New Fire-Climate Study Underway in Mexico
by Larissa Yocom, NAU Forestry Graduate Student
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Alpine meadow in Coahuila, Mexico. Three of the sites sampled in 2007 were located on this mountain.
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This summer a group of researchers from the United States and Mexico gathered in the remote Sierra Madre Oriental Mountains of Mexico to start collecting data for a study that will focus on fire, climate, and forest structure. Led by the ERI’s Dr. Pete Fulé, the research project will try to determine whether widespread climate events, such as El Niño, or local characteristics, such as fuel, topography and ignition events, have the greatest effect on fire occurrence.
The project, which is funded by the National Science Foundation, also aims to develop a new network of long-term fire and climate chronologies together with measurements of fuel dynamics. A set of unique relict sites, where fire regimes and forest structures were least perturbed by humans during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, will also be incorporated. Continued on page 2
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NAU Senior Forester Academy Challenge ropes course (team challenge; Ryan is on the left, partner Enzo is on the right)
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If Opportunity Doesn't Knock, Build a Door
by Susan Nyoka, ERI Research Technician
This past summer, NAU School of Forestry faculty and NAU’s Centennial Forest staff, along with ERI staff and graduate students, collaborated in “building a door” for NAU sophomore, Ryan Thomas. Ryan, who is legally blind, participated in a four-week internship that provided him with hands-on experience in laboratory, field, and educational settings in the field of forestry--his chosen major. Continued on page 2
Working Group Forms in Northern Arizona to Develop Native Seed Supply
by Judy Springer, ERI Research Specialist, Sr.
The Northern Arizona Native Seed Alliance (NANSA) was formed in March, 2007 in order to increase the supply of locally grown native seeds and plants for northern Arizona revegetation and restoration projects. The NANSA is comprised of a large number of individuals, for-profit and non-profit organizations, government agencies, NAU elements (the ERI, NAU Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Program, NAU Research Greenhouse Complex), Arizona Game and Fish Department, U.S. Forest Service, Arboretum at Flagstaff, Coconino Natural Resource Conservation District, Museum of Northern Arizona, The Nature Conservancy, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and numerous others. Janet Lynn, of NAU’s Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Program, is the coordinator of the organization.
The mission statement of the NANSA states that the alliance is “a task force comprised of individuals, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and commercial businesses who are interested in developing a source of native plant materials for revegetation following wildfires, restoration, and other revegetation projects in northern Arizona.”
The NANSA is working at developing a venue that will help members share information and collaborate on native plant research, education, and applied projects in our region. The alliance is also currently seeking funding to conduct research on such topics as 1) requirements and techniques for growing native plants--from seed collection to commercial production; 2) selection of the best species for use in revegetation and wildlife habitat projects on the Colorado Plateau; 3) ecology and life history of native plant species; and 4) economic feasibility of growing native plants in northern Arizona. The NANSA is working in tandem with the Uncompahgre Plateau Project (http://www.upproject.org/), and others across the Colorado Plateau, to form a partnership known as the Colorado Plateau Native Plant Initiative. This organization also has native seed increase as one of its main goals.
Meetings are held monthly, and a workshop on seed production and increase will be held on Oct. 31, 2007 in conjunction with the Ninth Biennial Conference of Research on the Colorado Plateau in Flagstaff: http://sbsc.wr.usgs.gov/cprs/news_info/meetings/biennial/2007/index.asp
For further information, or to be added to the e-mail list, please contact Janet Lynn (NAU/ EMA) at
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or Judy Springer (NAU/ERI) at
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ERI Collaborates in the Creation of a Statewide Strategy for Restoring Arizona’s Forests
by Dave Egan, ERI Editor/Writer
On July 25, 2007, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano released a first-of-its-kind, 20-year plan to restore the state’s forests. The plan calls for increased funding to implement landscape-scale ecological restoration of Arizona’s now fire-prone forests, protect Arizona’s citizens and infrastructure, and promote wood products industries that can utilize small-diameter timber and biomass.
Several current and former members of the ERI played important roles in the creation of this important policy statement. They included Wally Covington, Diane Vosick, Jesse Abrams, Pete Fulé, Victoria Yazzie, and Dave Egan. Diane, in particular, was very engaged in this process and was instrumental in organizing people, writing various parts of the strategy, making presentations at public meetings, and strategizing ways to bring people with different perspectives together to reach consensus. Victoria helped the group make important connections with tribal leaders in the state, and Dave aided Jean Palumbo, the project coordinator, with the editing, layout, and final print publication of the 150-page document.
In this project, ERI staff worked as members of the Statewide Strategy Subcommittee of the Governor’s Forest Health Oversight Council, which was co-chaired by Ethan Aumack (Grand Canyon Trust) and Thomas Sisk (NAU, ForestERA). The subcommittee was populated with Arizonans from the environmental community, wood products industry, and federal and state agencies.
The plan has five key strategies:
- Increase the human and financial resources dedicated to restoring Arizona’s forests and protecting communities
- Coordinate and implement action at the landscape scale
- Increase the efficiency of restoration, fire management, and community protection activities
- Encourage ecologically sustainable, forest-based economic activity
- Build public support for accomplishing restoration, community protection, and fire management across the state
These strategies are supported by 16 recommendations and 50 action items.
In addition to sections that discuss the current state of Arizona’s forests, the policy context for restoration, economic considerations for restoring forest health and building a collaborative foundation for the strategy, the strategy includes detailed accounts of nine forested landscapes across the state.
Print copies of the strategy are available from Ethan Aumak, The Grand Canyon Trust, 2601 N. Fort Valley Road, Flagstaff, AZ 86001; (928) 774-7488 x 210, Fax: (928) 774-7570,
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. The strategy can be viewed online at
http://www4.nau.edu/eri/
ERI Art Gallery
by Robin Long
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Robin Long (left) with Kaitlin (right)
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The ERI is proud to feature original art by its students, staff, and alumni in our ERI Art Gallery, which is located in Room 35 of the NAU Forestry Building. Our current exhibit is a series of photographs by Kaitlin Tymrak, who is a senior majoring in environmental engineering. Kaitlin’s photographs are of landscapes and cityscapes she experienced during her travels earlier this year throughout Scandinavia, where she was part of the NAU Study Abroad Program.
Visitors are welcome to view the art gallery during normal business hours—8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday--except when the room is scheduled for other ERI activities. Call Linsey Baker at 928/523-7182 to make sure there are no conflicts. Arrangements can also be made to contact the artists, and items are often available for sale.
Past exhibits have included photographs, paintings and quilts, usually with an environmental theme. We would like to acknowledge past exhibitors: Patty Kohany, Joe Trudeau, Erin Thurston, Joel Viers, Brandon Oberhardt, Megan Robertston, and Danielle Gift.
Diversity in a Dry Forest: Place-based Ecological Restoration in the Wahoo Watershed
by Matt Tuten, ERI Research Technician
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Dense pine stands within the first project site before treatment. This area was thinned during the Spring of 2005. |
Heading west from the Black Range Ranger District office in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico on my first visit to the site of a proposed forest restoration project, it seemed unlikely that a montane ponderosa pine forest existed anywhere near the desert scene of bare rock, blue grama grass, and creosote scrub I saw from my car window. Aside from a few brief incursions into pinyon- and juniper-dotted hills, the scene remained similar for the nearly 60-mile journey. However, a dramatic change took place shortly after passing the dusty hamlet of Winston, New Mexico. I was soon in a familiar ponderosa pine landscape, one showing the signs of an ecosystem where fires had not occurred for decades: a landscape of dense pines with interlocking crowns, fire-scarred stumps, trees encroaching into grassy meadows, and a thick layer of pine needles and forest litter where one might expect an understory of bunchgrasses. Continued on page 2
ERI Graduate Students and Their Research
by Mark Daniels, ERI Research Specialist
Corinne (Cordie) Diggins received her bachelor’s degree in wildlife conservation from the University of Delaware in 2006, and worked on various research projects in Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, and Maine before coming to NAU. Her research with the ERI is centered on the landscape-scale restoration projects at Mount Trumbull, on the Arizona Strip. Using data collected on monitoring plots before and after treatment, and FVS and FIRESUM computer models, Cordie will attempt to forecast changes in tree structure, biomass, potential forest products, carbon and nutrients under alternative scenarios of restoration treatments and scheduling. Another aspect of her research will look at bird communities in the treated and control units at Mount Trumbull to analyze the effects of the treatments. The goal of both of these research projects is to provide guidance to land managers for effective long-term management of the ecosystem. At present, Cordie has begun analyzing the FVS data, and has collected field data on bird populations at the site. Continued on page 2
Alumni Corner
by Robin Long, ERI Student Services Coordinator
After almost four years assisting with data management in the National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Program’s Pacific Island Network, Allison Cocke Snyder (M.S. Forestry '04) has returned to Flagstaff. Allison now works at the NPS office on campus where she manages natural resource data for the NPS Southern Colorado Plateau Network, which includes 19 national parks and monuments throughout Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah. Allison and her husband, Derek, have bought a home in Kachina Village. She is happy to be back in the Southwest and is looking forward to her first winter in four years. Rumor has it that she still wears her trademark flip-flops even though the temperatures are already dropping below freezing at night here in Flagstaff! Continued on page 2
Does Coarse Woody Debris Play a Role in the Recovery of Pinyon-juniper Woodlands After Severe Fire?
by Dave Huffman, ERI Research Associate, and Joe Crouse, NAU Forestry Applications Systems Analyst
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Juniper trees establishing near the logs and branches of trees killed in a severe fire 30 years ago. |
Ecosystems characterized by the presence of pinyon pine (Pinus edulis, P. monophylla) and juniper (Juniperus spp.) trees occur on millions of acres across the American Southwest. These ecosystems are commonly referred to as the “pinyon-juniper”, or “PJ” forest type. Pinyon-juniper ecosystems are typically found in semi-arid environments and their structure ranges from open savanna to closed woodland formations. Presently, there is keen interest in identifying management approaches that restore ecological integrity, conserve biological diversity, and sustain the resource values of these ecosystems. Developing such approaches requires fundamental understanding of natural processes and dynamics. Fire and patterns of recovery after disturbance are two key processes we are researching at the Ecological Restoration Institute. Continued on page 2
Daniel Laughlin Wins Another Award from the Ecological Society of America
by Dave Egan, ERI Writer/Editor
Daniel Laughlin, an ERI research specialist and winner of the 2006 Ecological Society of America’s E. Lucy Braun Award for Excellence in Ecology, recently won the 2007 E.C. Pielou Student Award in Statistical Ecology from the Statistical Ecology Section of ESA.
Daniel’s award-winning work, which he co-authored with former ERI employee, Scott Abella, and presented at the ESA Conference this August in San Jose, California, is titled “Explaining gradients in plant community composition with a general multivariate model.” When asked about his most recent award, Daniel said, “I was very excited about the results of our study, and I am honored that the Statistical Ecology Committee felt the same way.” For his efforts, Daniel will receive a check for $200 and a book written by the famed statistical ecologist and writer, Eveleyn C. Pielou, at next year’s ESA meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Congratulations, Daniel!!
For those interested in learning more about Daniel’s work you can read the abstract of his ESA talk on page 2 of this newsletter, or contact him at
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Staff News:
Krista Coquia Joins ERI as Web Content Manager; Hágoónee' and See You Soon Wishes to Victoria Yazzie and Charlie Denton
Krista Coquia joined the ERI team in mid-July replacing Chuck Bullington as the ERI web content manager. She works with Yiqun Lin, who oversees programming the web site, and Dave Egan, ERI editor/writer, as a member of the web site team. Continued on page 2
ERI Newsletter 
