In a nutshell: Dr. Connor Crouch presents on three threats facing quaking aspen in the Southwest – climate, pests and disease, and livestock browse – and three management objectives and strategies that can be implemented to improve aspen resilience and adaptive capacity, leaving attendees with actionable suggestions for resource management. Recorded on: Wednesday, January 22, …
The expansion of the grass-fire cycle in the deserts of North America is driving ecosystem level transformation from patchy desert scrub to invasive grassland. A novel fire regime in the Sonoran Desert is forcing a new approach to land management. Unprecedented large-scale fires in recent years, especially in 2005 and 2020, have been driven by …
EPISODE SUMMARY Welcome to episode four of our Fire in the Southwest Series, supported by the Southwest Fire Science Consortium as well as the Arizona Wildfire Initiative! Today’s guest, Zander Evans, is the executive director of the Forest Stewards Guild, which has a mission of promoting ecologically-, economically-, and socially-responsible forestry as a means of sustaining the integrity of …
EPISODE SUMMARY Welcome to the first part of our six-episode series all about the Southwest, sponsored by the Southwest Fire Science Consortium and the Arizona Wildfire Initiative! In our introductory episode for the series, we spoke with Mary Stuever, who is the Cimarron District Forester for New Mexico State Forestry. Mary has a breadth of …
An overview of a changing landscape. The expansion of the grass-fire cycle in the deserts of North America is driving ecosystem level transformation from patchy desertscrub to invasive grassland. A novel fire regime in the Sonoran Desert is forcing a new approach to land management, where there are currently more questions than answers. What is …
Join us on May 28th and 29th for a free teach-in event at the Ft. Defiance Chapter House aimed at expanding perspectives on forests and climate change! Our goal is to foster dialogue on forest health, reconnection, and explore solutions to environmental challenges. Priority topics will include climate change, fire ecology, cultural revitalization, plant conservation, …
This field trip will delve into the critical issues of wildfire risk and invasive species management in the Sonoran Desert near Phoenix, AZ. We will hear from public, state, and private land managers who have been conducting wildfire operations, prescribed burns, thinning, and invasive plant removal to protect the Sonoran Desert. Field Trip Objectives: Who …
The Hermit’s Peak Calf Canyon Fire was a devastating event for New Mexico. Many communities were affected, and while this fire was unique, it will not be for long. Climate change and the effects of a century of fire exclusion mean that fires like this one are increasingly likely. We must understand what happened in …
IN A NUTSHELL: In the second webinar in a series on invasive grass-driven changes in dry desert systems, presenters will discuss their findings on the fire dynamics of the 2020 Bighorn Fire in the Sonoran Desert near Tucson, AZ to better understand the changing nature of fire in desert systems which are increasingly experiencing conversion …
Read more “Grassification and Fast-Evolving Fire Connectivity and Risk in the Sonoran Desert”