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Communication between Forest Managers
and Homeowners in Pine Flats Needs Improvement to Achieve Firewise
Objectives
Aleta Rudeen
Picture of two homes in Pine Flats among many ponderosa pine trees,
posing a serious fire hazard. Oak Creek, Arizona. Photo by Aleta Rudeen.
Pine Flats residents are as frustrated with forest managers, as they are
interested in doing what's right for their properties with Firewise. Aleta
Rudeen, Undergraduate Research Assistant at ERI conducted a survey of the
residents of this subdivision in Oak Creek Canyon, and provided suggestions for
alleviating the feelings of frustration by both residents and forest managers.
For more, click here.
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Firefighter Kirk Smith
Remembered in Scholarship Award
Robin Long
Picture of Doc Smith, Nikki Steffen,
Chance Peterson, Francis Eaton, Kathy Smith, Jessie Smith, and Kim Newbauer at
the 2006 Honors Convocation and the presentation of the Kirk Smith Scholarship
awards at Northern Arizona University.
Three students (Francis
Eaton, Chance Peterson and Niki Steffen) were awarded the ERI Student
Scholarship in memory of Kirk Smith at the School of Forestry's annual Honors
Convocation on April 7th, 2006. Established in 2004, the scholarship is given to
students who demonstrate high academic achievement and dedication to forest
stewardship. Kirk's dad, Doc Smith, is an associate director at the ERI. When
applying for the scholarship, students have to provide an example of how they
"did the right thing" – a characteristic of Kirk, former superintendent of the
Mormon Lake Hotshots, who was well known as a person of integrity. For more
information and biographical sketches of the recipients, please click here.
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The 20-Year Strategy to Restore
Arizona's Forests
Diane Vosick
Logo of Statewide Strategy for
Restoring Arizona's Forests.
On Tuesday, March 21, 2006 Arizona
Governor Janet Napolitano held her annual Forest Summit in Prescott. The Summit
is designed to showcase progress made on forest restoration, receive feedback
and provide stakeholders the opportunity to learn more about these and other
topics. This year the Summit focused on an effort underway to develop a plan
entitled the "20 Year Strategy for Restoring Arizona's Forests." The goals are
to visualize on a grand scale and to identify the steps required to ensure that
Arizona's forests are on a solid trajectory towards full restoration by 2027.
For more information and a preliminary fact sheet click here.
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Graduating Seniors off to
Exciting Careers and Adventures
Robin Long
    
    
Graduation is a bittersweet time for
the staff at the Ecological Restoration Institute as we bid farewell to our
undergraduates who have worked alongside us for several years. We are proud of
their many accomplishments and ready to watch them soar on to whatever life has
in store. Many of them are continuing their interest in forest health in the
careers they've chosen or in the graduate degrees they will pursue. We know they
will make excellent ambassadors for the ERI! Please join us in congratulating
spring semester's graduating class. Information about their plans can be found
by clicking here.
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Interactions between Large
Herbivores, Fendler Ceanothus, and Insects
David Huffman, Kristen
Pearson and Daniel Laughlin
Picture of a Fendler Ceanothus bush
blooming with white flowers in the forest.
Are the white flowers
on the small branches of the Fendler Ceanothus bush (pictured above) the
proverbial "light at the end of the tunnel" after restoration treatments? In
other words, are these tiny white flowers one of the first indications that we
might be moving the ecosystem in the right direction? To find out, click here.
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ERI Alumni Corner – Spring
2006
Robin Long
   
   
What do all these happy people have in
common? Obviously they all have some connection to the ERI. Find out how they
connected and why they are so happy by clicking here.
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top.
Social Science in the Air This
Spring at ERI!
Chuck Bullington
A woman smiling at a man in playful
disbelief as they work on monitoring ecosystem conditions in the woods.
Ann Moote and Jesse Abrams have been just as busy as the bees are right
now, only not with flowers but with research. They have not only updated the ERI
website with current and important information on social science at the ERI, but
they are also hosting a workshop called, Collaborative Forest Management: A
training workshop for forestry practitioners next week. For more
information on the social science information on our website and the workshop
next week, click here.
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Severe Wildfires and Ecological
Restoration in Europe and Arizona
Pete
Fulé
Dr. Pete Fulé leaning on a cork oak
tree in Spain.
Dr. Pete Fulé, one of our associate directors, has
found some similarities and some differences between Mediterranean forest
restoration, and equivalent restoration efforts here in the southwestern U.S.
Dr.Fulé is currently on sabbatical in Spain. Find out what Pete discovered by
clicking here.
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New Literature of Interest to Restoration
Ecologists in the Southwest
Just like it sounds, a list of
many of the recent publications about restoration ecology. To see what titles
you might need to add to your personal library click here.
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Please send your comments, and your story ideas to
Judith.Springer[at]nau.edu.
If you wish to be removed from our mailing list,
or added, please contact
Karen.Gilbreath[at]nau.edu. | 
ERI Newsletter 