How Fire Shapes Carnivore Behavior on a Landscape and Implications for Managing Habitat

Presented by John Squires, Research Wildlife Biologist, and Justin Crotteau, Research Forester

Increased fire frequency and severity in subalpine forests causes uncertainty regarding how forest-dependent species, like Canada lynx, respond to fire-disturbed landscapes across gradients of severity. This issue is particularly relevant currently, given that most lynx habitat occurs on Forest Service lands. We will discuss how lynx respond to fire-impacted landscape based on satellite GPS telemetry within the context of forest and fire management.

'Living Maps’ for Fishers: A Cutting-Edge Tool to Inform Habitat Management after Wildfire-Induced Habitat Decline

Presented by Jody Tucker, Biological Scientist and Deputy Program Manager of the Wildlife Ecology Science Program 

Over the past decade droughts and severe wildfires have severely impacted ecosystems in California’s southern Sierra Nevada, including the habitat of the federally endangered fisher population. With such highly dynamic conditions, traditional static wildlife habitat maps have quickly become outdated and ineffective for conservation and management. To address this problem, scientists have developed an approach to produce near-real time wildlife habitat maps called ‘Living Maps’ using the power of Google Earth Engine. This tool gives land managers up-to-date information to guide decisions on habitat restoration, fuel reduction, and conservation strategies for this species in rapidly changing landscapes.