardized list. 

Contact: Dale Blahna, dblahna@fs.fed.us

Partner: University of Washington

At a farmers market in Carnation, Washington, 

members of the public identify some of their favorite 

places for outdoor recreation. 

Lee Cerveny
Tongass National Forest Timber 

Demand, Projections for 2015 to 2030

The Forest Service Alaska Regional Office is using 

these latest projections to set annual allowable cut 

targets for the Tongass National Forest. The projections are also informing the environmental impact 

statement under development for amending the 

Tongass Land Management Plan.

Proposed changes in forest policy regarding 

the harvest of timber on the Tongass National 

Forest in southeast Alaska have resulted in a 

need to amend the most recent Tongass Land 

Management Plan. Efforts were set into motion 

by evolving USDA policy that limits old-growth 

harvesting and encourages the harvest of 

younger, second-growth forest. At the request of 

the Forest Service Alaska Region, station scientists developed three potential future scenarios 

affecting Tongass timber demand: (1) response 

to the young-growth transition, (2) expansion 

of bioenergy markets, and (3) recovery of the 

U.S. housing market. Initial demand projections 

suggest that developing markets for dimensional 

lumber and low-quality and utility logs will 

be crucial for the wood products industry in 

southeast Alaska to remain viable following the 

transition to young-growth harvest. The model 

developed by the scientists accounts for all 

material harvested in southeast Alaska by landowner, final product, and destination. This is the 

fifth such economic analysis performed for the 

Tongass National Forest by the station.

Contact: Jean M. Daniels, jdaniels@fs.fed.us

New report analyzes change in 

California’s forest-products industry 

and timber harvest, 2006–2012

Timber harvest declined 18 percent; 83 percent 

of the 2012 harvest came from private lands; and 

more than half of the wood fiber harvested was 

used to generate energy either as heat for steam or 

electricity.

The Forest Inventory and Analysis program 

includes regular production of statewide 

assessments of timber-products outputs. These 

studies trace the flow of a state’s timber harvest 

through the primary wood-products industry 

and provide a description of the structure, condition, and economic impacts of the forest products sector. Historical trends also are discussed. 

This report covers changes in California’s forest-product industry between 2006 and 2012. It 

summarizes the most recent information on California’s timber utilization and the conditions, 

structure, and operations of the state’s primary 

forest-products industry. This research can help 

land managers, policymakers, and the forest-products industry make informed decisions 

that have broad implications for the future. This 

report is the third such study of California’s timber harvest and forest-products industry since 

2000, providing important historical context for 

future policy decisions.

Contact: Glenn Christensen, 

gchristensen@fs.fed.us

Partner: University of Montana 

Tools

Forest Restoration and Utilization 

Calculator v 1.0

Description: 

The calculator estimates the jobs and income 

supported in local communities by restoration 

projects on federal forests in Oregon. The 

calculator has a simple spreadsheet interface 

and requires users to input basic information 

about the forest restoration work performed, 

timber volume generated, and where the 

project took place. 

Use: 

In 2015, the calculator was used to analyze 

forest collaborative projects on the FremontWinema, Malheur, and Rogue-Siskiyou National 

Forests. Output from the calculator was used 

in a report on the outcomes of Oregon’s 2013-

2015 Federal Forest Health Program that was 

funded by the Oregon Legislature. 

How to get it: 

http://ewp.uoregon.edu/calculate 

Contact: 

Eric M. White, ericwhite@fs.fed.us

Partner: 

University of Oregon

70
SOCIOECONOMIC DIMENSIONS

2015 SCIENCE ACCOMPLISHMENTS 71

private lands, while on public lands, forest management increased when private development 

was nearby. 

Forest management on private land tends to decrease as proximity to residential development increases. Above, points on an aerial photo used to examine 

differences in forest attributes.

Contact: Andrew Gray, agray01@fs.fed.us

Partner: Oregon State University

Houses near the forest

Rural residential development in forests of Oregon 

and Washington continues to be a key driver of land 

use change. Proximity and amount of development 

affects forest structure, invasive plant abundance, 

and probability of management of remaining 

forested lands.

With greater housing density and shorter 

distances between housing, there tends to 

be less standing and dead down wood, lower 

abundance of conifer trees, and fewer large 

trees. Invasive plants and forest fragmentation 

increase with greater housing density and 

shorter distances between housing.

Summary: Rural residential development can 

have various effects on the goods and services 

that forests provide to the region. Scientists 

used structure density from photo-interpreted 

points around Forest Inventory and Analysis 

plots to examine differences in forest attributes 

with respect to varying development metrics. 

Their results demonstrate that forest ownership (public vs. private), structure density, and 

proximity of development are critical factors in 

explaining variation in forest attributes. Smallscale fragmentation, standing dead tree volume, 

coarse woody debris, and the propensity for 

introduced species are all affected by development close to the borders of public land. 

Differences in coarse woody debris, smallscale fragmentation, and propensity for introduced species are also affected by the density 

and proximity of development on private 

ownership. The likelihood of forest management 

decreased with proximity to development on 
72 PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

method for sampling air pollutants and mapping 

pollution sources. 

An innovative study by station scientists 

used moss samples to measure the levels of air 

pollution throughout Portland, Oregon. The 

scientists also collected moss from 110 K-12 

schools across the Portland metropolitan area 

to analyze for a variety of air pollutants identified as priorities by the Environmental Protection Agency. One school took the opportunity 

to engage several third- and fifth-grade science 

classes in their study. 

The Oregon Department of Environmental 

Quality (DEQ) has been following the results of 

this intensive sampling. The detailed deposition 

maps, based on the collected data, show the 

An innovative study uses moss 

to measure air toxin levels at 

Portland schools

Air pollution has been linked to major health problems including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and 

adverse birth outcomes. Children can be particularly 

vulnerable to certain airborne toxins like heavy 

metals. 

Mosses and lichens are like sponges, absorbing moisture and nutrients from the air and 

from rain. In doing so, they also pick up contaminants that they store in their tissue, making 

them a living record of pollution levels in the 

nearby environment. Because they are so widespread, they provide a handy and inexpensive 

location and concentration levels of airborne 

toxins across the Portland area. Based on these 

findings, Oregon DEQ placed new permanent air 

quality monitors and several temporary mobile 

monitors in “trouble spots” that were previously 

unknown sources of heavy metals. 

Contact: Geof Donovan, gdonovan@fs.fed.us; 

Sarah Jovan, sjovan@fs.fed.us

Visual access to nature has positive 

psychological effects

Viewing scenes of nature might improve student 

enthusiasm and even boost their grades. 

Scientists explored the experiences and academic performance of 567 students randomly 

assigned to different sections of a composition 

class in the spring semester. Some classes were 

held in a room with a view of the Rocky Mountains, and other sections of the same class were 

held in an interior room with a view of a concrete wall. Students completed a questionnaire 

about their experience of the course, and their 

grades and attendance records were tracked. 

Overall, students with a view of the mountains rated the course higher than students 

with a view of the concrete wall. Although 

attendance rates were no different between 

the two classrooms, students in the room with 

the natural view achieved higher final grades. 

These findings raise interesting possibilities for 

classroom design and challenge the notion that 

students perform best in windowless settings 

with no “distractions.”

Contact: Geoffrey Donovan, gdonovan@fs.fed.us

A station scientist collects moss samples that will be analyzed for the presence of airborne toxins. 

Julie Johnson
2015 SCIENCE ACCOMPLISHMENTS 73

The experimental forests and ranges of 

the U.S. Forest Service were established to 

provide opportunities for research and experimentation to develop new knowledge and 

practices to guide management of the nation’s 

forest resources. The mission has evolved 

beyond a biophysical-sciences focus to more 

fully encompass contemporary perspectives 

of forest ecosystems as complex coupled 

human-natural systems. 

The Pacific Northwest Research Station 

maintains 12 active experimental forests and 

ranges. The H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest in 

western Oregon and Starkey Experimental Forest and Range in eastern Oregon regularly host 

field tours, making them perhaps the most well 

known in the regional network. But each experimental forest, selected as representative of a 

particular ecosystem, attracts researchers from 

near and far. Researchers seek out these special 

settings that foster discovery about natural processes. These are living laboratories to test ideas 

that may become the best management practices of tomorrow. Following are a few highlights 

from some of the experimental forests.

Cascade Head

Just a few miles inland from the Oregon coast, 

a new study at Cascade Head is examining the 

role that small mammal communities play in 

maintaining butterfly habitat. Small mammals 

serve as prey for top-level predators, disperse 

seeds and fungi, dig burrows used by reptiles 

and pollinating insects, and create soil disturbance that could promote the species of violet 

needed by the endangered Oregon silverspot 

butterfly. Considerable efforts and resources 

have been put into restoring habitat for the 

silverspot butterfly over the past 30 years, yet 

populations continue to decline and are nearing 

local extinction. 

Experimental Forests and Ranges

Contact: Todd Wilson, twilson@fs.fed.us

Partners: Oregon State University; Salmon 

Drift Creek Watershed Council; USDA Forest 

Service Siuslaw National Forest; U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service, Nestucca National 

Wildlife Refuge

Peter Pearsall, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

The threatened Oregon silverspot butterfly.

Oregon State University students place small mammal 

traps at a study site in the 

Cascade Head Experimental 

Forest. They are contributing 

to a study that examines the 

role of small mammals in 

maintaining coastal meadow 

habitat that is used by the 

threatened Oregon silverspot butterfly.

Findings from this study will contribute to 

restoration strategies for coastal meadows on Forest 

Service lands as part of a collaborative project 

with local landowners and nonprofit organizations. 

Todd Wilson
74 PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

This 6-year LTER program increases 

the emphasis on human dimensions of 

forest ecosystems. This new emphasis 

is reflected in the breadth of research, 

education and experiential programs. 

 H.J. Andrews hosted more than 160 

researchers from throughout the United 

States and nine other countries; provided 

educational opportunities for more than 

50 K-12 teachers and 570 university students; facilitated meetings for groups from 

agencies, universities, and the local and 

international community; and provided 

tours to more than 1,200 people. 

 The experimental forest continues to lead 

the integration of science and the humanities through the ground-breaking Artists 

in Residence program, this year hosting 

15 writers, scholars, and artists. 

On the horizon

 Efforts are underway to define new 

research experiments at H.J. Andrews 

that explicitly study the relationships of 

public perception and human values to 

the processes of planning, implementing, 

and monitoring resource management 

activities. Such efforts will contribute 

strongly to future policy formulation 

and acceptance.

Contact: Sherri Johnson, sherrijohnson@fs.fed.us

Partners: National Science Foundation, 

Oregon State University, USDA Forest Service 

Willamette National Forest, and many other 

universities and institutions

Researchers use a backpack electroshocker in Lookout Creek in the H.J. Andrews 

Experimental Forest to document the presence and absence of fish species as part of 

a larger study examining factors that influence fish distributions.

Theresa Valentine

Participants in the Strengthening Education and Employment for Diverse 

Students Program (SEEDS), sponsored by the station and Oregon State 

University’s College of Forestry, receive training at H.J. Andrews. 

U.S. Forest Service

H.J. Andrews 

Established in 1948, H.J. Andrews is representative of west-side Cascade forests. It is managed cooperatively by the station, Willamette 

National Forest, and Oregon State University. 

Early research included examining the effects 

of clearcutting with and without burning as well 

as various partial cutting practices on nutrients, 

streamflow, and sediment yield from small 

watersheds. Since then, its scope has broadened 

considerably. Today, H.J. Andrews is a nexus 

of interactions for science, education, arts, and 

management related to forest ecosystems.

Highlights in 2015

 The National Science Foundation renewed 

its support for the Long-Term Ecological Research project at H.J. Andrews. 
2015 SCIENCE ACCOMPLISHMENTS 75

monitor rain, total precipitation, and snow depth 

along with other weather measurements. The 

data will allow for improved hydrologic models 

and forecasts of changes in aquatic habitats as 

the experimental forest’s three glaciers recede 

and the annual discharge and thermal regimes 

change. Local helicopter skiing charter operators will also use snow cover measures to better 

manage their heli-skiing operations within the 

experimental forest, a 

popular destination in 

the area. 

Temperate rain forests 

have very high carbon 

densities compared to 

other forest types. The 

Tongass National Forest 

alone contains about 7 percent of the carbon 

in forests in the United States. Because of the 

importance of forest sequestration on regional 

and global carbon cycles, and the potential 

mobilization of accumulated carbon caused by 

climate change, it is important to understand 

the factors that control forest productivity and 

Héen Latinee Experimental Forest, southeast Alaska.

Rick Edwards

One of two new weather monitoring stations in Héen 

Latinee Experimental Forest. The data will be used 

for research and by the National Weather Service to 

improve weather forecasting.

the spatial distribution of aboveground biomass. 

To address this need, scientists examined how 

hydrology controls distribution of forest biomass in Héen Latinee.

Using ground surveys and a high-resolution 

LiDAR data set generated for the Héen Latinee 

Experimental Forest, scientists modelled the 

influence of nine different physical and topographic variables influencing the distribution of 

aboveground vegetation 

biomass. The significance of both elevation 

and water accumulation 

on biomass distributions 

supports the contention that better models 

of rain, snow, evapotranspiration, and water runoff are critical to 

predicting the effects of a warming climate and 

adapting forest management to this changing 

environment. 

Contact: Rick Edwards, rtedwards@fs.fed.us

Partner: University of Alaska Southeast USDA 

Natural Resource Conservation Service

Héen Latinee

Established in 2009, Héen Latinee is in the 

Tongass National Forest in southeast Alaska. 

It spans glacial to marine environments with 

coastal temperate rain forests in between. The 

site provides opportunities to learn how temperate rain forests function, particularly amid a 

changing climate. 

Researchers constructed two weather monitoring stations at different elevations within the 

Experimental Forest. A third will be installed 

in 2016. This network of weather stations will 

Elevation and hydrology control biomass accumulation in the Héen Latinee Experimental Forest. 

There is little evidence that blowdown of trees 

(windthrow), the primary stand-replacing disturbance in southeast Alaska, influences current 

distribution of biomass and carbon. 
76 PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

Olympic Experimental 

State Forest

Located on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, 

this experimental forest was established in 

2009 through a memorandum of understanding with the Washington Department of 

Natural Resources. The station is collaborating 

with the Washington Department of Natural 

Resources on a variety of studies, including 

status and trends monitoring of riparian and 

aquatic habitats. 

This project provides the groundwork for examining 

alternative riparian management strategies. Findings 

will inform management decisions by the Washington Department of Natural Resources, their stakeholders, and federal land managers. It has bearing 

on rural communities whose economies are tightly 

linked to natural resource commodity production. 

The Washington Department of Natural 

Resources wants to chart the recovery of these 

habitats by applying innovated forest management strategies that are being tested at the 

Olympic Experimental State Forest. The primary 

goal of the station is to establish an aquatic 

and riparian monitoring program suitable for 

cross-site and regional comparisons with other 

experimental forests and ranges and Long-Term 

Ecological Research sites. In its third year, the 

program has been implemented in 54 watersheds. The first focused research study includes 

the assessment of stream temperature regimes 

across the Olympic Experimental State Forest 

and relationships to forest management and 

climatic influences affecting the distribution 

and life histories of Pacific salmon. 

Contact: Alex Foster, afoster@fs.fed.us

Partner: Washington Department of 

Natural Resources 

View from Olympic Experimental State Forest toward the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Washington. 

Teodora Minkova, Washington Dept. of Natural Resources

Field crew collect stream data from the Olympic Experimental State Forest. The study findings will benefit 

management of state and federal lands. 

Jacqueline Winter
2015 SCIENCE ACCOMPLISHMENTS 77

Contrasting conditions of a 160-year-old ponderosa pine stand without treatment (left portion of image) and 

following thinning and fuels mastication treatment (right portion of image).

A gap created in 160-year-old ponderosa pine stand thinned and subsequently masticated and 

broadcast burned. 

Paul Anderson Paul Anderson

Pringle Falls

Located on the dry side of the Cascade Range 

in central Oregon, Pringle Falls lies within the 

Deschutes National Forest. It was established in 

1931. Early research developed a rating system 

for ponderosa pine susceptibility to western 

pine beetle and growth studies involving ponderosa pine—a species valued for its timber. 

Eventually this work may inform policy about 

restoration treatments and their impact on a diverse 

array of ecosystem services, and tradeoffs between 

ecosystem resilience, adaptive capacity, species 

conservation, and economic benefits.

Current studies involve experimental landscape thinning and fuels reduction treatments. 

Landscape applications of thinning and understory fuels reduction treatments are commonly 

advocated for dry forests of the western United 

States. However, the effects of these treatments 

across the spectrum of ecosystem processes 

have not been fully tested.

In the past 5 years, thinning to different densities, followed by combinations of understory 

mastication and broadcast burning treatments, 

have been implemented over 2,400 acres of the 

Lookout Mountain Unit of Pringle Falls.

Contact: Paul D. Anderson, 

pdanderson@fs.fed.us

Partners: Oregon State University; USDA 

Forest Service Deschutes National Forest, 

Pacific Southwest Research Station, Rocky 

Mountain Research Station
78 PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

Hunters check in as part of ongoing, long-term hunting research at Starkey that evaluates how hunters 

use landscapes, as well as how all-terrain vehicles 

and hunters affect the movements of deer and elk. 

Chief Tom Tidwell and former Chiefs Jack Ward 

Thomas and Dale Bosworth toured the Starkey 

Experimental Forest and Range as part the 75th 

anniversary celebration to discuss past and 

current research. 

A member of the research elk herd.

Michael Wisdom U.S. Forest Service

Fuels reduction, ungulate grazing, and 

exotic plants 

Fire and grazing have been shown to facilitate 

the spread and establishment of exotic plant 

species in many grassland and shrubland ecosystems across the world. However, these relationships are not well-documented for forested 

ecosystems, especially dry forests of interior 

western North America, where fuels reduction 

treatments and ungulate grazing are common. 

Exotic plant establishment was short-lived following 

fuels treatments, and was not strongly affected by 

either cattle or elk grazing.

To learn more, researchers conducted a 6-year 

landscape experiment at Starkey. Treatments 

included mechanical fuels reduction and prescribed fire in dry forest understories, versus 

untreated areas, combined with varying densities of cattle and elk grazing versus no grazing. 

They found that the different combinations of 

fuels reduction and ungulate grazing had only 

minor effects on the variety and spread of exotic 

plants. These results point to the need for ecosystem-specific research on disturbance effects 

of fire and other fuels reduction treatments and 

ungulates to understand these individual and 

combined effects on exotic plant dynamics. 

Contact: Michael Wisdom, mwisdom@fs.fed.us; 

Bridgett Naylor, bnaylor@fs.fed.us 

Partners: Oregon State University, San Diego 

Zoo Global Conservation Program

Starkey is the only experimental forest and

range in the Forest Service network. Established in 1940 in the Blue Mountains of eastern 

Oregon, it is well known for research involving 

interactions among elk, cattle, mule deer, and 

rangeland management. Hunting research at 

Starkey has shaped the design of elk hunting 

seasons, while motorized traffic and off-road 

recreation research was used by the Forest Service to develop national roadless and off-highway vehicle policies and travel management 

plans across the country. 

Important research continues. A new group, as 

part of the Mountain Social Ecological Observatory Network, formed in 2015 to investigate 

socioecological patterns and processes in the 

Blue Mountains. Long-term data from Starkey 

can be leveraged by placing them in a regional 

context to explore the interacting effects of 

changes in factors such as climate, vegetation, 

hydrology, grazing intensity, human disturbance, and insects.

The process outlined in this approach provides a template integrating social science and 

ecological research for Forest Service research.

Contact: Mary Rowland, mrowland@fs.fed.us; 

Michael Wisdom, mwisdom@fs.fed.us, 

Partners: Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla 

Indian Reservation; Oregon State University; 

Portland State University; University of Idaho; 

University of Nevada, Reno; USDA Forest 

Service Pacific Northwest Region, WallowaWhitman National Forest

75th Anniversary 

1940~2015

Starkey Experimental Forest and Range
2015 SCIENCE ACCOMPLISHMENTS 79

A station scientist calibrates weather equipment at Meadow Creek, Starkey Experimental Forest and Range, as 

part of long-term climate change and stream temperature modeling for riparian restoration research. 

Michael Wisdom

Immune defense responses of elk

Elk in poor condition invest more in immune 

defense responses than elk in better condition 

All animal species have well-developed systems of immune defense to fight disease. However, these immune defense systems are not well 

understood in relation to different population 

densities and different levels of animal health. 

Wild elk are subjected to a wide variety of diseases 

that can be fatal, affect productivity, and be transmitted to domestic ungulates or even humans. This 

research has direct bearing on wild and domestic 

animal health and the multimillion-dollar economies 

that depend on production of these ungulates.

At the Starkey Experimental Forest and 

Range, researchers experimentally evaluated 

the relationships among immune function, 

animal condition, and densities of elk. Animals 

from a high-density population had lower reproductive output and lower nutritional condition 

and invested more in immune defenses than 

animals from a low-density population with 

higher output and condition. These results 

indicate that higher density populations of elk 

in poorer condition invest more in disease-fighting responses than those at lower density and 

better health. Additional research is needed to 

fully understand how immune-defense systems 

of elk and other ungulates function under a variety of environmental conditions and population 

densities. 

Contact: Brian Dick, bldick@fs.fed.us 

Partner: University of Nevada, Reno

distributions of cattle during summer at Starkey. 

The models showed that cattle selected similar 

conditions, such as gentle slopes and areas near 

water, despite marked differences in seasonal 

and interannual rainfall. These results demonstrate the importance of intensive monitoring 

in riparian areas, which may be increasingly 

vulnerable under more arid conditions.

Contact: Mary Rowland, mrowland@fs.fed.us; 

Michael Wisdom, mwisdom@fs.fed.us 

Partner: Oregon State University Agriculture 

Program

Drought affects cattle habitat selection 

By better understanding how cattle distributions may shift in response to more arid conditions, managers can monitor range conditions 

more efficiently by targeting areas strongly 

preferred by cattle and adjust seasonal grazing 

to balance stakeholder needs with conservation 

of grazing resources. Researchers developed 

resource selection models to predict seasonal 

Land managers with grazing allotments 

can use new models to inform decisions about 

pasture rotation and livestock management to better integrate cattle grazing with other resources. 
SOCIOECONOMIC DIMENSIONS

80 PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

2014 Chief’s Excellence in Science Delivery Award

Keith Reynolds, a research forester, was recognized for his 

exceptional performance in sustained productivity, leadership, 

and science delivery, serving natural resource management in the 

United States with global applications.

2015 Abraham Lincoln Honor Award

The Secretary of Agriculture recognized the Pacific Northwest 

Research Station Engineering staff, Steve Oravetz and Rob Avila, for 

their personal and professional excellence.

Blue Mountains Elk Initiative Long-Term Research Awards: 

These awards were presented by state, federal, private, and tribal 

partners in the Blue Mountains Elk Initiative to Mary Rowland, 

a research wildlife biologist, for long-term research on roads and 

road effects on elk, and for a variety of other wildlife research at the 

Starkey Experimental Forest and Range and replicate sites. Results 

of this work are used across western North America for effective 

elk management. 

Brian Dick, a rangeland management specialist and Starkey Area 

Manager, was honored for implementing long-term research at 

Starkey Experimental Forest and Range, and capably managing the 

facility for research, resulting in management applications for elk 

from over 80 studies. 

Michael Wisdom, a research wildlife biologist, was honored for 

leading and implementing long-term research on elk at Starkey 

Experimental Forest and Range and replicate sites, resulting in a 

wide variety of management applications from over 80 studies. 

Boone and Crockett Club Conservation and Stewardship 

National Award 

The PNW Starkey Ungulate Ecology Team was recognized for its 

exemplary long-term research that has substantially enhanced 

conservation and stewardship of big game and natural resources in 

North America. 

Honors and Awards

◀ Beargrass, Mount Hood National Forest. 

Photo by Georgia Hart. 
81

Elected to Ecological Applications Editorial Board

Research wildlife biologist Bruce Marcot was named to the editorial 

board of the prestigious journal Ecological Applications, a publi-

cation of the Ecological Society of America. He will be serving as 

an editor of papers exploring structured decisionmaking and use 

of Bayesian statistical tools, as well as general wildlife and habitat 

modeling approaches.

Elected to Society of Wood Science and Technology Board 

Research forest products technologist Eini Lowell was elected to 

a two-year term on the Board of Directors for the Society of Wood 

Science and Technology. The society advances the profession of 

wood science around the world and advocates the socially respon-

sible production and use of wood.

President-elect of the Cooper Ornithological Society 

Martin Raphael, a research wildlife biologist, was elected to serve 

a two-year term as president of this renowned society dedicated to 

avian science and conservation.

Rise to the Future Award for Professional Excellence

Bruce Hansen, an ecologist, was recognized by the Forest Service 

For excellence in research liaison and partnerships between the 

PNW Research Station and Pacific Northwest Region for dive safety 

and aquatic-riparian projects, including topics of aquatic organism 

passage through culverts and aquatic invasive species.

Society for Northwestern Vertebrate Biology: Lifetime 

Achievement Award

Kathryn Ronnenberg, an information specialist, was honored for her 

tireless volunteer contributions as copyeditor of the society’s journal, 

Northwestern Naturalist, as newsletter editor, for production of the 

annual meeting programs, and for her graphic design expertise.
PNW 

Research 

Station 

Organization

82

Station Director Robert D. Mangold P.O. Box 3890 Portland, OR 97208-3890 Phone: 503-808-2100 E-mail: rmangold@fs.fed.us

Assistant Station Director 

for Administration Lesley A. Kelly P.O. Box 3890 Portland, OR 97208-3890 Phone: 503-808-2102 E-mail: lakelly@fs.fed.us

Assistant Station Director for Communications and Applications

Cynthia L. Miner P.O. Box 3890 Portland, OR 97208-3890

Phone: 503-808-2135 E-mail: clminer@fs.fed.us

Assistant Station Director for Program Development Katherine L. Smith P.O. Box 3890 Portland, OR 97208-3890 Phone: 503-808-2104 E-mail: klsmith@fs.fed.us

Assistant Station Director for Research Borys Tkacz P.O. Box 3890 Portland, OR 97208-3890 Phone: 503-808-2115 

E-mail: btkacz@fs.fed.us

Programs Ecological Process and Function

Paul D. Anderson Forestry Sciences Laboratory 3200 SW Jefferson Way Corvallis, OR 97331 Phone: 541-758-7786 E-mail: pdanderson@fs.fed.us

Goods, Services, and Values

Simon M. Kihia Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Laboratory 400 N. 34th Street, Suite 201 Seattle, WA 98103 Phone: 206-732-7846

E-mail: smkihia@fs.fed.us

Land and Watershed Management

Susan J. Alexander Forestry Sciences Laboratory 11175 Auke Lake Way Juneau, AK 99801

Phone: 907-586-7801 E-mail: salexander@fs.fed.us

Resource Monitoring and Assessment

Gretchen Nicholas Forestry Sciences Laboratory 620 SW Main St., Suite 400 Portland, OR 97205

Phone: 503-808-2034 E-mail: gnicholas@fs.fed.us

Threat Characterization and Management

Tim Harrington, Acting Forestry Sciences Laboratory 3625 Southwest 93rd Ave. Olympia, WA 98512 Phone: 360-753-7674 E-mail: tharrington@fs.fed.us

Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment Center

Nancy Grulke 3160 NE 3rd St. Prineville, OR 97754 Phone: 541-416-6583

E-mail: ngrulke@fs.fed.us

◀ Olympic National Forest. Photo by Connie Harrington.
Online Supplements

2015 Science Accomplishments of the Pacific Northwest Research Station 

is available online, along with all 2015 publications by Pacific Northwest 

Research Station scientists, at http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/sa/2015/.

Credits

Assistant Director for Communications and Applications—Cynthia L. Miner

Managing Editor—Rhonda Mazza

Writer—Rhonda Mazza

Publishing Director—Frank Vanni

Graphic design—Hugh Luce and Rhonda Mazza

Front cover photograph by Tony Lowndes, with graphic treatment by Frank Vanni

Back cover photograh by Connie Harrington

All uncredited photographs—U.S. Forest Service staff

United States 

Department of 

Agriculture

Forest 

Service

The Forest Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is dedicated to the principle of 

multiple use management of the Nation’s forest resources for sustained yields of wood, water, 

forage, wildlife, and recreation. Through forestry research, cooperation with the States and 

private forest owners, and management of the national forests and national grasslands, it 

strives—as directed by Congress—to provide increasingly greater service to a growing Nation.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and 

activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, sexual 

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If you require this information in alternative format (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.), contact 

the USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (Voice or TDD).

If you require information about this program, activity, or facility in a language other than English, 

contact the agency office responsible for the program or activity, or any USDA office. 

To file a complaint alleging discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 

Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, or call toll free, (866) 632-9992 

(Voice). TDD users can contact USDA through local relay or the Federal relay at (800) 877-

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Complaint Forms AD-3027 or AD-3027s (Spanish) which can be found at: http://www.ascr.usda.

gov/complaint_filing_cust.html or upon request from a local Forest Service office. USDA is an 

equal opportunity provider and employer. 
April 2016

Pacific Northwest Research Station

1220 SW Third Ave., Suite 1400

P.O. Box 3890

Portland, OR 97208-3890

www.fs.fed.us/pnw/