Research on Wildfire Hazard Reduction in Ponderosa Pine Ecosystems

Frequently Asked Questions

About Research on Wildfire Hazard Reduction
in Ponderosa Pine Ecosystems
at Grand Canyon National Park

	What would this research involve? The purpose of this research is to compare approaches to forest ecosystem management in Grand Canyon National Park. The proposed treatments aim at safely managing hazardous forest fuels while protecting old trees and other resources. The preferred alternative is a research project designed to test four management prescriptions on two small-scale (80-acre) experimental blocks. Fire suppression and prescribed fire approaches would be compared with two fuels reduction approaches that involve thinning of small-diameter trees followed by prescribed burning. Two treatments involve cutting trees less than five inches in diameter (at breast height). The minimal treatment would cut small trees immediately around old trees (more than 120 years old). The intermediate treatment would extend the thinning to remove dense thickets.
	Why is this research necessary? The risk of high intensity wildfire is extreme in Grand Canyon National Park. Much of our forested area is crowded with high numbers of small trees, a result of 100 years of fire exclusion. Wildfires are increasing in size and intensity, putting resources, property, and safety at risk. While prescribed fire effectively reduces ground fuels, it can also increase mortality of large, old trees. Management approaches are needed for reducing wildfire hazards while preserving forest resources.
	Why isn't prescribed fire enough? Significant progress has been made in wildfire hazard reduction through prescribed fire management, but fire managers acknowledge that not all forest conditions are appropriate for prescribed fire only, and additional techniques and strategies are necessary. Fires hot enough to effectively thin dense thickets of small trees may also damage old trees.
	What is the advantage of these experimental treatments? The Park is mandated to protect Park resources, which includes the preservation of old trees that have long dominated the forest canopy. Should these treatments prove to be successful in protecting old trees, the results could be used to evaluate and refine current fire management techniques. Resource managers would have more information on methods to better protect forest resources.
	How does the preferred action (Alternative "C") differ from the original alternative released in 1999 (Alternative "B")? The preferred action incorporates public comments on the original alternative released for public comment in 1999. The preferred action: limits cutting of trees to those five inches or less in diameter; retains all cut trees with no wood leaving the experimental site; uses only hand tools for cutting trees in the North Rim proposed wilderness; does not require any skid trails, landings, or additional roads. With the preferred action and the changes described above, the emphasis has shifted from forest ecosystem restoration (as described in the original alternative) to testing management alternatives for wildfire hazard reduction. Wildfire hazard reduction and resource protection have always been inherent to the project, but this research takes a more incremental approach than described in the original alternative. The two experimental blocks are still 80 acres each.
	Where are these research sites located? Two experimental blocks were located in representative forest types on the South Rim near Grandview and North Rim on Swamp Ridge. The South Rim forest type is pine-oak, and the North Rim forest type is pine-fir.
	Can I see these study sites? Both experimental blocks are seasonally accessible by existing public roads (unpaved); no new roads would be required.
	How large are the trees that would be cut? Only trees five inches in diameter or smaller would be cut (and in minimal treatment, only those in close proximity to old trees). This size class is better suited for thinning with hand tools in the proposed wilderness of the North Rim.
	What would happen to the cut trees? Cut trees (none larger than five inches diameter) would remain on site, and would be lopped into shorter pieces (so as not to contribute to fuel ladders), then scattered or piled to be burned later.
	Is this different than the commercial logging that goes on in adjacent national forest? Yes. No trees larger than five inches diameter would be cut, and none would be removed from the study site.
	Do you really need to test these treatments on the North Rim? Tree densities and forest fuel loads on much of the North Rim are unnaturally high. We need to develop and test better ways to protect the forest while safely returning to a more natural fire regime. Before the late 1800s, ponderosa forests commonly experienced low intensity lightning-caused wildfires every 3 to 12 years. However, today we are dealing with more than 100 years of accumulated fuels on much of the North Rim, and fire intolerant species encroaching on fire tolerant species.
	How would trees be cut in the proposed wilderness on the North Rim? For this project, only hand tools would be used to cut trees in the North Rim proposed wilderness.
	How would the results of this research be used? Results of this research would be used to evaluate and refine techniques to reduce hazardous fuels in pine-oak and pine-fir communities for: wildland-urban interface fuel treatments; preparation of defensible perimeters for burn units; reducing wildfire spread beyond Park boundaries; protection of sensitive natural and cultural resources.
	How does this differ from forest ecosystem restoration projects in the Southwest? None of our proposed treatments are expected to restore the forests to presettlement conditions. The treatments are site specific, designed for the conditions at the Park, and are limited to areas described in the previous question. There is a 5-inch limit on trees that would be thinned and no material would be removed from the sites.
	Who is involved in these experiments? This is a Grand Canyon National Park project, and Northern Arizona University's Ecological Restoration Institute is assisting the Park through research and monitoring.
	Are tree thinning treatments a change in National Park Service fire management policy? Tree thinning has been used in national parks for a variety of reasons. These include boundary fuel reduction activities for fire protection, maintaining scenic vistas or view sheds, hazard trees, tree removal to maintain critical habitat for endangered species, removal of non-native trees, attempts to stop soil erosion, and treatment of trees which have been killed by insects, diseases, and weather events.
	Where can I get more information about these projects? Please visit our web site at www.nps.gov/grca/forest to view copies of the Environmental Assessment, Executive Summary (both with maps), and other information.