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Restoration and fuel hazard reduction result in equivalent reductions in crown fire behavior in dry conifer forests
Over the past several decades, the management of historically frequent-fire forests in the western United States has received significant attention due to the linked ecological and social risks posed by the increased occurrence of large, contiguous patches of high-severity fire. As a result, efforts are underway to simultaneously reduce potential fire and fuel hazards and restore characteristics indicative of historical forest structures and ecological processes that enhance the diversity and quality of wildlife habitat across landscapes. Despite widespread agreement on the need for action, there is a perceived tension among scientists concerning silvicultural treatments that modify stands to optimally reduce potential fire behavior (fuel hazard reduction) versus those that aim to emulate historical forest structures and create structurally complex stands (restoration). In this work, we evaluated thinning treatments in the Black Hills National Forest that exemplify the extremes of a treatment continuum that ranges from fuel hazard reduction to restoration. The goal of this work was to understand how the differing three-dimensional stand structures created by these treatment approaches altered potential fire behavior. Our results indicate that restoration treatments created higher levels of vertical and horizontal structural complexity than the fuel hazard reduction treatments but resulted in similar reductions to potential crown fire behavior. There were some trade-offs identified as the restoration treatments created larger openings, which generated faster mean rates of fire spread; however, these increased spread rates did not translate to higher levels of canopy consumption. Overall, our results suggest that treatments can create vertical and horizontal complexity desired for restoration and wildlife habitat management while reducing fire hazard and that they can be used in concert with traditional fuel hazard reduction treatments to reduce landscape scale fire risk. We also provide some suggestions to land managers seeking to design and implement prescriptions that emulate historical structures and enhance forest complexity.
Journal Article
The Black Hills
\"Senate decides to settle the fertile lands of Wyoming. Before moving in the settlers, they send a committee of four scientists, led by Lucky Luke, to survey the territory. One senator is strongly opposed to this project and determined to sabotage the expedition. However, the Senate has overlooked one important fact: The territory is home to the Cheyenne Nation, who are determined to defend their land\"--Global Books In Print.
Book
Factors influencing rate of decline in a Merriam's wild turkey population
We investigated population growth rate (λ) for a Merriam's wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo merriami) population in the northern Black Hills, South Dakota, USA. We constructed and evaluated a females-only matrix population model. Our estimate of asymptotic λ, derived from estimates of vital rates obtained from 2016–2018 was 0.74 (95% CI = 0.60, 0.88), which indicates that the vital rates were inadequate to sustain the population. Elasticity values were highest for changes in adult survival probability followed by, in order, changes in juvenile survival, yearling survival, and adult reproduction. We could only achieve stable or growing populations (i.e., λ ≥ 1) by increasing the probability of adult and yearling survival (holding all other vital rates constant). Estimated adult survival rate in the work reported here was lower than values reported for other populations in the Black Hills; therefore, managing for increased female survival (≥0.68) may be the most practical strategy for promoting wild turkey population growth in this system. We recommend no female harvest during any open turkey season.
Journal Article
Precipitation and Reproduction are Negatively Associated with Female Turkey Survival
Understanding how reproductive tradeoffs act in concert with abiotic elements to affect survival is important for effective management and conservation of wildlife populations, particularly for at-risk or harvested species. Wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) are a high-interest species for consumptive and non-consumptive uses, and female survival is a primary factor influencing turkey population dynamics. We radio-tracked and collected survival data on 140 female Merriam’s wild turkeys (M. g. merriami) in the northern Black Hills, South Dakota, USA, 2016–2018. We developed and compared a set of candidate models to evaluate how nest incubation, brood rearing, and precipitation could be associated with female survival. Increased time spent incubating was associated with reduced female survival. Additionally, daily precipitation was associated with reduced survival of incubating females. Seasonal survival was lowest during spring and winter. A female that did not incubate a nest was predicted to have a higher rate of annual survival (0.53, 85% CI=0.48–0.59) than a female that incubated a single nest (0.47, 85% CI=0.42–0.53). Despite the relative proximity of population segments, we estimated that annual survival for nesting and non-nesting females was lower in the northern Black Hills compared to annual female survival in the southern Black Hills, underscoring the need for region-specific data when possible.
Journal Article
Calvin Coolidge in the Black Hills
\"Well-written . . . analysis and insight into what role the crisp, clean Black Hills air may have had in the culmination of a successful political career\" ( The Washington Times ).
On August 2, 1927, President Calvin Coolidge shocked the nation by announcing he would not seek reelection. The declaration came from the Black Hills of South Dakota, where Coolidge was vacationing to escape the oppressive Washington summer and to win over politically rebellious farmers. He passed his time at rodeos, fishing, meeting Native American dignitaries and kick-starting the stagnant carving of Mount Rushmore. But scandal was never far away as Coolidge dismissed a Secret Service man in a fit of anger. Was it this internal conflict that led Coolidge to make his famous announcement or the magic of the Black Hills? Veteran South Dakota journalist Seth Tupper chronicles Coolidge's Black Hills adventure and explores the lasting legacy of the presidential summer on the region.
Includes photos
\"The book sets out to examine such questions as why the president chose to travel west and why he used the trip to make the announcement that he would not run for president again in 1928 . . . well documented and filled with fascinating details.\" — The Washington Free Beacon
eBook
Black-Backed Woodpecker Abundance in the Black Hills
The Black Hills population of black-backed woodpeckers (Picoides arcticus) was petitioned, but deemed not warranted, to be listed as a threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act and more information on their population size in the region is needed. Our objective was to map abundance and provide a population estimate of black-backed woodpeckers in the Black Hills and Bear Lodge Mountains of South Dakota and Wyoming, USA. We conducted 3,666 and 3,384 5-minute point count surveys from late-March to late-June in 2015 and 2016, respectively. We characterized vegetation around each point using geographic information system-derived landscape variables and fit 3-level hierarchical time-removal models in R package unmarked using gmultmix. The global abundance model received the most support and included year, latitude, and percent area of green trees, beetle-killed trees, dead trees, 1- to 2-year-old wildfire, 3-year-old wildfire, and 4- to 5-year-old wildfire. Points with high percent cover of beetle-killed trees had the greatest density of black-backed woodpeckers, followed by 1- to 2-year-old wildfires. After 4 years, areas burned by wildfire supported lower densities of black-backed woodpeckers than undisturbed forests. Mean density was 0.528 birds/km² in 2015 and 0.626 birds/km² in 2016. There were an estimated 2,920 and 3,439 black-backed woodpeckers in the Black Hills and Bear Lodge Mountains in 2015 and 2016, respectively. We suggest areas with high percent cover of beetle-killed trees may support high densities of black-backed woodpeckers and are important to sustaining populations when the availability of recent (<4 years old) wildfire is declining or scarce.
Journal Article
The importance of disturbance and forest structure to bird abundance in the Black Hills
Many North American birds associated with forest disturbances such as wildfire and mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) outbreaks are declining in abundance. More information on relationships between avian abundance and forest structure and disturbance is needed to guide conservation and management. Our objective was to determine densities of American Three-toed Woodpecker (Picoides dorsalis), Black-backed Woodpecker (Picoides arcticus), Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis), Brown Creeper (Certhia americana), and White-winged Junco (Junco hyemalis aikeni) in relation to vegetation characteristics and disturbance at the point and landscape level in the Black Hills and Bear Lodge Mountains of South Dakota and Wyoming. We conducted 3 point counts from late March to late June 2015 and 2016 at more than 2,300 locations distributed across a gradient of forest structure and disturbance types. We estimated densities using 3-level hierarchical time-removal models that simultaneously estimated abundance, availability, and detection probability. Black-backed Woodpeckers were positively related to percent area in 1- to 3-year-old wildfires and Brown Creepers were positively associated with percent area in 4- to 5-year-old wildfires; however, Red-breasted Nuthatches were negatively related to percent area in 3- to 5-year-old wildfires. With the exception of American Three-toed Woodpeckers, species were positively related to percent cover of beetle-killed trees. Brown Creepers, White-winged Juncos, and Red-breasted Nuthatches had mixed responses to percent overstory canopy cover. White-winged Juncos also had a positive association with percent ground vegetation at the point and landscape level. Brown Creepers were strongly linked with spruce vegetation type. American Three-toed Woodpeckers, which are thought to occupy spruce forest in the Black Hills, did not show a strong relationship with any covariates. Maintaining some areas of natural disturbances along with heterogeneity of vegetation characteristics within stands and at the landscape scale will benefit the needs of a diverse bird community in the Black Hills.
Journal Article
Interactions between Climate and Stand Conditions Predict Pine Mortality during a Bark Beetle Outbreak
In temperate coniferous forests, biotic disturbances such as bark beetle outbreaks can result in widespread tree mortality. The characteristics of individual trees and stands, such as tree diameter and stand density, often influence the probability of tree mortality during a bark beetle outbreak. However, it is unclear if these relationships are mediated by climate. To test this, we assembled tree mortality data for over 3800 ponderosa pine trees from Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) plots measured before and after a mountain pine beetle outbreak in the Black Hills, South Dakota, USA. Logistic models were used to determine which tree, stand, and climate characteristics were associated with the probability of mortality. Interactions were tested between significant climate variables and significant tree/stand variables. Our analysis revealed that mortality rates were lower in trees with higher live crown ratios. Mortality rates rose in response to increasing tree diameter, stand basal area (both from ponderosa pine and non-ponderosa pine), and elevation. Below 1500 m, the mortality rate was ~1%, while above 1700 m, the rate increased to ~30%. However, the association between elevation and mortality risk was buffered by precipitation, such that relatively moist high-elevation stands experienced less mortality than relatively dry high-elevation stands. Tree diameter, crown ratio, and stand density affected tree mortality independent of precipitation. This study demonstrates that while stand characteristics affect tree susceptibility to bark beetles, these relationships may be mediated by climate. Thus, both site and stand level characteristics should be considered when implementing management treatments to reduce bark beetle susceptibility.
Journal Article
Mountain lions of the Black Hills : history and ecology
The story of the recovery of mountain lions in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
Mountain lions, sometimes called pumas or cougars, were once spread throughout the United States, occupying all 48 of the contiguous states. By the 1960s, though, they were almost extinct in central and eastern North America. In Mountain Lions of the Black Hills, Dr. Jonathan A. Jenks, who, along with his team of graduate students, has tracked over 200 of these fascinating predators, tells the complex story of the big cats' lives in the northern Great Plains.
Jenks reports on mountain lion population dynamics, diet, nutrition, diseases, behavior, and genetics. He explores the impact of a changing prey base on population growth and decline, movements within and away from the region, and hunting on the species; discusses interactions between the cats and livestock; and examines local people's evolving perceptions of mountain lions. Throughout, Jenks explores how we can balance conservation techniques with the needs of humans.
Providing a unique look into how a large, secretive predator recolonized an isolated region of North America, Mountain Lions of the Black Hills is required reading for wildlife professionals. A captivating text for anyone struck by the wild majesty of these big cats, this book provides invaluable data upon which to make sound management decisions in the Great Plains and beyond.
eBook