Passive or Active Management? Understanding Consequences and Changes After Large Stand-Replacing Wildfires

Every summer, wildfires burn thousands of acres of forests in the American West. After the fire, forest managers must decide what to do next: Leave the postfire landscape to recover naturally? Harvest some of the burned trees for timber? What combination of management actions is most likely to reduce the severity of a repeat wildfire and to make the forests more resilient? Morris Johnson, a research fire ecologist with the USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station, is working with federal and tribal forest managers to answer these questions. He is conducting long-term, replicated, and controlled studies in areas burned by some of the most severe wildfires in the Western United States. Using a randomized block sampling design and simulation modeling, he’s monitoring the effects of various treatment options, quantifying the effects of salvage logging on woody fuel loadings, snag dynamics, and seedling density. Results from his study in north-central Washington indicate salvage logging reduced long-term woody fuel loading, potentially reducing the severity of future reburns. Johnson works closely with national forests staff during postfire management planning. His central research questions are included as learning objectives in the official purpose and need documentation required by the National Environmental Policy Act. This exemplifies how scientists and managers coproduce science to address critical questions about managing forests after stand-replacing wildfires.