Ellis Margolis is a research ecologist at the USGS New Mexico Landscapes Field Station, based in Santa Fe. He received a Ph.D. in Watershed Management from the University of Arizona. Since joining the USGS in 2015, he has continued his research on the interactions between fire, forests, and climate and specializes in dendrochronology (the study of tree rings dating). Presently, his research focuses on land use and climate effects on fire regimes and forests of the southwestern U.S.
Fantastic Failure: False Hope and the Four Mile Canyon Fire
Here is a great blog post on the Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network website about lessons learned from the 2010 Four Mile Canyon fire near Boulder, CO. The author, Dave Lasky of Gravitas Peak Wildland Fire Module, personally treated 600 acres of forest within the burn scar prior to the burn. The blog post highlights the importance of following up mechanical treatments with prescribed fire to reduce surface fuels. The post also discusses how home construction, weather, and other factors often play a much larger role than vegetation in determining fire behavior and fire impacts to communities.
Yes, Something Can Be Done About Wildfires
Prescribed burn at Hyde Memorial State Park begins 12/13
Fire and Water are Linked in New Mexico
n 2011, the Las Conchas Fire burned 156,000 acres in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico. At the time, it was the largest forest fire in New Mexico history. We are used to fire in New Mexico, but the Las Conchas stunned fire managers and scientists with its speed and ferocity, leaving severely burned patches up to 40,000 acres in size...