Salmon RiverRestoration CouncilSpring 2009Salmon River Wildfire Restoration, Recovery and Community Response2Spring is in full bloom in the Salmon River and the grass-es are very tall this year and just about to seed. As we go into our third year of below average rain and snowfall, we should remember the lessons learned in the recent wildland fire years of 2008, 2007, 2006, and 2002 on the Salmon River. Dry years and droughts often coincide with more frequent and in-tense wildland fire incidents. We at the SRRC, have been very busy working with our partners to improve our understanding of these re-cent wildland fires, and fire behavior in general, on the Salmon River, so that we can improve our response and pre-paredness in future fires on the landscape and in our yards. We do know that over time these wildland fires have been one of the key features that have influenced and shaped the Salmon River forest and rivers systems, including the local people living, working and playing here.This edition of our Newsletter is focusing on some of the details associated with the recent wildland fires, as well as providing some insight on the relationship between fire, fish, flora and fauna. Many of our restoration activities either affect fire behavior and its impacts to the fisheries/watershed and its residents; improve the ability to manage wildland fires more safely and smartly; and have been increasingly effective at reducing fire management im-pacts throughout the Salmon River.We are excited to be creating a new Community Liaison Program (CLP) in response to the 2008 fire seasons. The Salmon River Fire Safe Council (including community members, SR Volunteer Fire & Rescue, SRRC, CAL FIRE and the USFS) has been working on developing this liaison team of community fire specialists who can work directly with incident manage-ment teams (IMT’s) during wildfire events. The purpose of the CLP is to provide accurate local information to the IMT’s and to the community. Liaisons will attend in-briefings (which occur when new IMT’s come onto a fire). Klamath National Forest will make a formal recom-mendation to new IMT’s that they work with the local liaison team. The hope is that this team will make the two week transitions between IMT’s much smoother and provide the community with up to date fire news. The liaison team will increase the overall effectiveness of fire suppression activities. The CLP program goals are to: - Improve coordination with Incident Management Teams during fires and other emergencies; - Better include local knowledge in fire management; - Improve response by managers to local needs during fires and other emergen-cies; - Increase preparedness and coordination for fires in the neighborhoods and towns throughout the Salmon River. For folks who are interested in becoming involved in this process, Salmon River Fire Safe Councils are held on the last Wednesday of each month. See the calendar for meeting times and locations. You can help by reducing the threat of fire at your place and participating or supporting the CLP and Fire Safe Councils. Greetings from the Salmon RiverThis year is set up to be another active fire year on the Salmon River, so it is best to finish getting rid of the burnables (piles of leaves, overhanging limbs, dead grass and brush) on and/or around your structures and on your emergency escape routes and be best prepared for fires. We look forward to continuing to carry out our mission to restore the Salmon River water-shed, with the participation of local community and stakeholders, focusing on anadromous fisheries and the development of a sustainable economy. This has often lead to our filling in the management gaps that open up on both private, public, and tribal properties across the landscape. To do this we need your continued support and help as SRRC members, volunteers, staff, landowners and residents, cooperators and funders to improve our part-nerships, knowledge base and ability to take actions that improve the health of the Salmon River and its communities. If you would like to participate in any of our activities and events or make a contribution in any way, please contact us at the Watershed Center. Also if you would like to know more about what we’re up to, check out our website.Thank you for your time, interest and continuing support for the SRRC and the Salmon River. Petey Brucker – SRRC Community Restoration Program - Coordinator photos from the SRRC archives- SRRC Noxious Weeds surveying fire affects on Italian Thistle, right, after the 2008 Ukonom South backfires burned this area. Fire made it eas-ier to find and treat Italian Thistle, but it also made it more likely to spread in the wind.The SRRC took advantage of the fire burning the brush and reduced over 90% of existing plants on this steep mountain-ous site near the river. More than 200,000 plants were re-moved between January-May this year. GO TEAM. 4A Fire Adapted EcosystemThe Salmon River is part of the coniferous and mixed evergreen forests of the Klamath-Siskiyou region, which are widely recognized for their globally outstanding levels of biodi-versity. The watershed lies at an important biological corridor connecting the interior Ba-sin and Range biomes with the Pacific Coast. It is a land of biodiversity superlatives and boasts one of the greatest coniferous tree diversities in the world - a convergence of trees found in both Alaska and Mexico.In its natural state, the Salmon River wa-tershed is a fire-adapted landscape that has evolved with a relatively frequent recurrence of non-catastrophic wildfires. The average return interval for fires in this ecosystem is 10-25 years. The Salmon River’s diverse eco-system types - mixed hardwood/coniferous forests, coniferous forests, oak woodlands, grasslands, and riparian plant communities – have evolved with fire as a natural process. With naturally balanced fire and the resulting fuel consumption, wildfires typically did not devastate large areas of the watershed with high intensity burns, but instead travelled slowly, lower to the ground, and did not damage large areas of soil or consume vast stands of forest. Many components of the ecosystem require fire to maintain their natural balance and species composition. North Fork Salmon River photo by Scott HardingThe watershed’s mild Mediterranean climate, characterized by warm, dry summers and cool, wet winters, is one of the primary factors affecting its fire regime. In addition, generally steep topography, and continuous areas of flammable vegetation, naturally create condi-tions that allow fires to spread across large areas.How it StartsThe primary causes of fire in this region, both historically and in the present, are lightning and human ignition. Naturally-occur-ring wildfires are ignited by light-ning strikes during infrequent but powerful summer thunderstorms. Noted fire ecologist Jim Agee reports that the Siskiyou Moun-tains exhibit the highest pattern of lightning occurrence in the Pacific Northwest, with as many as twice the number of lightning ignitions as either the Cascades or Olympics. Salmon River Fire Ecology and HistoryLightening strike in the Caribous5Human-caused ignitions are also an important factor in the fire history of the Salmon River. The native tribes of the area used fire as a tool to manage the landscape in order to maintain oak stands, aid in the collection of mushrooms and acorns, clear travel ways, and improve habitat for favored plants and game animals. With Euro-american settlement, burning by Native Americans decreased dramatically. Unlike the more localized and controlled burning done by native tribes, the typical intent of burning by white settlers was to burn off as much vegetation as possible.Traditional aboriginal burning, uncontrolled European settler burning practices, and a severe fire year in 1910, precipitated the passage of the Weeks Act in 1911. With this Act, congress initiated the policy of systematically and efficiently suppressing forest fires. Fire Out of BalanceThe balance of natural, fuel-reducing fire occurrence was changed with the advent of large-scale fire suppression in the early 1900’s. As an unintended result of preventing nearly all natural fires, fuel loads increased throughout the watershed. Ultimately, any fire not sup-pressed would grow many times its natural potential size as it consumed this additional fuel load. In essence, fire suppression demanded further suppression in order to prevent confla-grations. Logging, road-building and other activities also significantly increased fuel loads. Complete suppression is, of course, not possible and the Salmon River watershed began experiencing a series of large, catastrophic wildfires beginning in the second half of the 20th century. It is estimated that more than 70% of the watershed has burned since 1911, with more than half of that having burned since 1977. A struggle is now in process to bring fire adapted ecosystems back into balance. As evi-dence of the true consequences of long term fire suppression builds, the policy of rabidly suppressing all fire is gradually giving way to a more measured approach. An array of tactics such as fuels reduction, controlled burning, and wildland fire use, are now being employed to gradually reintroduce fire to our long suffering forests. The SRRC is a participant in and advocate for the use of these techniques to return fire to its natural place in the Salmon River. The wildfires of 2008, which burned approximately 80,000 acres in the Salmon River, were another in a series of large, high impact burns which the watershed has endured in the past several decades. With each incident we learn more about how to live with, use and control fire in ways that keep both our human and natural communities safe and healthy. Lyra CresseySmoke during the 2008 wildfire on the Salmon River, photo by Jeff Buchin6Linking Wildfire Effects to Fisheries and Watershed HealthFish species of the Klamath-Siskiyou bioregion have co-existed with wildfires, and other nat-ural disturbances for millennia. Anadromous fish- salmon, steelhead, sturgeon, and lamprey eels have adapted to natural disturbances and have evolved various life history traits which facilitate their survival. These fish species are regionally important to tribes for ceremonial and subsistence use and local community members. Management impacts which may exac-erbate the severity and extent of wildfires, such as past logging, roads, and fire suppression and exclusion, in addition contemporary fire management/suppression activities can have detrimental effects to watershed conditions important to fish. Wildfires may also have short- and long-term beneficial effects which could be better understood. The direct and indirect effects of wildfire on fish are complex and occur across ecological scales. Spatially and temporally, wildfires are a key ecological process in the Klamath-Sis-kiyou Mountains influencing bio-geochemical cycles, hydrology, and different scales of biodi-versity. The increase in the extent and severity of recent wildfires in mid-lower Salmon River drainages (e.g. Wooley 2005, Somes, Uncles and Hancock 2006, Ukonom Complex 2008) are thought to be caused by climate as well as past land management activities. What may be the beneficial effects of these or past wildfires on fish?Indirectly, during and after, wildfires can help recruit large woody debris, soil, and nutrients from up-slope locations to stream and river networks, thus providing essential components of in-stream habitat. Additionally, wildfires can reduce vegetation density and cover, reduc-ing evapo-transpiration demands at the sub-watershed scale, temporarily increasing surface water flow at springs and streams contributing to thermal and flow refugia. Lastly, the production of smoke from burning fuels can reduce regional to localized solar radiation, causing cooling of air temperature, increasing relative humidity and lowering subsequent water temperature. These last effects can be critically important, during “severe” wildfire or drought years which are often hotter and drier, to fish survival that are struggling with lower in-stream flows, higher water temperatures, and availability of suitable thermal (cooler) refugia, physiologically stressed, and susceptible to parasites or diseases. Increase in indi-vidual fish survival, increases species resiliency and population fitness, thus benefiting the diversity of stocks, runs, and diversity of fisheries. Due to different life history adaptations, some fish are differentially affected, positively or negatively by short- and long-term effects of climate/weather and wildfires. Those spe-cies which are present in freshwater streams or rivers at some life history phase during wildfire season are more likely to be short-term (seasonal to present year) influenced by wildfires, with the same and other species affected over the long-term (post-year to de-cades). In the Salmon River basin monitoring and research is being conducted by SRRC, MKWC, USFS, and Karuk Tribe to integrate multiple lines of evidence from various physical, biological, and chemical data sources incorporating diverse methods to examine short- and long-term, as well as direct and indirect affects on anadromous fish and aquatic habitat conditions. Phase I incorporate NASA-MODIS satellite imagery (area of smoke plume) for specific dates of wildfire events and will be compared to RAWS (air temperature, humid-ity, wind direction) from USFS and MesoWest stations and corresponding stream tempera-ture data (SRRC, USFS, Karuk Tribe). Currently, Phase I research results provide adequate evidence for the correlation of smoke decreasing water temperature that influenced more widely distributed Spring Chinook and Summer Steelhead in the Scott, Klamath and Salmon River Systems during the 2008 wildfires. Planned is Phase II of research which should provide a broader spatial and temporal understanding and context for direct and indirect linkages of wildfires to seasonal fish populations and fresh water conditions. Also planned is, Phase III research which should provide new and additional knowledge expanding upon models or theories of short- and long-term effects of wildfires on anadromous fish and aquatic systems of the Klamath-Siskiyou bioregion. Monitoring and research is on-going. Dr. Frank Lake USFS-PSW. (franklake@fs.fed.us) 7are actively working on fuels reduction projects within private property in our watershed. There are currently 95 acres under two contracts from California Fire Safe Council and Cali-fornia Fish & Wildlife Service. This project will coincide with the Forest Service’s much larger effort to reduce fuels and protect old growth forest habitat in the Eddy Late Successional Reserve Fuels/Habitat Project. It will target the highest priorities identified by the Salmon River FSC. The areas to be treated are within the Wildfire Urban Interface or are on private lands within the USFS Late Successional Reserve Project area. If these lands go untreat-ed they will become hazardous locations for fire starts. They also contain wildlife habitat that is losing value as the natural vegetation structure changes with the exclusion of fire. Above photo from the SRRC archives of fuels treatment work being done on private land. A new residential assessment program called Red Zone is being implemented by the Salmon River FSC and the USFS. This is a detailed questionnaire covering all aspects of structure and property conditions relating to fire risk. Vegetation, road access, structures, and water systems are all taken into consideration to give homeowners a look at their property from a fire risk perspective. Red Zone information is given to emergency fire crews to assist them when protecting our homes. Participation in this fire preparedness program is optional but remember how chaotic it can be when wildfires are approaching. An review of your protection needs and problem areas NOW can make July and August much less risky and stressful. More funding has been secured for 2010. Interested landowners needing help complying with new CAL FIRE requirements on their property, can contact SRRC to make a date for a Red Zone appointment. You can have either a local FSC representative or a USFS fire prevention techni-cian help you. Our fuels reduction crew consists of experienced locals with knowledge of spe-cific aspects of concern. The Salmon River Fire Safe Council and Salmon River Restoration Council.. Robert Will8Noxious weed crew leader holding an Italian thistle dug from above Forks of SalmonAs spring burst into bloom, the SRRC crew was ahead of the game, digging the flowers we don’t want to see any more of. Italian thistle is high on the list and huge progress as been made on the only known site in Siskiyou county - Downtown Forks of Salmon! A May Day celebration brought out over 25 volunteers to the steep hillside site. Participants were rewarded with a delicious Italian sausage meal. Thank you to Etna Brewery for the generous beverage donations. Thanks to everyone helping get a handle on this infestation! Marlahan Mustard season is nearly to the seed stage, and so their yellow blossoms are seen along roadsides and other disturbed areas. Junction School took initiative in celebra-tion of Earth Day, and obliterated a large roadside patch on the Main Stem. Feel free to join the effort - those single plants along the road or near your mailbox can easily turn into hundreds, but with a quick stop and a sharp digging tool, You can take them out! You may recall last summer saw multiple fires, phone line construction, and other man-agement activities bringing extra folks to noxious weed sites. Our early treatment was a key factor in minimizing the impact. The results of over a decade of digging Spot-ted Knapweed include a greatly reduced seed bank. Although ground was disturbed (potentially moving seeds) at numerous roadside and river sites, we are confident that very few, if any, seeds were available for spreading. Our careful attention to areas ac-cessed during the fires and roadwork means we know where to look for anything new popping up. We’d like to encourage you to keep an eye out for noxious weeds grow-ing in fire access, camps, and burned areas too. The knowledge our community has of noxious weed species has always been the key to finding far-flung infestations. The BAER (Burned Area Emergency Recovery) has provided some funding for monitor-ing fire-affected areas for noxious weeds, and the California Department of Agriculture is again able to offer funding for prioritized weeds on private lands adjacent to the National Forest. Carri Pirosko has been instrumental in recognizing our important work and help-ing it continue. As always, drive slowly and notice what’s coming up along the roadsides! Shannon Flarity Noxious Weeders Are Winning the Game!Postfire-Habitat SpecialistsLast year, 80,000 acres burned on the Salmon River. Now that the smoke has cleared and the fire crews are gone, what is happening in these burnt patches of forest? Take a look up. There has probably been a shift in the types and abundance of birds you find in the air. Many different avian species are moving into recently burned habitats due to the in-crease of insects, such as the wood-boring beetle. By opening up the forest, eliminat-ing some trees species, and influencing the growth of others, fire has created unique habitats for specialized birds. Some bird species found in fire rich habitats have evolved under the existence of fire. They utilize the food and shelter found in burnt patches of forest. Some species of birds are termed Postfire-Habitat Specialists. Their species survival is dependent on fire to cre-ate suitable habitats. Where prescribed fire is being used to reduce potentially hazard-ous fuels, bird habitat enhancement can be achieved as a secondary benefit. Postfire-Habitat Specialists birds include many woodpecker species. There are other species of birds that do not necessarily need postfire habitats to survive but are frequently found in recently burned areas. On the Salmon River, you can find Hairy, Lewis and Downy Woodpeckers, Northern Flick-ers, Chipping Sparrows, Tree Swallows and the American Robin. All of these avian spe-cies are opportunistic in postfire habitats and feed on the abundance of insects found in dead snags. These birds also utilize cavities within the dead snags for nest sites. Research has also found an influx of raptorial birds in burned over forests. The small mammals which hawks and eagles eat are easier to find in areas with less foliage. Many fuels reduction efforts ad-dress key threats that birds face, such as lack of mature trees, snags, and opened woodlands. Forest restoration practices are good, in general, for many bird species but we have much to learn about the effectiveness of forest treatment types. Postfire habitats may look barren and lifeless but next time you find yourself pulling Italian Thistle above Forks of Salmon or just enjoying a hike through a burned over patch of forest, try to no-tice all the birds that were not there before the fire.Kate Rowe, AmeriCorps steward9Next >