Science You Can Use

Bucking the trend: Understanding women's growing participation in hunting in the Mountain-Prairie region

For decades, national participation in hunting has been on the decline. One population of hunters, however, is bucking the trend: Women. Studies on women in hunting often

Multi-age, multi-use: Tips for transforming Rocky Mountain ponderosa pine forests from even-aged to multi-aged structures

Have you ever looked at a towering ponderosa pine forest and wondered how old the trees are? Were all the trees of a similar age, known as an "even-aged structure," such

Map in a Snap: RegenMapper Quickly Identifies, Prioritizes Replanting Locations

The 2017 fire season in Montana was especially severe, with more than 2,400 wildfires burning about 1.4 million acres across the state. In the aftermath, the Forest Serv

Managing fire for more species: Landscape mosaics benefit plants and animals in Sierra Nevada forests

In the dry, fire-adapted forests of California's Sierra Nevada - where yellow pine, mixed conifer, and red fir historically burned on frequent, low-to-moderate severity c

Tipping the balance: Promoting beneficial fungi to keep a forest pathogen in check

Armillaria solidipes, a naturally occurring fungus, is responsible for one of the most widespread root diseases in western North American forests. Armillaria root disease

Restore ponderosa forests—and reduce fire risk? Study shows the path forward

Forest managers are increasingly looking to restore ponderosa pine forests to more ecologically diverse conditions—forests with clusters of trees, openings, and multiple 

A Labor of Love: Supporting ranchers and range managers with the South Dakota Drought Tool

For 25 years, ranchers in South Dakota have used the South Dakota Drought Tool to estimate forage productivity of grazing lands. This crucial information helps them gauge

How wildland fire incident catering can improve morale and nourish wildland firefighters

In early 2024, Michael Caggiano, a wildland firefighter and regional fire analyst with the Forest Service, approached David Flores, a research social scientist with the F

Hatch me if you can: New hatchR tool helps predict and protect fish development

Hidden like fish eggs in the streambed, the answer was buried in the mathematical models of Morgan Spark's graduate work. Biologists and land managers know early fish lif

Post-fire seeding in the Great Basin: Is more better? Depends on the weather

Hostile winds yanked at the yellow transect tapes. Stephanie Yelenik and fellow researchers plodded on, endeavoring to place tapes in an organized grid. Their field site

Trails and Tails: Using smart-phone GPS data to balance recreation and wildlife management

Did you know your cellphone's GPS locations can help us decipher how recreationists and wildlife overlap in time and space? Mark Ditmer, a research ecologist at the Rocky

Picture Perfect: Inventory snapshots provide valuable forest data at a glance

For nearly 100 years, the Forest Service has inventoried America's forest resources to provide a scorecard of forest health, vitality, and sustainability. Born out of the

Wildfire and communities: Are there tradeoffs when promoting fire mitigation versus evacuation preparedness?

For homeowners living in the wildland-urban interface, wildfire outreach programs encourage wildfire risk mitigation and evacuation preparedness as steps to protect homes

Co-producing Science With Managers: Finding the right time-and-effort balance for those involved

Land managers rely on best available information and relevant research for decision making, but matching the right information to the right questions can sometimes be cha

First come, first served or lottery—Informing recreation allocation strategies with visitor preferences

Public lands provide extensive recreation opportunities for activities including camping and cabins, biking, horseback riding, hiking, and fishing. Due to increasing visi

A big fire with low fire severity: Lessons from the Black Fire

When the Black Fire ignited in southwestern New Mexico in 2022, it had all the ingredients for disaster: record-high winds, extremely low humidity, and over 131,000 hecta

Raster Tools: Leveraging spatial analysis and AI towards a fire-resilient future, in minutes

To effectively manage fire, land and fire managers need detailed, current local information - for example, the amount of burnable material present, fuel moisture levels,

Selecting a focal species under the 2012 Planning Rule? A new focal species toolkit streamlines the process

The USDA Forest Service is required to develop "land management plans," which serve as roadmaps for maintaining the health and productivity of national forests and grassl

It's Alive! "Living Maps" offer a state-of-the-art wildlife habitat monitoring system

Until recently, wildlife habitat maps were static documents that can quickly become outdated anytime landscape conditions changed due to disturbances like wildfire, droug

Quantifying danger: New data on wildland firefighter injuries

When wildland firefighters head into the field, they know the work is dangerous; but until now, agencies lacked detailed data on exactly which activities and hazards pose