Ecology, Management, and Restoration of Piñon-Juniper and Ponderosa Pine Ecosystems: Combined Proceedings of the 2005 St. George, Utah and 2006 Albuquerque, New Mexico Workshops United States Department of Agriculture / Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station Proceedings RMRS-P-51 September 2008 Gottfried, Gerald J.; Shaw, John D.; Ford, Paulette L., compilers. 2008. Ecology, management, and restoration of piñon-juniper and ponderosa pine ecosystems: combined proceedings of the 2005 St. George, Utah and 2006 Albuquerque, New Mexico workshops. Proceedings RMRS-P-51. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 218 p. Abstract ___________________________________________ Southwestern piñon-juniper and juniper woodlands cover large areas of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and adjacent Colorado. Ponderosa pine forests are the most common timberland in the Southwest. All three ecosystems provide a variety of natural resources and economic benefits to the region. There are different percep- tions of desired conditions. Public and private land managers have adapted research results and their observations and experiences to manage these ecosystems for multi- resource benefits. Ways to mitigate the threat of wildfires is a major management issue for these ecosystems, and the wide-spread piñon mortality related to drought and the bark beetle infestation has heightened concerns among managers and the general public. In addition, the impacts of climate change on these ecosystems are a growing concern. As a step in bringing research and management together to answer some of these questions, workshops concerned with the ecology, management, and restoration of piñon-juniper and ponderosa pine ecosystems were held in St. George, Utah in 2005 and in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2006. The combined proceedings from these two workshops contain papers, extended abstracts, and abstracts based on oral and poster presentations. Some topics included forest and woodland restoration treatments and their impacts on fuels, wildlife, and other ecosystem components, watershed management, insect infestations and drought, wood utilization, landscape changes, basic ecology, and more. Keywords: Piñon-juniper and juniper woodlands, ponderosa pine forests, ecology, management, restoration, southwestern United States You may order additional copies by sending your mailing information in label form through one of the following media. Please specify the publication title and number. Telephone (970) 498-1392 FAX (970) 498-1122 E-mail [email protected] Web site http://www.fs.fed.us/rmrs Mailing Address Publications Distribution Rocky Mountain Research Station 240 West Prospect Road Fort Collins, CO 80526 Cover photos by: Gerald Gottfried (top left and bottom right), George Robertson (top right), and Todd Gardiner (bottom left) Ecology, Management, and Restoration of Piñon- Juniper and Ponderosa Pine Ecosystems: Combined Proceedings of the 2005 St. George, Utah and 2006 Albuquerque, New Mexico Workshops Rocky Mountain Research Station Compilers: Gerald J. Gottfried, Forests and Woodland Ecosystems Research Program, Phoenix, AZ John D. Shaw, Inventory, Monitoring and Analysis Program, Ogden, UT Paulette L. Ford, Grassland, Shrubland and Desert Ecosystems Research Program, Albuquerque, NM i Preface __________________________ “Ecological Restoration of Southwest Ponderosa Pine and Pinyon-Juniper Ecosystems,” was held on May Southwestern pinyon-juniper and juniper woodlands 11 to 13, 2005. The meeting included oral and poster cover large areas of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and presentations. Some topics included forest and wood- adjacent Colorado. Management of these lands has land restoration treatments and their impacts on fuels, varied from efforts to eradicate the woodlands to favor wildlife, and other resources, insect infestations and herbaceous species to efforts at management for mul- drought, wood utilization, landscape changes, basic tiple resource benefits. Ponderosa pine forests are the ecology, and more. The workshop was attended by 110 most common timberland in the Southwest and provide managers and scientists from the Society of American a variety of natural resources and economic benefits Foresters, the Arizona Game and Fish Department, to the region. The Rocky Mountain Research Station, Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, and its predecessors and numerous university cooperators Utah Department of Wildlife and faculty and students have conducted research in Arizona’s ponderosa pine from Northern Arizona University, New Mexico State forests since 1908 and in woodlands since the 1930s. University, and other institutions. John Helms, the Public and private land managers have adapted this Society of American Forester’s President, was the information and their observations and experiences luncheon speaker. The workshop was sponsored by to manage these important ecosystems. Land man- the Southwest and Intermountain Societies of Ameri- agers still have numerous questions concerning the can Foresters, Arizona Game and Fish Department, southwestern woodlands and forests and their wise Bureau of Land Management, Ecological Restoration management. There are different perceptions of desired Institute of Northern Arizona University, and the U.S. conditions. Ways to mitigate the threat of wildfires is a Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. The major management issue for both ecosystems, and the workshop included a field trip to Mt. Trumbull where wide-spread pinyon mortality related to drought and pinyon-juniper and ponderosa pine restoration and the bark beetle infestation has heightened concerns fire issues were discussed. The organizing committee among managers and the general public. included David Borland, Doug Page, Aaron Wilkerson, As a step in bringing research and management to- and Ken Moore (all from the Bureau of Land Manage- gether to answer some of these questions, workshops ment), and Pete Fulé (Northern Arizona University). concerned with the ecology, management, and restora- Borland also served as the liaison for the Southwest tion of pinyon-juniper and ponderosa pine ecosystems Section to the Intermountain Section. Personnel from were held in St. George, Utah in 2005 and in Albuquer- the Ecological Restoration Institute assisted with the que, New Mexico in 2006. The first workshop, titled field trip. ii A second workshop “Ecology and Management of and yield, impacts of invasive species, restoration Piñon-Juniper Ecosystems” was held in Albuquerque techniques, grazing and wildlife management, products on September 13 to 15, 2006. It brought together 147 and markets, and more. E. Hollis Fuchs (NRCS) gave foresters, range managers, and other resource manag- the banquet talk about 150 years of vegetative change ers from federal, state, and tribal agencies and college in Lincoln County, NM. The workshop included a field and university students and faculty. The Southwestern trip to the East Mountains outside of Albuquerque led Society of American Foresters was the lead sponsor. by Todd Haines (New Mexico State Forestry Depart- Other sponsors of the workshop included the Bureau of ment). It included two stops, one at the Starfire Day Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, Society Camp to see the New Mexico Tree Farm Demonstra- for Range Management, U.S. Forest Service, Rocky tion Forest where various pinyon-juniper prescriptions Mountain Research Station and Southwestern Region and actual treatment demonstrations were observed. and the Water Resources Research Institute of New The second stop was at Carlito Springs, which is Mexico State University. Marlin A. Johnson (Forest owned by Bernalillo County, where erosion control, Service, Southwestern Region) and David Borland mulch utilization, and defensible space fuels projects (Bureau of Land Management) were the chairpersons. were presented. The workshop committee included Shannon Atencio, The papers and extended abstracts have received George Duda, and Kim Paul (all from the New Mexico technical reviews; however, the views expressed in State Forestry Department), Dennis Dwyer and Jim each presentation are those of the author(s) and not Youtz (from the Forest Service, Southwestern Region), necessarily those of the sponsoring organizations or Gerald Gottfried (Forest Service, Rocky Mountain the U.S. Forest Service. The use of trade and company Research Station), and Robert Partido (Society of names is for the benefit of the reader; such use does not American Foresters). The efforts of session moderators constitute an official endorsement or approval of any and student assistants are greatly appreciated. service or product by the U.S. Department of Agricul- The Albuquerque meeting was opened with a pre- ture to the exclusion of others that may be suitable. sentation, “Mimicking Nature’s Fire” co-presented by This publication reports research involving pesti- Carl Fiedler (University of Montana) and Steve Arno cides. It does not contain recommendations for their (Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula, retired), use, nor does it imply that the uses discussed here have which was based on their popular book. Other oral and been registered. All uses of pesticides must be regis- poster presentations covered pinyon-juniper ecology, tered by the appropriate State and/or Federal agencies insects and diseases, hydrology, silviculture, growth before they can be recommended. Pesticide Precautionary Statement This publication reports