This page is a work in progress … we’ll be updating it regularly. Please suggests additional resources or questions in the comments!

The emphasis of this page is currently forestry, but the General resources cover much more. See also our general fire resources post.

Post-Fire Webinar, September 22

This video documents a 9/22/2020 webinar about forest assessment following the Bridger Foothills Fire. There’s also a lot of material, particularly in the Q&A, about seeding, contour felling, salvage logging, and other restoration options.

The primary presenter is Peter Kolb, MSU Extension forester. In the first two hours, he covers the assessment of fire damage to forests and soils in considerable detail, with many helpful visuals. Beginning around 1:52:00 in the video, Christopher Mahony and Avery Hackett discuss NRCS resources, including cost sharing assistance for forestry projects. At about 2:04:00, Peter Kolb returns with a recap of the fire’s rapid evolution from a lightning strike to 8000 acres, and more Q&A on remediation options.

NPR also has a nice 5-minute podcast with Peter on the same topic.

Post-fire Forest Assessment

• Wildfire Severity Photo-guide for Assessing Damage and Aiding Recovery of Trees and Forests across the Northern Rockies
• Other publications from MSU Extension: https://forestry.msuextension.org/publications/index.html

NRCS Resources

• Resource Packet from Christopher Mahony, our local NRCS rep: NRCS.zip (see 9/22 webinar video above for discussion). You can reach him at 522-4012 or christopher.mahony@usda.gov.
• NRCS resource page: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/mt/plantsanimals/nrcseprd1340465/

General Recovery Resources

• After the Flames – a huge compendium of resources, including the Post-Fire Playbook (Colorado)
• USFS Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER)
• Coalitions & Collaboratives – another mega-list of resources.
• After Wildfire – a 60-page booklet from the MSU Extension (2002)
• Recovering from Wildfire – an 8-page brochure on fire recovery. Has nice coverage of major issues and illustrations of fire severity, but target geography is Arizona. (2011)
• Wildfire Recovery – another short guide, from OSU Extension (2006)
• MT DNRC Forestry Assistance
• Gallatin Conservation District

Contractors

Montana DNRC’s Approved Contractor List relative to the DNRC forest health and wildfire safety program (from the Fairgrounds event via Ted Mather):

• MasterContractorList2019.pdf

Salvage Logging and Other Forest Treatments

Sell the timber? Cut trees and leave them on site for erosion control? Leave a standing snag forest for wildlife? These questions are on a lot of minds. Please share advice, plans and experiences in the comments!

Douglas Fir Beetle

Some papers on Douglas Fir Beetle management after fires:

• DOUGLAS-FIR BEETLE ATTACK AND TREE MORTALITY FOLLOWING WILDFIRE
• Douglas-fir Beetle ID and Management
• Douglas-fir Beetle Management
• Douglas-Fir Beetle QuickGuide 2016

Note that there are currently several outbreaks of the beetle in the canyon.

Weeds

A letter from the Gallatin County Weed District, offering assistance:

• BridgerFireWeedsLetter.pdf
• There’s still funding for Bridger Foothills Fire recovery: WeedCostShareBridgerFireFinal

A recent booklet from MSU Extension:

• Managing Weeds After Wildfire

The Next Fire – Defensible Space & Forest Management

• https://forestry.msuextension.org/publications/index.html

• Developing a Wildfire Hazard Reduction Plan for Your Property

A nice video from UNR Extension that gets beyond the basics – this is the best in-depth video I’ve seen. Sometimes the ecosystem is a bit different, but generally the principles are applicable:

A more policy-oriented webinar on wildfire, recommended via the BFF facebook group:

• https://www.conservationconversations.org/webinar-wildfire-risk