Nicole Molinari, Ph.D
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Pacific Southwest Region Ecology Program Annual Report FY 2015 http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/r5/plants-animals/?cid=stelprdb5427254 CONTENTS Ecology Program Mission Statement .............................................................................................. 3 R5 Program Overview ..................................................................................................................... 3 R5 Regional Ecology Program Staff ................................................................................................. 7 R5 Regional Ecology Program Publications and Reports .............................................................. 11 R5 Ecology Program Major Accomplishments: Links to USDA & USFS Strategic goals and Region 5 Strategic Priorities ...................................................................................................................... 14 REGIONAL OFFICE ......................................................................................................................... 15 Cost Share Positions ...................................................................................................................... 21 PROVINCE ECOLOGY PROGRAMS ................................................................................................. 22 Central Sierra Province ................................................................................................................. 23 Northern Province......................................................................................................................... 30 Sierra Cascade Province ................................................................................................................ 35 Southern California Province ........................................................................................................ 41 Southern Sierra Province .............................................................................................................. 45 R5 Ecology Program international support ……………………………………………………………………………. 50 R5 Ecology Program external partners ......................................................................................... 51 Training International Climate Change and Natural Ecosystem services workshop for Angeles NF and Resource Mgt seminar participants how to measure partners, Acton carbon and forest structure R-5 Regional Ecology Program ECOLOGY PROGRAM MISSION managed with the University of California- Davis and the California Fire Science STATEMENT Consortium. “To provide leadership and program direction Primary functions at the Regional level that incorporates ecological science in the include: Agency's multiple-scale approach to managing provide expert ecological input and natural resources for sustainability and diverse advice to the Regional Forester, human needs. Regional Office staff, and Region 5 Forests and Districts To facilitate understanding, development and assist in development of Regional appropriate use of ecological principles for ecological priorities as they pertain to Agency activities such as landscape analysis the USDA and USFS Strategic Plan and assessment, land management planning, goals and R5 Strategic Priorities inventory and monitoring, and project act as the principal ecological liaison between USFS Region 5 and other implementation.” federal and state agencies, research institutions, NGOs, the public and media R5 PROGRAM OVERVIEW provide assistance to the Province The Region 5 Ecology Program provides Ecologists in the form of funding, products and expertise fundamental to technical expertise, and logistical sustainable, science-based, multiple-use support provide assistance and ecological input land management in the Pacific to bioregional and forest assessments Southwest. The Program’s principal for Forest Plan processes purpose is to ensure and enable the develop and steward applicable application of current ecological science to Regional and National standards land and resource management on the review Ecology Program work plans National Forests in California. The and products aid in the recruitment of qualified Regional Program is headed by a GS-13 candidates for ecology positions Ecologist and a GS-12 Assistant Regional Regionwide Ecologist in the Regional Office. A GS-12 represent Region 5 and the Regional Province Ecologist is stationed on each of Ecology Program at local, Regional, five Provinces (zones of three to four and National functions and events National Forests), in some cases with a support Region 5 Forests in their GS-11 Associate Ecologist. Two cost-share interpretation and implementation of the Regional Ecological Restoration ecologists at the Regional level are co- initiative 5 support Region 5 efforts to manage for habitat modeling, mapping, and climate change mitigation and prediction adaptation involvement with the California Fire coordinate Fire Return Interval Science Consortium at the subregional Departure mapping in Region 5 scale serve on the executive committee for interaction and collaboration with the California Fire Science Consortium Forest and District resource staff manage the Research Natural Area RNA program coordination for the host (RNA) Program Forest manage the Regional Aspen Delineation Project The Regional Ecology Program (REP) is serve as a technical advisor to bodies partially supported by a Regional earmark. such as the Regional Forest Planning In fy 2015 total earmark funding came to core team, Regional Climate Change $730,000. Earmark funds came from the Integration Team, and the Sierra Nevada Forest Carnivore Conservation following sources: NFIM (35%), NFVW Assessment (32%), WFHF (22%), and NFWF (11%). Province Ecologists supplement their Primary functions at the Province-and Regional allocation with Forest-level Forest-level include: funding and funding derived elsewhere provision of expert vegetation & fire (examples include the California Energy ecology input to ecosystem Commission, USFS State and Private management and planning (e.g. pre- Forestry, the Tahoe Science Program, NEPA consultation, monitoring, ID- California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, the Teams, Forest planning) National Fire Plan, and the Joint Fire training and technology transfer ecological support to restoration Sciences Program). Until 2010, Regional planning and implementation funding for the Ecology Program had fallen climate change interpretation continuously since the early 1990’s, when support to fuels treatment planning funding reached or exceeded $1.2 million monitoring design, implementation and per year in 2015 dollars (Fig. 1). Staffing analysis has also dropped significantly, from a high fire and fire regime modeling and mapping of 16 in the mid 1990’s, to six in late 2011, determination of site potentials and rising to nine in 2015. The Regional ecosystem suitability Ecology Program is a national leader in development of desired future attracting funding from external sources conditions (Fig. 2). Over the last ten years, the REP vegetation classification and mapping has more than doubled its effective budget development of management interpretations by way of partner funding, grants, and development of state & transition and various types of financial support from other stand-dynamics models sources outside the NFS annual budget. 6 REP staff (and affiliated Forest and District objectives, activities, and assistance staff) meet at least once annually to needed to complete the planned work; the discuss programs of work, funding, annual POW is tied to National, Regional, standards and guidelines, future planning, and Forest goals and priorities. An annual and topics of current interest. Trainings are meeting (1) to review the previous fiscal held periodically. Annual program reviews year’s accomplishments, and (2) to and annual program of work meetings are negotiate the upcoming fiscal year’s POW, also held on each Province. Province is held with the attendance of the Province Ecologists operate under a shared services Ecologist, the Regional Ecologist, Resource agreement between the Region and the Staff officers, and any other interested Province Forests. Province Ecologists parties. The final program of work is prepare, with assistance of the Regional agreed to by the Forest Supervisors and Ecologist and forest Resource staff, an RO Director of Ecosystem Management. annual Program of Work describing California Fire Science Consortium field trip to Laguna Mountain, Cleveland NF 7 Figure 1. Ecology Program (REP) funding (does not include Regional and Assistant Regional ecologists, who are funded from RO internal budget), and number of REP staff, 1984-2015. Ecology Program budget and funding support from external sources, 2006-2014 $6,000,000 Ecol. Prog. earmark $5,000,000 External funds $4,000,000 $3,000,000 $2,000,000 $1,000,000 $0 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Total Figure 2. REP earmark funding and funding secured from external sources by the REP, 2006-2015. “External” = funding from outside the Region 5 National Forest System annual budget. 8 R5 REGIONAL ECOLOGY PROGRAM STAFF REGIONAL OFFICE Hugh Safford, Ph.D. Regional Ecologist Pacific Southwest Region 1323 Club Drive Vallejo, CA 94592 Phone: 707-562-8934 Fax: 707-562-9050 Email: [email protected] Department of Environmental Science and Policy University of California Davis, CA 95616 Phone: 530-219-0898 Fax: 530-752-3350 Email: [email protected] Sarah Sawyer, Ph.D. Assistant Regional Ecologist