Join the Santa Fe Chapter of the Native Plant Society of New Mexico for their monthly meeting and the following lecture (meetings and talks are free and open to all):
Title: A success story: Fire ecology and management in the Santa Fe Fireshed
Speaker: Ellis Margolis, Research Ecologist at USGS New Mexico Landscapes Field Station
Date and Location: 6:30pm Feb. 10 at Christ Lutheran Church (1701 Arroyo Chamiso Rd)
Summary: Increasingly large and severe wildfires are threatening forests, water supplies, and communities across the western United States. Restoring the low severity fires of the past, which are recorded in tree rings, can increase the resilience of forested watersheds. The prescribed fire program in the Santa Fe Watershed is arguably one of the most successful in the West. The pre-1880 fire regime has been restored in a large part of the watershed, reducing the threat of severe wildfire and post-fire debris flows. More work is needed in the Greater Santa Fe Fireshed, but this success should be recognized and built upon.
About the Speaker: Ellis Margolis is a research ecologist at the USGS New Mexico Landscapes Field Station, based in Santa Fe. He uses tree rings to understand the interactions between fire, forests, human land use, and climate variability. His experience in fire adapted ecosystems in the Pine Barrens of New York and the longleaf pine forests of Florida inspired his research in fire ecology.