Over the past two years, the Partnership has worked to develop and deliver science-based information and tools to land managers while making lasting impacts in the collaborative national fire science arena.
Examples of current projects:
Science on Actively Burning Fires By producing datasets to compare fire models, scientists can improve models and produce better information for managers and decisionmakers. Read about active fire research conducted in Florida by scientists from UM and RMRS.
Fire Remote Sensing Partners continue to investigate multi-stage (close range, contact, and remote) sensors to quantify fire energy and close the energy budget on free-burning wildland fire. Partners will deploy laser altimetry for pre- and post-burn (fuel consumption) investigation as well as thermal infrared imagery to obtain plot-scale fire behavior measurements.
Examples of current projects:
Fire Monitoring Stations The Partnership continues to establish a cache of monitoring stations to be rapidly deployed to fires in Idaho and Montana and used in conjunction with infrared imagery for fire behavior measurements.
Post-Fire Assessment of Fuel Treatment Effectiveness Research conducted by the University of Idaho shows evidence that forest thinning followed by activity fuels treatment effectively reduced the severity of fire effects on vegetation and soils during 2007 wildfires. This research is being continued in projects at the University of Idaho's McCall Field Campus.
Examples of current projects:
Northern Rockies Fire Science Network Partners are involved with this JFSP-funded knowledge exchange consortium to enhance communication between managers and scientists about fire management issues and research products. Visit the NRFSN web site for more information.
Internet 2 Partners are conducting pilot demonstrations of the Northern Tier Internet 2 for large dataset management, supercomputing, and infrastructure.
Fire Progression Database Partners are prototyping a fire progression database to help fire researchers establish relationships between historic weather and fire growth, which will help them to make predictions about fire potential as the climate changes.
Spatial Search Component of the Fire Effects Information System (FEIS) The NCLFA is working with RMRS to enhance the FEIS database of literature on fire's effects on all living things by adding search capabilities. The new user interface will provide search options such as geographic and subject-matter keywords and an option to find literature review and synthesis documents about species by selecting an area on an interactive map. These improvements will help fire managers more easily incorporate fire effects data into planning and decision-making documents.
Examples of current projects:
Advanced Education in Fire Through a variety of experiential learning initiatives, the Partners are bringing science and technology into the classroom and are using prescribed burning to train students how to effectively manage fires and how to integrate remote sensing and practical measurement tools on prescribed burns
Establishes a diverse University-agency team to work on relevant fire management issues
Creates and delivers science and technology consistent with national priorities
Integrates multiple programs of work to give fire managers new approaches and advanced tools to make effective decisions before, during, and after a fire
Facilitates individual and collective work with many stakeholders (the public, state and federal agencies, and private and non-governmental organizations) at a variety of scales of complexity
Expands online access to current science, data, and applications