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Science You Can Use

Rocky Mountain Research Station

Science You Can Use is a product of USDA Forest Service Research & Development that summarizes and synthesizes current scientific research. In each episode, we read aloud the latest Science You Can Use publication. Each episode delivers key science findings and management implications to people who make and influence decisions about managing land and natural resources in the Intermountain West and beyond.

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Thursday · 5 min
Undercover Invasion: New research reveals how smooth brome overtakes native prairies
Smooth brome (Bromus inermis) is a Eurasian prairie grass whose roots in America can be traced to 1884, when the California Agricultural Experimental Station began studying its potential as forage for the country's burgeoning cattle industry. Germinating earlier in the spring with protein-rich foliage and blades wider than native grasses, smooth brome was described in a 1915 Canadian Department of Agriculture circular as "a promising grass, possessing the necessary qualifications to the prairie climate." Music courtesy of Souvenir Thread. Read the Science You Can Use and access the related content on Treesearch
October 21 · 6 min
Fresh Thinking for Freshwater Species: Expanding the management decision space
Protected areas are considered an antidote to biodiversity loss, but have not protected all biodiversity equally. Freshwater biodiversity has declined globally by 84 percent since 1970—more than twice the rate of marine and terrestrial species. Legacy effects from logging, mining, livestock grazing, dams, and fish stocking have affected freshwater ecosystems across the landscape including federally-protected areas. Music courtesy of Souvenir Thread. Read the Science You Can Use and access the related content on Treesearch.
October 8 · 5 min
Lost and Found: What historical records reveal about forest management
Historical records show that over a century ago, fire-tolerant oaks dominated more than half of the forests across Kentucky and the southern Appalachian Mountains. Today, they account for barely a fifth. Species that historically occupied the margins, including red maple, eastern redcedar, and yellow poplar, have moved to the center. Ecologically, the shift happened relatively fast. Understanding why, and what it means for management, is aided by going back to the forest composition assessments produced by the U.S. Geological Survey and Forest Service surveyors in the early 1900s, before fire exclusion and industrial timber harvesting transformed the landscape. Music courtesy of Souvenir Thread. Read the Science You Can Use and access the related content on Treesearch.
September 21 · 5 min
Wildfire Speed Bumps: The latest science on fuel breaks
What do fuel breaks do? Fuel breaks are linear strips of land along which vegetation is cleared or thinned—constructed along ridgelines, roads, and other strategic places—to give firefighters a safer, higher chance to slow or steer a fire. Often described as "speed bumps" for wildfires, fuel breaks rarely stop fire spread on their own, but they do give crews critical anchor points for building fireline, setting backfires, or safely applying water and retardant. They have been used since the 1960s across many landscapes. Music courtesy of Souvenir Thread. Read the Science You Can Use and access the related content on Treesearch.
September 4 · 5 min
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 focus on barriers to participation, such as lack of leisure time, lack of experience, and lack of role models. But despite those barriers, women's participation has been increasing. In 2022 an estimated 3 million women represented 22 percent of all hunters, more than double the number from 2016. Given this upward trend, there are still many unanswered questions about what motivates women to participate in hunting. Music courtesy of Souvenir Thread Read the Science You Can Use and access the related content on Treesearch.
August 20 · 5 min
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 as often results from a reforestation effort where all the seedlings were planted at the same time. Or were there a mixture of young and old trees? That sort of "multi-aged structure" in ponderosa pine forests is desirable as it can meet many of the goals of multi-use land management. A forest stand with different-aged trees can support timber production, livestock grazing, recreation opportunities, wildlife habitat, and native plant diversity. Music courtesy of Souvenir Thread. Read the Science You Can Use and access the related content on Treesearch.
July 27 · 4 min
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 Service's Northern Region headquarters helped assess and prioritize national forest recovery needs. The work required hundreds of hours compiling data, matching it with GIS layers and fire boundaries, and considering factors such as slope, aspect, and the presence of nearby tree species. Music courtesy of Souvenir Thread Read the Science You Can Use and access the related content on Treesearch.
July 13 · 5 min
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 cycles - restoring historical fire regimes has been a guiding principle for ecological management. But most contemporary forests in this region are far from that benchmark. Instead, these forests have been shaped by decades of fire suppression, and increasingly, by megafires at the opposite extreme. Music courtesy of Souvenir Thread. Read the Science You Can Use and access the related content on Treesearch.
June 29 · 5 min
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 affects a broad range of tree species, and by the time visible symptoms appear, significant damage has often already occurred. Advances in a field of DNA sequencing known as metagenomics are now helping researchers develop strategies to manage this disease using information that has been beneath their feet all along. Music courtesy of Souvenir Thread. Read the Science You Can Use and access the related content on Treesearch.
June 8 · 5 min
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 age classes instead of the evenly spaced, uniform stands produced by traditional forest management. **Music courtesy of Souvenir Thread. Read the Science You Can Use and access the related content on Treesearch
June 1 · 5 min
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 whether to increase or decrease their herd size the following year. Management agencies also use the South Dakota Drought Tool to determine forage productivity of the lands they manage to balance the needs of livestock and wildlife. Stan Boltz, a regional soil health specialist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), developed the Drought Tool to fulfill an unmet need he observed when working with ranchers. **Music courtesy of Souvenir Thread. Read the Science You Can Use and access the related content on Treesearch.
May 25 · 5 min
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 Forest Service's Rocky Mountain Research Station, with a proposal: what about conducting a research study on the perspectives of wildland firefighters around food catering? Music courtesy of Souvenir Thread. Read the Science You Can Use and access the related content on Treesearch.
May 11 · 5 min
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 life is sensitive, and nature is difficult to predict. In the streambed, eggs and young fish can be at risk from unintentional habitat disruptions from activities such as grazing, prescribed fire, and road work. The question was how to know when wild fish are hatching and emerging to avoid those sensitive windows. A new tool, hatchR, is here to lend biologists a helping hand - or fin. Music courtesy of Souvenir Thread. Read the Science You Can Use and access the related content on Treesearch
May 4 · 4 min
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 stretched across the fire-scorched sagebrush steppe of Peavine Mountain in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest near Reno, Nevada. The team of Forest Service and University of Nevada scientists were setting up experimental plots to test native seeding strategies. Music courtesy of Souvenir Thread. Read the Science You Can Use and access the related content on Treesearch
April 27 · 5 min
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 Mountain Research Station, and colleagues harnessed this cellphone-derived human mobility data to explore how managers can enhance recreation and protect wildlife in sensitive habitats. Music courtesy of Souvenir Thread. Read the Science You Can Use and access the related content on Treesearch.
April 20 · 5 min
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 McSweeney-McNary Forest Research Act of 1928, the Forest Inventory and Analysis Program is nationally coordinated by regional experts and now consists of more than 355,000 survey plots across public and private land. Music courtesy of Souvenir Thread
April 13 · 5 min
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 and lives in the event of a wildfire. Wildfire risk mitigation may include activities such as removing vegetation from around structures and storing combustible materials (e.g. firewood or propane tanks) away from homes. Signing up to receive evacuation notifications, packing a to-go bag, or identifying evacuation routes are examples of evacuation preparedness. Music courtesy of Souvenir Thread. Read the Science You Can Use and access the related content on Treesearch.
March 30 · 5 min
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 challenging. To close this gap, when researchers and managers co-produce research from the beginning it is more likely research findings will have practical applications. Recently published work by USDA Forest Service researchers Chris Armatas, Teresa Hollingsworth, and colleagues working at the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute (ALWRI) in Missoula, Montana, reflects on both the benefits and tradeoffs of using a co-production approach for developing the ALWRI 10-year science agenda intended to help inform management of wilderness areas. Music courtesy of Souvenir Thread Read the Science You Can Use and access the related content on Treesearch
March 12 · 5 min
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 visitation and the associated impacts to natural resources and the visitor experience, recreation managers may decide to adopt a recreation allocation strategy to limit the number of visitors at a given time. Allocation includes allotment (splitting between groups such as commercial use and private use) and rationing (a mechanism for allocating within groups). The main strategies used for rationing include first come, first served, pricing, reservations, lotteries, and merit. Music courtesy of Souvenir Thread Read the Science You Can Use and access the related content on Treesearch.
March 3 · 4 min
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 hectares (323,708 acres) of forest fuels to feed on. But something unexpected happened. Instead of becoming another catastrophic megafire, it burned mostly at low to moderate severity. The secret? The landscape had already experienced dozens of previous fires, both planned and natural, that helped tame the beast. Music courtesy of Souvenir Thread. Read the Science You Can Use and access related content on Treesearch.

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