In Lava Beds National Monument, GBI has been supporting a post-fire restoration effort in the wake of two wildfires that burned 97% of the monument, reducing native plant species and creating an opening for highly flammable invasive plants to prosper. The exciting discovery of a previously unmapped sagebrush refuge by GBI’s Ash Terry and Amber Laughner has been a boon to these efforts. Ash and Amber kindly provided us with insights into this discovery, as well as details about their experience with GBI and Lava Beds National Monument.
1. What is the nature of the work that you’re doing for GBI?
“We’re ecological restoration technichians with Lava Beds National Monument in Northern California, supporting the pot fire recorvery under crew lead Jonathan Amegin. Our goal is to restore resiliance to native plant communities, especially the Big Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) steppe and shrubland. These areas severely impacted by the 2020 and 2021 fires, which burned 97% of the monument. Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum). invasion firther threatens rcovery by hindering native perennial establishment and increasing fire frequency. Our daily work includes invasive plant management, seed collecting, native plant nursery care, and monitoring restoration research plots.”
2. Describe your relationship with other participants and National Park Service partners.
“We work under the Natural Resources Division at Lava Beds National Monument, which brings us close to NPS staff. In addition, there are interns working from Scientists in Parks and Klamath I&M Network. Each group has separate day-to-day responsibilities, but we have become a unified Natural Resources crew who share information with each other often and have also provided opportunities for cross-training experience.”
Ash:
“While I have worked in restoration ecology for three seasons, I have never worked in a post-fire shrubland. It has been amazing to get more experience in this type of restoration work and with a whole new ecosystem of plants. In addition to learning about the ecology and fire effects here, I have continued to gain experience in invasive species management and native seed collection while learning completely new skills, such as using new software like QGIS and QField. This research project on fire retardant and sagebrush has been particularly beneficial to my development. I am planning on beginning graduate school after my season here at Lava Beds, so developing this study from start to finish has felt like a mini test run for my future master’s project.
The restoration program here is still in its early stages, and, after working on projects that have been ongoing for many years, it is exciting (and daunting) to be part of the early decision-making process. We are actively making and changing protocols based on our results from this season. While it can be stressful at times, it has been fun being able to get creative and problem solve for the particular needs of this landscape. It is comforting to know that what we learn this season will help future restoration crews and the beautiful sagebrush shrub lands be successful.”
Amber:
“This position with GBI is my first season that has taken me completely outside of the area I grew up in. Moving across the country from eastern mesic hardwoods and tallgrass prairies to the western semi-arid sagebrush steppe has been an intense change of scenery, but I have loved working in this ecosystem. Helping to restore sagebrush and other native plant communities after wildfires and cheatgrass invasion has taught me a lot about the real challenges associated with restoration work and the careful consideration needed to create effective management strategies.
I have developed many new skills at Lava Beds as we work on a wide variety of projects day-to-day. This has included research plot design, ArcGIS Pro and QGIS comprehension, statistical analysis, nursery maintenance, invasive species control, and a deeper understanding of the floristic makeup of the monument. As a part of a three-person team, I have gotten a closer look at the decision-making process for natural resource management at a landscape scale and have the opportunity to operate independently. Additionally, my close association with members of NPS, Scientists in Parks, and Klamath I&M has opened my eyes to different programs within the realm of natural resources conservation and allowed me to expand my network. As I continue my career as a natural resources professional, these factors have been very valuable to me.
Working at Lava Beds through GBI has led to personal and professional development that has put me in a position to further launch my career while holding a higher appreciation for sagebrush steppe and shrubland habitat. I have the assurance that my duties are serving the land and my team in meaningful ways as we fight a years-long restoration battle one day at a time.”
4. Describe the unmapped sagebrush refuge discovery. What were you doing when you found it? Why is it significant? What are the next steps?
While scouting for potential native seed populations, we stumbled across one of the continuous patches of sagebrush refuge. We noted that this population, which we originally estimated to be about 6 acres, had not been previously mapped like the other sagebrush refuges within the monument.
“While observing the plot, we noted a red stain present on the pumice in between vegetation and on the surrounding dead woody material (Figure 1). We hypothesized that this could have been residual staining from fire-retardant, but we could not confirm this theory until, back at the office, when we were able to find a file mapping the locations of two fire-retardant drops during the Caldwell fire in 2020, which matched the location of our discovered refuge plot. We added this file to ArcGIS Pro along with satellite imagery from one-month post-Caldwell, where the red dye from the retardant was still visible, as a basemap.
The following week, we revisited this new refuge to add it to our existing map of sagebrush populations that had survived the fires. Using a Leica GG04+ for optimal accuracy, we walked around the entire plot to create a polygon, trying to be as detailed as possible. When we added this polygon to our GIS map, we saw an almost one-to-one match between what we had mapped in the field and the fire-retardant footprint from the satellite image (with additional sagebrush to the east of the drop, most likely also saved from burning due to the retardant drop) (Figure 2).
We then decided to survey the rest of the mapped fire-retardant drops to look for more sagebrush refugia. After surveying the two drop zones, we had concluded that almost all of the areas that had been hit by retardant had maintained a mature, healthy population of sagebrush shrubland habitat, alongside other native plant communities. The overall refugia totaled close to 30 acres; the fire-retardant had a direct impact on the landscape, where the unburned refuge area is able to provide ecosystem services- an essential seed source, biodiversity hotspot, good wildlife forage, etc. In comparison, the burned, cheatgrass-invaded areas cannot provide much value to the landscape.
Finding an intact sagebrush population is a huge win for our restoration efforts. Sagebrush, in particular, is a difficult species to restore. It can take up to 30 years to regenerate a stand of sagebrush. This species is unable to resprout after a high intensity burn, and they have a low seedling survival rate. Without a nearby seed source, it is highly unlikely that a sagebrush population would return after being burned (or at least not for many decades) without active restoration efforts. This sagebrush refuge provides a vital seed source in an area of the monument that has no other remaining sagebrush stands nearby. This population directly minimizes the resources and efforts needed to restore the surrounding area.
In addition to being beneficial to our specific restoration goals, there are significant implications for fire management in sagebrush habitats. This refugia was preserved due to a fire-retardant drop. While fire-retardant has been documented as having negative environmental impacts due to its high phosphorus and nitrogen content, there may be greater positive effects than negative in the semi-arid environment where sagebrush grows. Especially given the importance of having nearby seed sources for sagebrush restoration, knowing the impacts of fire-retardant can help fire management make informed decisions about if and where to drop the retardant in future wildfire scenarios. You can begin to think about fire-retardant not only as a way to minimize sagebrush loss during a wildfire but also as a tool to aid restoration efforts afterwards.
We developed a study to test whether fire-retardant drops preserved sagebrush shrubland during the fires. Surveyed areas inside the retardant drops and nearby control plots with similar pre-fire vegetation (Figure 3). By comparing the current plant composition, we aim to determine if the retardant made a significant difference. We’re now analyzing the field data with plans to publish a case study. The findings could help fire and resource managers prioritize areas for aerial fire-retardant drops, which is critical for protecting sagebrush habitats that are severly impacted by wildfires and cheatgrass invasion.”
