Programs

Klamath Fire Ecology Symposium

2011 Symposium

Orleans District Ranger Nolan Colegrove presents on Six Rivers National Forest's strategies for landscape level fire management

The third Klamath Fire Ecology Symposium brought together a diverse array of fire ecologists, federal, tribal and local fire managers, and rural residents to discuss pathways forward managing fires in one of the most complex fire environments of the Western U.S. Over the course of three days, participants listened to presentations and held lively discussions on recent fire studies and how fire suppression can be modified to produce better benefits to communities and the landscape. The effects of climate change on the fire environment were put into sobering perspective: in the next 100 years a four-fold increase in fires is predicted for the Western Klamath Mountains. The effects of fires on fish and riparian habitats was made clearer through presentations that linked smoke inversions to salmon runs, and fire intensity to various inputs into anadromous streams with both positive and negative effects on the fishery. Lake sediment charcoal analysis studies showed how plant assemblages were driven by historic climate changes and climate's primary agent of change: fire. Federal and local fire managers discussed the need for planning at the district level between Fire Safe Council's, tribes, and the USFS to guide more localized suppression actions during large wildfire events. Finally, presentations comparing the fire management practices of native communities pre-contact to the current fire suppression paradigm highlighted opportunities to combine the best of both practices into future landscape level fire management strategies. Many thanks to all who attended and made this symposium such a success. Special thanks to The Nature Conservancy Fire Learning Network for providing funding to convene this incredible group of people in the heart of the Klamath Mountains!

2011 Presentations

Tuesday, April 26th

• Will Harling, Executive Director, Mid Klamath Watershed Council: Welcomes and Introduction - The Birth of Fire Suppression

• Bill Tripp, Eco-Cultural Restoration Specialist, Karuk Tribe: An Integrated Approach to Adaptive Problem Solving

• Bob McConnell, Tribal Heritage Preservation Officer, Yurok Tribe: Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and Fire (oral presentation)

• Carl Skinner, Geographer, USFS Pacific Southwest Research Station: Climate Change and Fire: What Might We Expect?

• Morgan Varner, Associate Professor at Humboldt State University: Shifting Fuels in Northwestern California Ecosystems

• Dan Gavin, Assistant Professor, Department of Geology at University of Oregon: Climate-Driven Variation in Fire Occurance and Severity Over the Past 2000 Years in the Siskiyou Mountains: Implications for Current Fire Regimes

• Sue Daniels, District FMO, Happy Camp Ranger District, Klamath National Forest: Prescribed Burning on Federal Lands in the Wildland Urban Interface (oral presentation)

Wednesday, April 27th

• Jeff Crawford, PhD Candidate, Geography Department at University of Nevada-Reno: Paleoclimate and Fire History Reconstruction of Culturally Significant Lower Elevation Lake Sites

• Kate Dwire, Research Riparian Ecologist, USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station: Fire and Fuel Reduction Treatments in Riparian Areas: Management in the Context of Climate Change

• Becky Estes, Research Ecologist, USFS Pacific Southwest Research Station: Klamath Mountain Landscape Fire Severity Patterns: Consideration in Riparian Zones After the Smoke Clears

• Frank Lake, Research Ecologist, USFS Pacific Southwest Research Station: Climate and Weather: Fire and Smoke Affects on Water Quality and Fisheries in the Klamath Mountains

• Eric Knapp, Research Ecologist, USFS Pacific Southwest Research Station: Reducing Fuel Continuity and Restoring Forest Complexity with Thinning

• Dan Blessing, Natural Resources Staff Officer, Klamath National Forest: Landscape Level Fire Planning Efforts on the Klamath National Forest

• Nolan Colegrove, Orleans Ranger District, Six Rivers National Forest: Landscape Level Fire Planning Efforts on the Six Rivers National Forest

• Will Harling, Executive Director, Mid Klamath Watershed Council: A Community-Based Approach to Restoring Fire Adapted Ecosystems in the Western Klamath Mountains

• Keynote Speaker, Matthew Hurteau, Visiting Professor, School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Sustainability at Northern Arizona University: Maximization vs. Stablization: Evaluating Carbon Trade-offs in Fire-Prone Forests

Thursday, April 28th

• Yvonne Everett, Professor of Environmental Planning, Department of Environmental Science and Management at Humboldt State University: Fire Safe Councils in the Interface: The Role of Community Participation in Fire Hazard Management

• Rich Fairbanks, The Wilderness Society: Prescribed Fire in Wilderness Areas: A Strategy for Restoring Historic Fire Regimes in the High Country

• Ernie Niemi, Senior Economist, ECONorthwest: The Economics of Large Scale Wildfires: Recommendations for Cost Containment and Large Scale Fire Management

• Timothy Ingalsbee, Executive Director, Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology (FUSEE): Native Forests Need Native Fires

For a complete schedule of the 2011 Klamath Fire Ecology Symposium click here.

2008 Symposium

The Mid Klamath Watershed Council hosted the Klamath Fire Ecology Symposium on April 25-27, 2008. The symposium brought together land managers, scientists, practitioners, landowners, students, and anyone with an interest in understanding fire's role in the Klamath-Siskiyou Mountains.

Panel discussion at the KFES left to right: Jim Agee, UW Professor Emeritus; Mike Beasley, Yosemite NP; Timothy Ingalsbee, FUSEE; Will Harling, MKWC

The symposium focused on several case studies particular to the Klamath-Siskiyou Mountains involving prescribed burning, recent wildfires, wildland fire use, appropriate management response and current research in the area. The eventual goal of this conference is to create a vision for getting fire on the landscape in a way that protects life, property, improves forest health, and enhances resources. The presentations from the symposium are now available in pdf format below.

2008 Presentations

Friday, April 25th

Saturday, April 26th

Sunday, April 27th

For a complete schedule of the 2008 Klamath Fire Ecology Symposium click here.