U.S. Forest Service Wildlife Biologist Missy Dressen explores the history of fire in the U.S. and works through a timeline on how fire is managed today. Historically, fire patterns were altered across the West with fire suppression, but today's conditions have changed with a buildup of fuels, homes in the urban interface and climate change. With these changes, wildlife habitats are likely experiencing changes that are outside their historical range of variability. In some places, habitats have remained for decades in a late successional phase which may alter the wildlife dynamics, distribution and species composition. In other places, wildfire is changing western landscapes and fire's role can have positive and negative effects on wildlife.

In one management scenario, prescribed fire can be introduced on the landscape to restore habitats for a variety of wildlife species, including big game. Initiating a pattern of regular fire intervals can keep habitats in a mosaic of successional stages, particularly important for vegetation that may have had frequent fires in the past. A local case study will explore fire ecology, application of fire and wildlife's response to the habitat changes.

This free community talk is presented by Bud Werner Memorial Library, Yampatika & the Routt National Forest.

About the speaker
Missy Dressen has been a professional wildlife biologist for nearly 20 years and has been working for the Forest Service on the Routt National Forest for most of her career. She received her BS in Wildlife Biology and MS in Ecology, both at Colorado State University. Her passion is understanding how natural disturbances such as fire, beetles and blowdown may affect forest change and wildlife.