Category: Fire

Scull Shoals Experimental Forest

by Zoё Hoyle, SRS Science Delivery Group  • 
  The 4,500-acre Scull Shoals Experimental Forest (Scull Shoals) near Athens, Georgia, has served as the site of silvicultural research studies since the 1930s. In 1959, when the experimental forest was officially designated part of the Oconee National Forest, researchers started studies on the role of fire in silviculture, the development of wildlife habitat, and…  More 

How do Wildfires — And Efforts to Abate Them — Affect the Nation’s Water Supplies?

by Stephanie Worley Firley, EFETAC  • 
More than 180 million people across the United States rely on forest watersheds to store, filter, and deliver the water that flows from their taps. Unfortunately, in many parts of the country, these watershed functions face an increasing risk of severe wildfire. Prescribed burning is one treatment that can reduce forest fuels and wildfire’s threats…  More 

Research Communication–and Brevity–Earn Prize for Eastern Threat Center Scientist

by Stephanie Worley Firley  • 
“How good is the research if we can’t communicate it?” says Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center biological scientist Serra Hoagland after taking top honors at Northern Arizona University’s (NAU) 3 Minute Research Presentation Project contest. The inaugural event at NAU, where Hoagland is pursuing a PhD in forest science, challenges graduate students to explain…  More 

The Interaction of Climate Change, Fire, and Forests in the U.S.

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
A special section of the September issue of Forest Ecology and Management, available online now, assesses the interactions among fire, climate change, and forests for five major regions of the United States. The editors of the section—Chelcy Miniat from the U.S. Forest Service, Monique Rocca from Colorado State University, and Robert Mitchell (now deceased) from…  More 

Bringing Fire Back to the Kisatchie Sandstone Hills

by Sarah Farmer, Science Delivery Group  • 
The hillside bogs, sandstone glades, and woodlands of the Kisatchie Sandstone Hills in Louisiana are potential homes to a number of rare and endangered animals such as the red-cockaded woodpecker and the Louisiana pine snake. However, in much of the Kisatchie Hills, the open woodlands these animals need have vanished amid a dense midstory of…  More 

Learning About Climate Change Can be Fun

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
On May 6, students from the Schenck Job Corps Center in Pisgah, North Carolina, traveled up the mountain  from their center to test drive a new climate change exhibit at the Cradle of Forestry, the birthplace of forestry and forest conservation located in the Pisgah National Forest. Designed and installed by the U.S. Forest Service Southern…  More 

Appalachian-Cumberland Highlands: The Next 50 Years

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Delivery Group  • 
Knowing more about how the future might unfold can improve decisions that have long-term consequences. The Southern Forest Futures Project, a multi-agency effort led by the U.S. Forest Service, aims to forecast and interpret changes in southern forests under multiple scenarios over the next several decades. The first of five sub-regional reports to explore these…  More 

Susan Loeb Wins Lifetime Achievement Award

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
In February, U.S. Forest Service research ecologist Susan Loeb received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Southeastern Bat Diversity Network at the organization’s 19th annual meeting held in Nacogdoches, Texas. Loeb was honored for the decades of research on bat ecology and conservation she has conducted as a Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) scientist. Loeb,…  More 

April 3rd Symposium: Natural Disturbances and Historic Range of Variation

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
  Register now: Natural Disturbances and Historic Range of Variation in Central Hardwood Forests Natural disturbances such as fire, wind, and insect pests shape forest structure, composition, and function. Identifying the historic range of variation in natural disturbances offers insight into historic forest conditions and guidance for future management strategies.  Scientists from the U.S. Forest Service…  More 

A New Crew of Young Firefighters

by Jim Copeland, Principal at Schenck Job Corps CCC  • 
As you read this, members of the Davidson River Initial Attack Crew are out fighting a wildfire or helping conduct a prescribed fire to reduce fuel or restore a forest ecosystem. The team of young men from across the United States recently completed their training under a unique advanced fire management program provided by the U.S.…  More