ERI in the News
Fall 2024 ERI Newsletter – Policy and Communications
In addition to exploring the social impacts of reforestation and fire management, ERI’s Policy and Communications group is collaborating with partners to evaluate wildfire risk science and decision-support tools. Some of the ongoing social science projects include: Developing a reforestation social science project, which seeks to understand the impact of [...]
Biomass: Alternatives to Pile Burning?
Comparative trial of an Air Curtain Burner and a CharBoss April 24-28, 2023 East Copeland Lane, off Highway 89 North, Second entrance on right, Location coordinates: 35.313239, -111.546923 Open House Days: Members of the public are invited to observe the trial operation and learn about biomass disposal and biochar [...]
NAU Foresters Pioneer Nationwide Wildfire Treatment Map
Northern Arizona University’s Ecological Restoration Institute is taking the lead on an effort to map forest treatments across the country. The first-of-its-kind undertaking is designed to make the work more effective and lessen the threat of wildfire in the West. The project called ReSHAPE will compile information across forest [...]
Rodeo-Chediski Fire scarred Arizona forests. How have they changed in the past 20 years?
Arizona's first modern megafire raged through ponderosa pines 20 years ago this month, burning deep scars that still reveal themselves on the landscape atop the Mogollon Rim. How the forest recovers — if it does — will depend on the actions of forest and land managers two decades later and the effects [...]
‘Nothing to go back to’: the way of life lost to New Mexico’s historic fire
For Kathryn Mahan and her husband, Jamie, the front steps of their home in the northern New Mexico village of Las Dispensas were a family touchstone. The couple built the house themselves in 2015 and fashioned the steps out of concrete blocks. Every year they photographed their daughter, Rayyah, [...]
Forest health in Arizona: Stressed by drought and pests, trees are losing resilience to changing climate
FLAGSTAFF – The electric blue sky frames a stand of ponderosa pines – their ramrod trunks picket the forest floor as sunlight floods the ground. A breeze tickles the green needles, mingling dust with the heady scent of pine. At first, it’s easy to mistake the sound of wind [...]
Three universities receive $20 million to make fuel management data more usable for managers
In an effort to improve forest resilience and reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires in the Interior West, three organizations are receiving a total of $20 million from the U.S. government. The funds are part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed by Congress with bipartisan support and [...]
Abnormally dry conditions can spark early wildfire season this year
TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) - Southern Arizona’s abnormally dry conditions can result in an earlier than normal start to wildfire season and climate change is playing a growing role. “It’s not going to be uncommon that we will have large wildfires it’s almost certain during that peak time [...]