Wildfires have become increasingly devastating in the western United States, causing significant destruction to ecosystems, communities, and resources.
With decades of restrictive wildfire management policies leading to an accumulation of combustible materials in forests, there is a pressing need for effective solutions that can restore balance to these ecosystems.
In response to this urgent issue, a multi-disciplinary team from Idaho, New Mexico, and Oklahoma has received a $4 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) Research Infrastructure Improvement Program.
The project will be led by Boise State University, in collaboration with the University of New Mexico, Navajo Technical University, Northwest Nazarene University, and the University of Oklahoma.
Other partners include the US Forest Service, US Geological Survey, the Fire Science Exchange Network, and various EPSCoR states, including Nevada.
The initiative aims to explore how prescribed burns and managed wildfires could pave the way for a healthier relationship between the nation and its wildfires.
Prescribed fires involve the planned use of fire under specified weather conditions, managed by experts to restore health to ecosystems that inherently rely on fire, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
In contrast, managed wildfires are not intentionally started but can be guided to burn in predefined ways that contribute positively to the ecosystem while minimizing risks to nearby communities.
Mojtaba Sadegh, an associate professor of civil engineering and the principal investigator at Boise State, expressed his excitement about the potential impact of this collaborative effort.
“It’s a thrilling opportunity to empower many aspects we care about deeply: creating opportunities for students, advancing early career faculty, and serving communities, all while conducting groundbreaking research,” Sadegh stated.
With the grant, the project will create positions for 14 students and two post-doctoral fellows across the partnering institutions, fostering development in a critical area for wildfire management.
Sadegh emphasized the significance of collaboration: “This grant gives us the chance to deepen partnerships with forest and fire managers and strengthen collaborations among educational institutions.
There are incredible synergies between the states, and I am excited about developing these further.”
As climate change accelerates and fire seasons worsen, the team recognizes the urgent need for effective wildfire management strategies.
Dale Hamilton, a research collaborator and chair of the computer science department at Northwest Nazarene University, noted that 19 of the 20 worst fire seasons have occurred since the year 2000.
“We need to understand the role of prescribed fire in restoring ecosystem resilience; it mimics the effects of the low-severity fires that historically occurred more frequently in nature,” Hamilton said.
The research aims to tackle multiple dimensions of wildfire management, examining how managed fires can positively influence landscapes, ecosystems, and communities while assessing their economic ramifications.
Researchers at Boise State will focus on the hydrological aspects of wildfire management, employing computer modeling to identify areas where prescribed burns could be most beneficial.
Additionally, the research team will conduct social science investigations to understand barriers to adopting prescribed fire strategies among fire managers and local communities.
Meanwhile, Northwest Nazarene University will collaborate closely with Boise State to develop methodologies for evaluating the effects of both wildfires and prescribed burns on affected ecosystems, including waterways and wildlife habitats.
“The department of computer science at Northwest Nazarene University has been engaged in wildfire research for a decade,” Hamilton added.
“Every computer science major has had the chance to participate in projects related to fire ecology.
This collaboration will broaden those opportunities and allow students to apply their knowledge of cutting-edge computer science and remote sensing technologies.”
In New Mexico, researchers from the University of New Mexico and Navajo Technical University are committed to improving scientific computing capabilities, running simulations on the watershed scale to assess how prescribed fire impacts forest health and water resources.
They will also work on building microclimate data loggers to enhance measurements related to microclimates and fire interactions.
Matthew Hurteau, a professor in Biology at the University of New Mexico, highlights the critical importance of this research for water resources.
“More than half of our water supply comes from forested watersheds.
Understanding how to manage fire effectively can help mitigate risk in communities situated in these forested areas,” Hurteau noted.
At the University of Oklahoma, assistant professor of economics Jayash Paudel will contribute economic assessments of managed fires while conducting cost-benefit analyses to inform decision-making processes related to wildfire management.
“Oklahoma recently experienced devastating wildfires that destroyed hundreds of homes and scorched large areas of land.
This project addresses multi-dimensional, multi-sector impacts of managed fires, yielding insights that are relevant across the nation,” Paudel remarked.
The research initiative aims to synthesize economic, ecological, hydrological, and social insights, enabling the creation of transformative tools that optimize the use of managed wildfires and prescribed burns.
By providing fire managers with data-driven strategies, the project seeks to enhance wildfire resilience, protect communities, and prevent long-term ecological damage across the western United States.
This ambitious undertaking stands to not only advance scientific understanding but also cultivate a collaborative ethos that promotes proactive wildfire management practices across state lines.
The work is funded by the National Science Foundation under award number 2521103.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. National Science Foundation.
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