Fuel Management Objectives within Dry Forest Landscapes on

the Okanogan-Wenatchee NF

Dr. Richy J. HarrodOkanogan-Wenatchee National Forest

Ecological Restoration

• Ecological restoration aims to enhance the resilience and sustainability of forests through treatments that incrementally return the ecosystem to a state that is within a historic range of conditions (Landres et al. 1999).

• The process of assisting the recovery and management of ecological integrity (Society for Ecological Restoration).

Okanogan-Wenatchee NFDry Forest Strategy

• 2020.3 – FSM Policy1.All resource management programs have a

responsibility for ecological restoration…

• Emphasize restoration efforts in the dry and mesic forests

• Provided recommendations for types of and placement of treatments

• Key emphasis on integration of resource values

Relatively open stands of ponderosa pine developed dense Douglas-fir, white fir, and grand fir understories.

Goals of Fuel Management• Change how fire behaves within stands

and across landscapes• Create stands and landscapes that are

resilient to fire• Mitigate fire hazard in the

wildland/urban interface

Fuel Management Objectives• Reduce surface fuels

• Increase height to live crown

• Decrease crown density

Fuel Management Objectives• Treatment sequence

– Harvest, pile, pile burn, underburn– Thin, pile, underburn– Underburn

• Can use FCCS to determine sequence

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0-15 15-25

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25-40

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none

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PCT & Rx burn

40-80

PCT & Rx burn

none

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80-150

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none

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none

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PCT & Rx burn

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Potential Dry Douglas-fir, Ponderosa Pine, Grand Fir Fuelbed Series Pathway

Age

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+no treat

Reduce Surface Fuels• In dry forest types, average of 3-5

tons/acre within stands

• Loading should be discontinuous, variability is desired.

Reduce Surface Fuels• Goal is to reduce flame length

– A measure of fire intensity which determines fire severity

– Long lengths leads to high torching potential

Reduce Ladder Fuels• Decrease potential for torching

– Eliminate branches on large trees– Reduce understory density

• Variability throughout stand is desirable

Decrease Crown Density• Reduce potential for crown fire

– Harvest or thinning– Torching through prescribed fire

• Variability is desirable• Retain large fire resistant trees!

Hard to Meet Restoration Objectives

LANDSCAPE CHARACTERISTICS

Priority Treatment Areas-developed using AnalyticalHierarchy Process

•Weight factors•Applied at the landscapescale.

Restoration ApproachDetermine where on the landscape to place

your treatments.

Summary• Treatments need to be strategically placed on

the landscape• Stand level treatments should focus on three

principles of fuel management• Treatments need to consider the importance of

spatial patterns, fire tolerant structures, and species composition

• Important to integrate resource objectives, not about reducing fuels everywhere.