PARENT SESSION
Poster Session #17: Restoration using Fire.
Tuesday, August 6. Presentation from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM. Exhibit Hall B & C, TCC

Wildlife issues for fire management policy and implementation plans in the Sierra Nevada.

Rossi, Aviva^*,1,2, ¹ University of San Francisco, San Francisco, California² CH2M HILL, Oakland, California

ABSTRACT- Wildlife habitat requirements and life histories are an important component of prescribed burning programs, and need to be incorporated into planning process to minimize adverse impacts to wildlife and maximize the efficiency of the burn programs. Fire regimes of the Sierra Nevada ecosystems have been highly altered in the past century, and this can create additional impacts to wildlife when fire is reintroduced. This paper presents the results of a literature review that addresses a range of impacts of fire on multiple wildlife species to discuss general wildlife issues that should be addressed when implementing prescribed burning programs in the Sierra Nevada. Preliminary results suggest that there is several critical issues that prescribed fire programs should incorporate. These issues include the following: effects on species with limited local distribution due to habitat constraints (especially those listed as threatened or endangered); effect of invasive plants on the fire regime; limited information regarding effects on herpetofauna; effects of burn season on nesting species; recovery time of different ecosystems; and applicability of focused studies to broader management strategies over larger regions. Results of this review can be used as a reference for land managers who may be unfamiliar with the types of wildlife issues to consider, a base for risk assessment models, and guidance for future research.

KEY WORDS: Fire, Ecology, Wildlife, Sierra Nevada