Vegetation Monitoring

Fuels reduction and fire regime restoration are two of the primary goals of both the Forest Landscape Restoration Act (FLRA) and the Southwestern Crown Collaborative (SWCC). The SWCC proposal identifies the goal "within the WUI [Wildland-Urban Interface], reduce the risk of wildfire by removing fuels, especially small-diameter trees, while maintaining forest structure to protect ecosystem components”. The SWCC is also trying to restore forest processes that are currently under-represented in the landscape, compared to historical conditions, including low and mixed-severity fire regimes. Maintaining and promoting the growth of the large tree component, which is also under-represented, across the landscape is another focus. Finally, controlling and eradicating weeds is emphasized. The Vegetation Working Group is using multiple projects to answer questions about the effectiveness of these treatments at multiple scales. Current Monitoring Projects:

• Monitoring old-growth forest stands in the Meadow Smith project area of the Swan Valley - Project Summary

  • Reports:

    • Meadow Smith Old Growth Monitoring Report 2021

    • Meadow Smith and Cooney McKay Monitoring Report 2015

    • Post-mechanical Treatment Summary 2014

    • R1 Old-growth Protocols

  • Data: Meadow Smith vegetation data (Excel)

• Fuels reduction monitoring in the Cooney-McKay project area in the Swan Valley - Project Summary

  • Reports:

    • Cooney McKay 2021 Final Report

    • Meadow Smith and Cooney McKay Monitoring Report 2015

    • Cooney-McKay 2013 Report

  • Data: Cooney-McKay vegetation data (Excel)

• Integrated forest sampling - Project Summary

  • Reports: USFS Northern Region Common Stand Exam Manual

  • Data: Auggie Fuels and Colt Summit vegetation data (Excel)

• Project and landscape fire modeling - Project Summary

  • Reports:

    • SWCC Fire Behavior Analysis 2014

    • Presentation from 2015 Adaptive Management Workshop

• Road decommissioning effects on wildlife habitat, vegetation, and soils - Project Summary

  • Road restoration BMPs for noxious weeds based on findings of monitoring project

  • Reports:

    • Road Restoration 2019 Monitoring Report

    • Presentation from 2017 Adaptive Management Workshop

• Herbicide effectiveness monitoring - Project Summary

  • Reports: Presentation from 2015 Adaptive Management Workshop

• Survival and germination of native seed mixes - Project Summary

  • Reports:

    • Lolo NF Updated Seeding Guidelines 2021

• Howell's Gumweed genetics

  • Reports:

    • Howell’s Gumweed Conservation Strategy

    • Final Genetics Report