What the Fires of 2013 Are Telling Us

By Will Whelan, Director of Government Relations
Editor's note: In recent years fires have spread across large swaths of Idaho's rangelands and forests. The following blog focuses on forest fires and the Conservancy's approach to proactive forest management. Stay tuned for a future blog that will discuss rangeland fires and issues related to them. 

Idahoans have been transfixed this month by images of towering walls of flame rising above the treetops and entire communities fleeing their homes.  In just two weeks, four massive fires raced through tinder dry high desert and forests in south central Idaho, burning more than 400,000 acres – 625 square miles.

The events of this month are part of a larger pattern. The Forest Service and the Department of the Interior spend around $2 billion per year to suppress fire.  These costs consume at least 40 percent of the Forest Service’s budget.  Just this week the agency had to freeze many of its programs in order to pay for fighting this year’s huge fires.  These costs dwarf the funding that the Forest Service is able to invest in forest thinning and hazardous fuels reduction projects that actually reduce the risk of large, damaging fires in the future.  This is not a sustainable model for managing the public’s forests.

Team from North Carolina offering assistance to Idaho, led by TNC-NC Fire Specialist and Land Steward Mike Norris. Photo ©Mike Norris/TNC

Fire in Idaho’s forests is nothing new, of course.  Our conifer forests evolved with wildfire, and fire plays a critical role in maintaining their health and resilience.  Not all natural fires are small, low intensity burns.  In fact, some of our forest types are naturally prone to larger fires that may kill entire stands of trees.  The huge firestorm of 1910, which burned three million acres in North Idaho, is a reminder that landscape-scale fire is not a new, or entirely human-driven, phenomenon in the mixed conifer forests.

But over the last century, Idaho’s forests have changed in ways that make them more vulnerable to large, very hot fires that are clearly outside of historic patterns. Three factors stand out: several decades of fire suppression have allowed fuels to build up; past logging often targeted the largest, more fire resistant trees for harvest; and a warming climate with hotter summers provides ideal conditions for megafires.  To make matters worse, these changes make large areas of Idaho’s forests more vulnerable to invasive species and insect infestations, which can promote damaging fires. 

Recent events have led to increasingly urgent calls from citizens and their elected officials for actions that can reduce the impact of huge, destructive forest fires.  The Nature Conservancy in Idaho is addressing these concerns through science, collaboration, and advocacy.

North Carolina crew observing fire aftermath near Baker Creek, Idaho. Photo ©Mike Norris/TNC

Our scientists are studying how forests have changed from their historic conditions in order to understand which areas would most benefit from active restoration, such as thinning, careful logging, and prescribed fire.  Conservancy scientists Ryan Haugo and Nathan Welch recently completed an assessment of the six-million acre Clearwater Basin in North Idaho.  They found that about twenty percent of the forested land of the Nez Perce - Clearwater National Forest is in need of active restoration to make it more resilient to fire and closer to its natural condition.

Not all restoration involves active management.  Another ten percent of this  national forest would benefit most from “passive” restoration – essentially allowing the forest to grow back from past disturbance such as fires and logging operations.  Ryan and Nathan’s work is being used by the Clearwater Basin Collaborative to shape recommendations to the Forest Service on how to improve the ecological and economic health of the Clearwater Basin.  Click here for their study. 

The Conservancy is also one of the most effective advocates for changes in the federal approach to fire. We champion proactive forest restoration to improve forest conditions while also reducing the need for costly emergency response.  The Conservancy’s Robyn Miller co-chairs the Clearwater Basin Collaborative’s Landscape Health Committee which designed an innovative ten-year restoration strategy for the 1.4 million acre Middle Fork Clearwater-Selway landscape.

The Clearwater Basin Collaborative team. Photo ©Robyn Miller/TNC

At the national level, the Conservancy’s forest policy specialists dig deep into detailed federal budget documents and advocate for science-based recommendations on how to improve forest health and prevent megafires. One effort we strongly support is the Forest Service’s Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program, which provides funding for collaboratively developed, large-scale forest restoration plans.  We like this program in part because it benefits both rural communities and forest health.  In the first three years of the program, projects resulted in: 383,000 acres of hazardous fuels reduction, 229,000 acres of fire-prone forest restoration, 94.1 million board feet of timber, 7,949 jobs created or maintained and 6,000 miles of roads treated to reduce sediment reaching streams.  We think this sort of pro-active, ecologically-driven program makes a lot of sense.  Click here to see the Conservancy’s forest restoration budget recommendations.

Farming the Ball Creek Preserve

By Kennon McClintock, North Idaho Field Representative

The Nature Conservancy owns and manages the Ball Creek Preserve, a wetland, preserve and modern working farm. About 1,200 acres of Kootenai Valley ground is currently being farmed by Ty and Lisa Iverson. Both are University of Idaho graduates - Ty’s degree was in Agriculture Economics in 2004 and Lisa’s in Education in 2008. Both are born and raised in north Idaho, Ty right here in Boundary County and Lisa in Bonner County near Priest River.

Ty Iverson of Ball Creek Farm

Lisa is a popular teacher at the Boundary County Junior High, teaching Language Arts. Ty’s Mom, Tracy Iverson, taught at the High School for over 30 years and just retired last year. Ty farms over 2,800 acres total in the valley, with his dad Tom helping him, along with two other seasonal employees. This time of year it is difficult to catch up with Ty unless you meet him on a tractor in the field. Ty is a third generation farmer in the Kootenai Valley, and is a hard worker, smart, innovative and versatile.

Farming is very different from just a short 20 years ago, with the aid of advanced technology and modern farm equipment. Ty employs both to be successful, though he still must work with Mother Nature and change with the climatic conditions. The Ball Creek Preserve is sub-irrigated so where most Idaho farms always need more water, we are generally trying to ditch and move water away from the fields. Last year Ty lost between 300-400 acres of crops due to the wet spring and the seepage from underground. But because of this moisture and our good soils, the Kootenai Valley is some of the richest farmland in the Inland Northwest. This year Ty has several crops growing - he keeps well diversified in order to hedge against all the risks that are associated with farming (weather, markets and costs of fuel, pesticides and fertilizer).

Most of the farm produces Soft White Winter Wheat and Barley - both crops will end up in either China or Japan.  Ty also is growing Timothy hay and Alfalfa hay. The Timothy hay will end up in Japan and the Alfalfa hay will be delivered to central Washington where it will used as feed for dairy cows. The last crop being grown is Timothy seed and this again will be sold to the Japanese. Ty rotates crops frequently and uses canola and garbanzo beans as part of this crop rotation.  Canola is grown for food grade oil and is shipped either to Canada or Moses Lake, Washington for processing. Garbanzo beans are a relatively new crop for the Ball Creek farm and are delivered to a food processor in Moscow, Idaho where they make hummus. As you can see, Idaho farming is an international business.

Ty is a modern farmer and uses mostly all “no till” planting - all fall planting is “no till,” where spring planting uses “reduced tilling” in order to help keep the soil warm for seed germination. “Reduced tilling” uses some minor cultivation but rarely do you seed a totally plowed field anymore. GPS technology has been installed in all of Ty’s tractors, which track precisely his planting, spraying, and fertilizing. This saves both time and money, and is good for the environment.

If you had seen the Ball Creek farm 13 years ago before TNC purchased it, you would have seen a much different operation. Today with the Iversons' good management practices and hard work, the farming operation is economically viable and environmentally sound. We are very fortunate and very proud of this modern farming operation.   

Photos ©Kennon McClintock/TNC

Migratory Reflections, from a Recent Migrant

By Jordan Reeves, East Idaho Conservation Manager

Centennial Mountains overlooking Henry's Lake. Photo ©Ken Miracle

I blame everything on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River. I am now almost five months into my tenure as the Conservancy’s new East Idaho Conservation Manager and my family and I are still living out of boxes, loads of laundry long overdue, the front lawn ten inches high. What on earth, you might ask, would possess a young couple with a three-month old baby (their first) to uproot everything, leave behind jobs, a pleasant Seattle neighborhood, and a well-organized existence and move their entire lives to an unfamiliar neighborhood in Idaho Falls? Well, it was the Middle Fork that did it.

The Middle Fork was my first window into Idaho’s natural landscapes and my amazement upon first seeing its crystalline waters as a young college kid never wavered through the six years that I spent guiding commercial rafting passengers down the canyon. From wet year to dry, high water to low, the ecological processes that unfolded before my eyes on the Middle Fork made my childhood experiences in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains seem downright tame by comparison. Hillsides ravaged and regenerated by wildfire, trees toppled by microburst winds, whitewater rapids both created and destroyed by landslides and creek blowouts; every year and in fact, every week, there was something new and amazing to witness. Off days and shoulder seasons spent exploring the Sawtooths, the Beaverheads, the Tetons, and Craters of the Moon quickly revealed to me that the Middle Fork was just the beginning of the incredible natural experiences that Idaho has to offer. No matter how pretty they made the foam in our lattes, Seattle just couldn’t compete.

Taking in the rugged beauty of the Middle Fork. Photo ©Kate Hestwood-Reeves

As I learn more each day about the Henry’s Fork of the Snake River, the Centennial Mountains, and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem here in East Idaho, what continually astonishes me is the incredible scale of the wildlife migrations that pass through this landscape. Grizzly bears, wolverines and Canada Lynx all pass through East Idaho on their journeys between Yellowstone and North Idaho, Montana, and Southern Canada.  Pronghorn antelope roam across the landscape into Southern Montana, while elk, deer, and bighorn sheep migrate seasonally from the high country to lower elevation winter habitat. Tundra swans, trumpeter swans, many song bird species, and up to fifty thousand ducks pass through the Camas National Wildlife Refuge each year as they travel from as far north as the Arctic to warmer climes and back. Not to mention the long-billed curlew and sandhill cranes that pass through The Conservancy’s own Flat Ranch Preserve and the Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout spawning in nearby cool water streams. A wildlife migration map of East Idaho reads like a Seattle traffic map at rush hour.

Pronghorn traversing the Flat Ranch Preserve. Photo ©Ken Miracle

As the Middle Fork revealed to me many years ago, Idaho is an incredible place to be, with an abundance of natural resources for wildlife and humans alike. Just as my family chose to migrate here from Seattle on I-84, many more will come in future years from all directions, making The Nature Conservancy’s work to protect habitat and migratory wildlife corridors vitally important. 

Unpacked moving boxes and laundry piles aside, I feel very privileged to now live here in East Idaho with my family among abundant and spectacular natural beauty. To be ensuring through our work that future human migrations can coexist with East Idaho’s intact ecosystems and incredible wildlife migrations, well, that’s a pretty amazing feeling too. And I blame all of it on the Middle Fork.

Building a Haven for Boulder Spring

By Marilynne Manguba, TNC Protection Specialist

Certain activities are inherently satisfying. Take, for example, building a good fence. Last week, in less than eight hours, staff and volunteers for the Nature Conservancy built a sturdy jack fence around Boulder Spring just below Horse Ridge in north Clark County, Idaho. The deteriorated cattle exclosure around this tiny little spring was falling down and heavy sharp hooves were causing damage to the spring and surrounding vegetation. While tiny, the spring is important to the local wildlife as it’s the only water for miles in most directions. A trickle through a small pipe feeds several watering troughs downhill, so there’s plenty of water for pronghorn and elk, as well as the cattle who spend part of the summer in the area.

The vast beauty of the Boulder Spring area

The US Forest Service, who manages the land where Boulder Spring is located, helped supply materials for the fence and even delivered them to this remote site. Staff and volunteers made quick work of the old fence, stacking the posts and poles nearby for disposal later. Then the assembly line was set up – one group assembled jacks and set them out, another moved posts and 21-foot rails into position before the work of assembling the fence got started. Posts and rails were cut to size and attached with 6 to 8 inch spikes.

Work crew (L to R): Ron Laird, Ryan Laird, Danny Byrne, Ron Troy, Brian Morrison, Jordan Reeves

Onlooking vesper sparrows hung out in the sagebrush and occasionally snuck in to grab one of the many insects in the wet areas around the spring. Meadowlarks called from surrounding rock outcroppings. The spring supports a beautiful little oasis in the midst of this dry sagebrush-steppe, adorned by tall, healthy sagebrush plants, blooming lupines and buckwheat, currants, and giant clumps of great basin wildrye. We didn’t see any of the larger four-legged occupants of the area as it was a hot day and we were a noisy group.

After we cleaned up our worksite, hot, dirty and tired, there was still that great feeling of a job completed.   

Boulder Spring guarded by its new exclosure

Our hardworking Boulder Spring work crew involved TNC staff Ron Troy, Matthew Ward, Jordan Reeves, Marilynne Manguba; Washington and Lee University intern Brian Morrison; Crooked Creek Ranch Manager Ron Laird; Volunteers Ryan Laird and Danny Byrne. Photos ©Marilynne Manguba/TNC.

It’s Electric: Triennial Fish Study Returns to Silver Creek

By Caley Gallison, Silver Creek Preserve Intern/Colorado College

Every three years, fishing on Silver Creek undergoes a notable and temporary transformation. Fly rods are exchanged for electroshocking probes and recreational fishermen are replaced by professionals from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Idaho Fish and Game (IDFG). USGS and IDFG perform separate studies but collaborate in order to correlate their data. Both studies are reliant on volunteer help, engaging Silver Creek Preserve staff and a few locals for help during the scientists’ time on the creek.

Electroshocking is an effective, accurate and largely harmless research method used for gaining insight as to the number and types of fish that are present in a freshwater ecosystem. Basically, electroshocking consists of two positively charged electrical probes that are hooked up to a negatively charged generator on a boat. The positive charge attracts the fish and then temporarily stuns them so they can be scooped up by the nets, put into a water tank with running and oxygen and processed. The fish are carefully released back into the stretch of creek they came from and are watched to make sure they swim off alright. Few fish are harmed by the technique, they are handled with the utmost of care and the data obtained is important for helping to maintain a healthy ecosystem. Even as an avid vegetarian and animal advocate, I was impressed by how careful the handling of the fish was for a relatively invasive technique.

Studying Silver Creek's fish population. Photo ©Terry Maret

It was quite a treat to see all of the fish inhabitants up close. I had started to learn the differences between all the various types of fish but it was not until after looking at hundreds of fish up-close that I could really differentiate a brown from a rainbow trout or a speckled from a long-nosed dace. And each fish within a species is so incredibly different from the next – from their distinct markings to their relative skinniness to their temperament. A number of the fish had bird talon scars on their sides, a testament to a life full of hardship and close calls. And of course, there were a few fish that were of monster size, relics of years of evading predators or of more recent predators like the American white pelicans.

This cold water ecosystem is a haven for rainbow trout. Photo ©Terry Maret

Over the past few weeks, we helped with several studies during the day as well as several at night. IDFG performs some of the electroshocking after dark because it is easier on the fish and they recover quicker. Since we were on the creek during different times, we saw all sorts of wildlife. Nearly every time we were on the water to electrofish, we saw moose! The first day on Silver Creek right before we started, we saw a mother moose, her yearling and baby, and that sighting sure did set a precedent. Once, we had to wait nearly a half hour for the mom and her calves to cross back over the creek so we could proceed. I even had to wait to get into my truck at 3 a.m. after a night session since the moose were right in my way and I was not about to anger them.

A couple of fishing guides and fishermen went along with us during the day shocking; they could not understand why with so many fish in the creek, it was impossible to catch them. I guess the fish here on the Preserve really are smart, and very good at hiding! Hopefully, with the continued aid of these fish studies and other conservation practices, Silver Creek will remain a world-class trout fishery that everyone from humans to animals alike can enjoy for years to come.

Traveling the West in a Week

By Stephanie Hansen, Director of Operations

I recently took a full week off from work. While that may not seem remarkable to most people, it is a rare occurrence for me. I recognize the importance of a vacation, but I have to admit I really like to come to the office and I like to work. While I had originally planned on taking nearly three weeks off to go to Europe, the plan kept changing until I had one week of vacation marked on the calendar.

The vacation turned out to be a nearly 2,000 mile, 7 day road trip starting from my home in Hailey, Idaho, through Wyoming, into Montana, back to Wyoming, into South Dakota, back through Wyoming and ending back in Hailey. I spent nearly three months planning the trip and researching the history of the places we wanted to see. Excited at taking on what felt like a part-time night and weekend job, I was busy mapping the route, booking places to stay and making note of entrance fees to the many points of interest we planned on seeing. 

When a friend heard we were planning on going to Billings, Montana the first night he suggested we go through Yellowstone and drive the Beartooth Scenic Byway. Also known as the Beartooth Highway, the road opened in June 1936 and is the highest elevation road in the Northern Rockies, with the tallest point being 10,947 feet high at the Beartooth Pass in Wyoming. It was like winter all over again with frozen lakes and some snow banks higher than the roof of the car. Every hairpin turn provided yet another awe inspiring view of the Beartooth Mountains and at times all we could do is shake our heads as we viewed this absolutely stunning landscape.

The iconic Devil's Tower, Wyoming. Photo ©Stephanie Hansen

Over the next few days we made our way to the Little Bighorn Battlefield (a.k.a. Custer’s Last Stand), to the northeast corner of Wyoming to see Devils Tower which was established by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 as America’s first national monument (and looked nothing like what I remember from watching the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind when I was 10), and to Deadwood, South Dakota.  I admit I was addicted to the HBO series “Deadwood” and looked forward to exploring the town and visiting Mount Moriah Cemetery where Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane and Seth Bullock are buried.

Rugged peaks off the Needles Highway, South Dakota. Photo ©Stephanie Hansen

Next up was the Badlands National Park, then Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway, Needles Highway in Custer State Park and the Black Hills National Forest. The last day in South Dakota included a much anticipated visit to Jewel Cave National Monument. Jewel Cave was declared a national monument in 1908 and is currently the third longest cave in the world, with over 166 miles of mapped and surveyed passages. We learned many interesting things during our 90 minute tour of the cave including air volume studies that indicate 95% of the cave has yet to be discovered.

Exploring the Jewel Cave in South Dakota's Black Hills. Photo ©Stephanie Hansen

The last night on the road was spent in Lander, Wyoming and then an early morning rise to make the final trek through Grand Teton National Park with a stop in Jackson Hole for lunch. After being on the road for so many days we were oddly not in any crazy rush to get home and simply took in the sites and beautiful scenery. We agreed that each and every day had brought yet another spectacular view of something we had never seen before or something we never seemed to get tired of seeing.  And while it was not three weeks away from work, or even two, it was one really good week of vacation.

“Siri, where is the nearest research plot?”

By Bob Unnasch, Director of Science

It’s early morning in a strange town and you are desperate for that first cup of joe. So, you pick up your phone and say, “Siri, where is the closest coffee shop?” And, the phone gives you a map showing coffee shops in the neighborhood.  You choose one and ask for walking directions and the phone displays a map with an arrow guiding your path. It’s amazing. Yet, this geographically specific information is now so ubiquitous that we take it for granted.

Not all information is so easily searched geographically. Ecological research, for example.  If I stand in the Owyhees, pick up my phone, find a cellular signal and say, “Siri, where is the nearest research plot?” there will be no map, and no answer. When back in my office I can go onto the Web of Science or Google Scholar and search for rangeland research by topic, but not by geography. A search of “rangeland health” and “Owyhee County” results in all of 20 hits, only one of which is published in a scientific journal. A search of “rangeland health” with a latitude/longitude location yields no hits.

I know of a lot of important research has been done in the Owyhees – I’ve published some. But, it is difficult, if not impossible, to find it. That’s because the scientific journals are stuck in the 19th century, indexing their articles by topics and concepts, not locations. Since the emergence of cheap GPS, most journals have required authors to provide the location of their studies. Yet, these very journals don’t use that information.

We needed a tool that could pull from this GPS data to find research. That’s why JournalMap was developed. In collaboration with colleagues from the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service / Jornada Experimental Range we created JournalMap to allow anyone to find relevant scientific information by location.

Specifically, JournalMap is an ecological literature search engine that allows users to track down relevant scientific research based on location and biophysical variables as well as traditional keyword searches. Publications are indexed based on reported location information and plotted on a world map showing where the research was conducted allowing you to easily visualize the research occurring in specific areas and show you where data gaps might exist.

JournalMap allows scientists to get a broad perspective of where research has been published or to focus on specific areas. Users can easily visualize literature richness in a given area and identify knowledge gaps. This is particularly powerful for land managers that need to know everything about their specific landscape, or a researcher looking for an underrepresented study area.

In addition to being able to search for literature geographically, JournalMap opens up the possibility to search for literature from similar areas. In many parts of the world, there has been little formal study of the structure and dynamics of local ecosystems, turning resource management into a guessing game. However, research that has been conducted on landscapes that share similar soils and climates can, in many cases, be relevant to these understudied regions. JournalMap allows researchers to search for research in these similar areas.

Updates from Henry's Fork

By Matthew Ward, Flat Ranch Preserve Manager

This spring, I was quickly reminded how critical The Nature Conservancy’s efforts in the Upper Henry’s Fork have been in protecting important wildlife habitat and migration corridors. Within the first few days after the snow disappeared, we had a grizzly bear, over twenty antelope, moose, and dozens of elk all out on the flat feeding. The pothole wetlands were filled with thousands of boreal chorus frogs and aquatic insects. Trumpeter swans, beaver and mink were out in the river, long-billed curlews were everywhere and dozens of species of songbirds were singing and staking out territory in anticipation of breeding, nesting and rearing.

The vast beauty of Flat Ranch Preserve. Photo ©Chris Little

Our efforts to engage more individuals and organizations in conservation continue to grow in Eastern Idaho and we have partnered with BYU-Idaho, the Upper Snake chapter of the Audubon Society, and the Idaho Master Naturalist to start an annual bird survey that will begin the first week of June. BYU-Idaho has also hired a GIS intern that will be working throughout the next several months to map out ecological zones and begin the first steps to set up long term study sites on the Flat Ranch. We hope that this relationship will grow into the future and give undergraduate students the chance to participate in research and restoration projects in the Upper Henry’s Fork in the years to come.

In preparation for a restoration project we have planned this fall on the Flat Ranch, we will be utilizing BYUI students to help plant over 400 willows along a one mile section of Jesse Creek. The last mile of Jesse Creek will be permanently restored to its historic channel by the end of October. This spring's planting will be the first step towards returning Jesse Creek to a healthy, naturally functioning aquatic corridor.

Follow us on Facebook to get up to date information and a schedule of our summer educational programs.