Description
The U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) manages an active Fire Management program. Many public benefits originate from fire management activities. A sample of public benefits provided by active fire management includes: 1) preparedness and prevention programs designed to reduce wildfire risk and improve suppression response time; 2) active hazardous fuels management programs produce fuel-breaks that limit the progression; and therefore the extent, of subsequent wildfire, reduce likelihood of wildfire occurrence, reduce and prevent large and damaging wildfires, in the event of wildfire occurrence, reduced fuel loads temper burn severity, and increase defensible space (providing an area where firefighters can safely anchor suppression activities, and diminish the likelihood of injuries and loss of life to public and firefighters; 3) prevent damage to cultural and natural resources through prevention and suppression of wildfires; 4) reduce risk to communities and improvements, improved public health and well-being, with reduced injuries, fatalities, hospitalizations, and/or evacuations, air and water quality improvement, and watershed protection; 5) management ignited prescribed fire limits the occurrence of subsequent wildfires (may act as a fuel break to limit progression and therefore the extent of subsequent wildfires, and reduced fuel loading tempers burn severity; 6) provides benefits to natural ecological resources, create a diverse mixture of habitats upon which many species depend, many trust species (e.g., black-capped vireo, Ozark big-eared bat, and red-cockaded woodpeckers) and umbrella species (e.g., northern bobwhite, grassland birds, painted bunting, and red-headed woodpecker) depend on fire to maintain habitat requirements, encourage new growth of native vegetation and maintain the many plant and animal species whose habitats depend on periodic fire, improve grazing by increasing availability, palatability, quality, and quantity of grasses and forbs, provide insect and disease control, carbon sequestration; 7) ecological benefits are more difficult to quantify than the monetary value of property threatened; and 8) nonmarket goods and services often are difficult to quantify and monetize including improve recreation and aesthetic values by increasing occurrence and visibility of flowering annuals and biennials, and maintaining open spaces for vistas. Fire management requires the best climate, weather, and historic and current fire regime information available. Dendrochronology is one of the sciences that provide this information. This funding opportunity is designed to evaluate dendrochronology opportunities on select refuges in the Service, Region 2, set dendrochronology priorities between these refuges, and complete dendro-based historic fire regime analysis on three refuges. This study will provide vital science-based information to the Fire Management Program allowing better informed adaptive management decision processes. Further, results of this project will be made available to a wide audience (e.g., peer reviewed publication(s) and Oak Woodlands and Forests Fire Consortium) and the university and partners will gain expertise and professional development (e.g., a graduate student is proposed) through participation in this project.