Effect of wildfire on breeding bird communities in northeast Oregon

For six years, SEI-Idaho has been monitoring the effects of a 1994 wildfire in high-elevation subalpine fir forest on avian community composition and species’ abundance on the Pine Ranger District of the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest. Fire is the dominant disturbance agent in the interior Pacific Northwest and especially in the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon. Hence, a better understanding of how fire influences ecosystem structure and function in necessary if we are to improve management and conservation of natural systems in this region. The Blue Mountains province is a fire-dominated ecosystem where forest health issues such as effects of stand-replacement wildfire on wildlife populations are much needed areas of study. In particular, management of forested ecosystems throughout the interior Pacific Northwest would greatly benefit from knowledge of how changes in forest habitat following wildfire influence the wildlife species inhabiting them, especially for those species perceived to be at risk or in decline. For example, the decline of some neotropical migratory bird species, such as the olive-sided flycatcher (Contopus cooperi), is perhaps linked to a century of fire suppression in western forests. Partners include the Blue Mountains Natural Resources Institute and the U.S. Forest Service.

Habitat Restoration Effects of Wildfire
Birds and Forestry
Landscape Composition
Silviculture and Birds

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