Field trips
Ponderosa pine ecology and management tour
Monday, September 12, 8:00 AM – ~4:00 PM
Cost: $30, includes box lunch and transportation (limited to 20 participants)
Organizers: W. Keith Moser and Jackson Leonard, US Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, and Andrew Sánchez Meador, Ecological Restoration Institute and School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University
This field trip will examine the ecology, dynamics, and management of ponderosa pine ecosystems in the southern edge of the Colorado Plateau. The field trip will begin by driving south to the Beaver Creek watershed to examine lower elevation range of ponderosa pine and its ecotone with pinon-juniper ecosystems. Beaver Creek, a UNESCO Man and the Biosphere site, was a center of watershed research in northern Arizona for decades. This initial stop will help frame the ecosystems in northern Arizona in the context of C. Hart Merriam’s work. Merriam developed the “life zone” concept to describe areas with similar plant and animal communities, concluding that changes in these communities with an increase in latitude at a constant elevation are like the changes seen with an increase in elevation at a constant latitude. He based his conclusions on observations from his survey of the San Francisco mountains region of and the desert area around the Little Colorado River.
From Beaver Creek, the field trip will move to the forests north of Flagstaff to view a variety of management actions that reflect ponderosa pine dynamics and forest restoration. Over lunch, the group will listen to a presentation about the social history of Fort Valley Experimental Forest and Forest Service research in Arizona. Participants will see old-growth ponderosa pine forests that have been long unburned and a neighboring forest restoration site that combined mechanical and burning treatments to restore it to a pre-settlement condition. The long-term level of growing stock study at Taylor Woods is an example of the historical aspects of the Fort Valley Experimental Forest and its influence on management in the Southwest. The field trip will conclude with a drive into the mixed-conifer zone along Snowbowl Road to examine the landscapes surrounding the San Francisco Peaks.
Climate change and management in pinyon-juniper woodlands
Monday, September 12, 8:00 AM – ~4:00 PM
Cost: $30, includes box lunch and transportation (limited to 40 participants)
Organizers: Molly McCormick, US Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, and Steve Cassady, Arizona Game and Fish Department
This field trip will showcase climate change impacts and management efforts in pinyon-juniper (PJ) woodlands. Participants will travel to a Babbitt Ranches site near Slate Mountain off Highway 180, which is 50 miles north of Flagstaff. Babbitt Ranches has been working with Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) on thinning PJ woodlands for the benefit of wildlife. Participants will also visit a nearby area of extensive juniper die-off; a recent and unexpected climate change-induced phenomenon. This field trip will give participants the opportunity to experience novel climate impacts, management challenges in PJ woodlands, and on-the-ground solutions. The field trip will lay the groundwork for two related symposiums and a workshop on PJ woodland management. Participants will be presented with diverse management and research perspectives that will allow them to develop a nuanced understanding of challenges and opportunities facing PJ woodlands and to collectively develop insights into managing these important ecosystems. The field trip, symposiums, and workshops are intended to instigate collaborative opportunities and novel solutions to match unprecedented challenges in management of PJ woodlands on the Colorado Plateau and greater Southwest region.