# Studying Fire & Topography > Briefs, arguments, decisions, and more. URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/tribal%3Aconfederated_siletz%3A2dcb8bdfa0edd132 ## Record - **Collection:** Tribal code - **Document type:** Tribal code ## Text Lesson 1 Studying Fire & Topography Fire Ecology & the Human Relationship Exploring Fire and Traditional Ecological Knowledge, Biodiversity, Land Use History, Climate Change, and Social Impacts Oregon place-based, Native informed, interdisciplinary science curriculum Grades 4-10 Fire Ecology and the Human Relationship: Exploring Traditional Ecological Knowledge, Biodiversity, Land Use History, Climate Change, and Social Impacts A Place-based, Native informed, interdisciplinary Science Curriculum For Oregon students in grades 4th - 10th Many thanks to the people who have provided support, research, time, and care for the creation of this curriculum • Funding provided by the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians • Written by the Vesper Meadow Education Program: Jeanine Moy and Brian Geier • Edited by: Joseph Scott, Debra Agnew, Katie Boehnlein, Chris Adlam, Robert Kentta, Tara Laidlaw, Stasie Maxwell, Nancy Austin. • Art: Zoe Keller, Sarah F. Burns • Layout and design: Casey House • Additional support from Alexi Lovechio, Mary Kwart, the Gray Family Foundation, the Roundhouse Foundation, Mary Norris-Preyer Foundation The Vesper Meadow Vision Vesper Meadow Education Program is building a culture of land stewardship and nature connection. We demonstrate biocultural restoration through Tribal partnership, diverse partnerships for land stewardship, community involvement in scientific monitoring, and sharing our work through natureinspired art and creation of educational materials. Our work provides an integrated approach to cultivating and sustaining the human-nature relationship. Acknowledging Land and Relationship Core to our vision is the belief that ecological restoration is synonymous with cultural revival. It is important to recognize that every part of what is now known as the U.S. is someone’s traditional territory. We honor the people of the land on which we work: Latgawa, Takelma, Shasta, and Klamath, and recognize the legacy of federally-sponsored genocide and forced removal. Many of these people, now members of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians and Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, await the fulfillment of rights reserved under ratified treaties. We work to reduce the adverse effects of colonization on the land, and support selfidentified goals through partnership with Indigenous leaders and local Tribes. All lessons and associated materials can be found online via the Vesper Meadow Education Program at VesperMeadow.org and at the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians at ctsi.nsn.us All rights reserved Vesper Meadow Education Program and The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians Contact VesperMeadow.org for Questions Table of Contents i ii iii iv v Preface: Fires Past and Future, for Our People and Our Lands Map of Vesper Meadow Foreward: Indigenous Fire Science Introduction Lessons and Teaching Materials 4th-5th Grade 1 Lesson 1: Reading the Fire-Influenced Landscape Topography and Fire • Worldview Worksheet • Fire on the Landscape Presentation 15 Lesson 2: Fire Biodiversity Puzzle Fire and Biodiversity, part one • Fire Biodiversity Puzzle • Species Story Worksheet 27 Lesson 3: Fire Nourishes the Land, the Land Nourishes Us Fire as an Agricultural Tool, part one • First Food Plant Cards • Hint Cards • Note Sheet • Worksheet 6th-8th Grade 49 Lesson 4: Black to Green Creature Collage Fire and Biodiversity, part two • Black to Green Landscape • Wildlife Cards • Wildfire Severity Pictures Presentation 63 Lesson 5: Burning for Basketry: Engineering Ecosystems with Fire Fire as an Agricultural Tool, part two • Discussion Points Presentation • Worksheet • Coloring Pages 73 Lesson 6: Leading the Way with TEK: Understanding Land Use Changes in Oregon Fire and Land Use History, part one • Understanding Land Use Changes in Oregon Presentation • Land Stewardship Activity Sheets 91 Lesson 7: When to Burn? Climate Change and Oregon’s Fire Season Climate Change and Fire, part one • Climate Change and Oregon’s Fire Season Presentation • When to Burn? Worksheets and Answer Key • Fire Mandala Coloring Pages 105 Lesson 8: Community Preparation and Resilience Fire and Social Issues, part one • Case Study Pages • Worksheets 9th-10th Grade 113 Lesson 9: Fire Policy and Practices of the Last 200 Years Fire and Land Use History, part two • Shaping Forests and Fire Timeline 127 Lesson 10: Climate Change: Mitigating, Adapting, and Taking Action Climate Change and Fire, part two • Mitigating, Adapting, and Taking Action Presentation • Civic Engagement for Climate Action Extension Worksheet 143 Lesson 11: Wildfire Vulnerability and Climate Justice, What Do You Meme? Fire and Social Issues, part two • Vulnerable Communities Research Worksheet • Meme Generator 153 156 158 159 Glossary References Further Resources Standards Chart Preface Fires Past and Future, for Our People and Our Lands For thousands of years our ancestral Tribal peoples of Western Oregon have lived not just on the land, but with the land, coaxing it into peak production for diverse resources, habitat types and the species that thrive in those diverse environs. Fire can be a destructive force when it is exposed to heavy fuel loads, extreme dry conditions, or habitats that are not adapted and resilient to a healthy fire cycle. These interactions with our landscapes did not happen by chance. They were taught through generations of practice and observation: which fire or other treatments were beneficial, what times and conditions produced safe renewal and abundance. Always there were specific targeted goals: to enhance traditional food plants, to maintain hunting grounds, to tend basket materials, etc. Fires had many uses and different effects at different times of the year. Useful burns could fire-proof village areas in the event of wildfire, or drive deer and elk to harvest. For some of our ancestors, ceremonial burning was believed to signal the salmon that it was time for them to leave the ocean and return up the rivers to spawn. Fire acts differently based on fuel types and the moisture content, whether it is on flat ground or steep slopes, whether it first contacts fuels at the top of a ridge and then creeps down toward the bottom, or starts at the bottom and races to the top. Our people knew these things and employed that knowledge in appropriate application. We live in a zone unique for its biodiversity with diverse fire-adapted habitats such as oak savannah and subalpine meadows that are home to a variety of low-growing forbs (bunchgrasses) and bulb plants. Many of these plants thrive with frequent, low intensity burning practices which keep their surroundings open and prevents shrubs and trees from outcompeting them with shade or the development of a thick layer of leaf litter. We also live in times where our landscapes have experienced lots of rapid changes, and now our climate itself is also experiencing fluctuations and extremes that are not typical for our region. Our landscapes have been dependent on us, and they remain so. We must have a healthy respect for the destructive potential of fire, while not being so fearful that we think all fire is bad for the landscape. This curriculum is meant to introduce students to the subject and develop understandings, but is not meant for anything other than collaborative, planned and approved uses of the concepts and information contained herein. The dire emergencies that we and our landscapes face in this century cry out for considered, collaborative, devoted action, and for lessons born of long experience. We have ancestral knowledge (both passed down through the generations to today, and from interviews with elders of generations past). We have modern sciences to assist us. We have historic resources, such as careful work of the early General Land Office (GLO) surveyors, which sometimes give us startling glimpses of the texture of our landscapes from before fire suppression became the new, and ultimately disastrous, law of the land. If there is a way out of our current, undesired, and dangerous predicament it begins with education. For that, I am thankful to the Vesper Meadow Education Program for doing the slow hard work of collaboration to bring these lessons to you. Please read, ask questions, and think about how we can sow a better future for our lands and for all peoples. Thank you. Robert Kentta Cultural Resources Director Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians Texture of Our Landscape Rapid Changes Over two centuries Survey Plot Map of Vesper Meadow region, General Land Office records online Google Sattellite Image The outlines of Vesper Meadow stand out clearly in the north half of both maps. Looking at a broader area, shows how unique and precious Vesper Meadow is, since it was once part of a much larger group of prairies, meadows, and diverse habitats at the cusp of the Rogue and Klamath watersheds. Other prairies that once stood nearby have been converted to reservoirs or encroached on by trees in the absence of fire. In many places, dense monocultures of fir for commercial timber replace the open stands of “Fir, Pine, Cedar, Yew, c. with Undergrowth of Manzanita, Sage, etc.” that surveyors first described. Foreword: Indigenous Fire Science: Cultural Burning Traditions in Western Oregon Since time immemorial, Native American people have been tending the land with fire. Here in what is now Western Oregon, our ancestors carefully burned to maintain oak groves for acorns, used mindful fire in meadows for camas and other foods, and pruned and burned hazel patches for basketry materials. These practices, among many others, require the use of fire as a transformational element: fire to clear grassland, maintain forest health, and encourage new growth. Our Tribal languages describe a land full of good fire — place names that locate fire-crafted basketry materials, broad savannah hunting grounds, and mountain woodlands tended for berries. All that we have been and all we will be is fire dependent. Tribal seasonal rounds — the ongoing cycle of tending and gathering — depend on the use of fire. Tending, gathering, and eating traditional foods supports the health and well being of Tribal communities. In this way, we recognize that the use of prescribed fire in tending our traditional food producing places has a direct and tangible impact on our overall health as a people. For many, this firedependent food is playing an increasingly important role in our lives. When settlers reached our homelands nearly two hundred years ago, they failed to recognize the critical role Native people played in shaping the landscape they came to occupy. The open savannah parklike paradise they first saw was far from pristine. It was the result of fire-dependent Indigenous land management and agricultural practices refined over countless generations. The first whites in the Willamette Valley did not tame a wilderness; they inherited a park. — Esther Stutzman, Siletz Tribal Member, storyteller, and Kalapuya descendent The newcomers and strangers to our traditional ways of knowing brought devastating changes. From disease and warfare to forced removal and boarding schools, they attempted to dispossess us of our places and erase our cultural identity. Our people were often removed far away from the homes we tended and cherished. The settlers’ extractive approaches to resource management left little room for our traditional fires, and the land fell to disrepair. As the new map of the West filled with railroads, towns, and non-native croplands, the meadows became choked with invasive grasses, undergrowth and litter built on the forest floor, and our traditional foods went ungathered. The untended landscape became a compromised landscape. A legacy of fire suppression caused by settler-society has led us to a time of collective reckoning — a time of reflecting on failed practice, re-thinking ties to place, and recognizing the insight of Indigenous ways of knowing. These ways of knowing and understanding a place have come to us from generations of careful exploration, experimentation, and observation. The importance of centering Indigenous approaches to land management cannot be overstated. Native American ecological practice — “Traditional Ecological Knowledge” (TEK) — will emerge to serve Tribal communities as well as to address challenges faced by the larger world. In this context of TEK, fire becomes Traditional Fire Knowledge. In some places, fire practitioners are returning to the land. In some places, they never left. In spite of policies designed to trivialize and vilify our ecological practice, strip us of our places and identities, and erase our histories, our fire remains. Ongoing global climate change will call on science — Indigenous and otherwise — to explore new ways to address the impacts of wildfire and drought in a rapidly changing world. This curriculum recognizes that “Indigenous Fire Science” is the science of engaging with fire as a practice and as a tool of Indigenous agriculture. Background information and lesson activities in this curriculum integrate and elevate critical understandings of Indigenous fire practice and how it has shaped the land. It identifies and supports a path forward as we all confront the complex web of changes we now face. As traditional fire knowledge and Western fire science converge, our TEK increasingly shapes and guides the ways in which we talk about and tend to fire. All of the lessons provide opportunities to recognize and honor the wisdom and insight of Native Americans. There are opportunities to integrate Western science with Indigenous science and provide insight into how the two will increasingly converge in the future. The lessons allow place-based learning opportunities, a chance to explore fire through the eyes of the land you are on. With this in mind, educators are encouraged to contact local Tribes, who often provide direction to those seeking to center Native voices in their classrooms, and can offer guidance when teaching and learning about local Tribal histories and cultures. Teaching and learning about fire in a cultural context can be challenging in unfamiliar ways. To many Native American people, fire — like the land itself — is honored as sacred. Fire brings the stories, songs, ceremonies, and protocols associated with sacred things. For some, spiritual ties to places are made stronger with fire. Seeking to know this truth can lead to critical reflection on our individual and shared values, and foster a deeper understanding of our connections to our places. The incredible diversity and intertwined nature of the languages, cultures, and practices found in the place now known as Western Oregon (see this map: https://www.ctsi.nsn.us/reservation-maps/) is reflected in traditional burning practices. Our people often worked and are still working with fire to produce different outcomes in different places at different times. We collaborate to reach mutually beneficial results. Teaching to know these things while working to explore our shared ties to a place will make learning that much more meaningful. This recognition of cultural fire diversity also helps students better understand the overall human and geographic diversity of the region. Fire is universal. Fire is to be revered as a power of creation, and a force of destruction. The lessons found here serve a common cause: the understanding of fire as a transformational element of the landscape, and the recognition of Tribal peoples’ intergenerational relationship with good fire and the places where fires are tended. Joe Scott Traditional Fire Practitioner Siletz Tribal Member Introduction Welcome to the Fire Ecology and the Human Relationship Curriculum The Vesper Meadow Education Program is honored to put forth the Fire Ecology and the Human Relationship curriculum with the support of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. This curriculum is the fulfillment of a multi-year vision to provide teachers with tools to address some of the most critical and misunderstood issues facing Oregon today. The curriculum reflects our principles of encouraging hands-on, joyous experiences for diverse learners, promoting equity and justice for all beings, and embracing multiple ways of understanding our world. Though the curriculum is primarily science-based, you will find that the lessons fulfill other subject areas and are infused with art, historical references, creative writing, geography, and even social media. The curriculum is intended to expand upon existing wildfire curricula that are more general to lands of the American West and emphasize settler / industrial perspectives. This Oregon-based curriculum covers fire’s connections with biodiversity, Indigenous culture, land management history, climate change, and social impacts today. Many of the lessons contain several classroom activities, and provide opportunities for educators to break the lesson into multiple learning sessions or choose the parts that are best suited to their students. We hope to provide a foundation to effectively teach about the role of fire in Oregon’s ecosystems, how humans have interacted with fire past and present, and engage students to think critically about solutions for a fire-adapted future. Recognizing that the ecological roles, multicultural relationships, and perceptions of fire are extremely complex, we have intentionally created a flow of lessons that build on concepts over successive grade levels. The lessons for older students draw on basic ecological concepts introduced in earlier lessons and integrate additional scientific and societal frameworks. Further acknowledging that some students may have negative perceptions of fire and/or have been personally influenced by wildfire in their lives, we provide moments for classroom discussion and additional resources to address students’ emotional wellbeing. The lessons are meant to strike a balance of candid information without adding to prior perceptions of fear, and ultimately allow students to think clearly about the material, participate in the activities, and feel empowered to take actions in their lives beyond the classroom. Building Understanding, Empathy, and Applicable Skills The lessons in this curriculum are designed to support multiple styles of learning, encourage students to think critically, and provide opportunities for creative, collaborative problem-solving, nourishing the whole student and promoting empathy for other living beings. Throughout these lessons, auditory, visual, literary, oral, artistic, and technological approaches invite students to engage deeply with Vesper Meadow’s Education Program themes: • Understanding and celebrating biodiversity • Rekindling the human-land relationship • Promoting healthy ecosystems • Solving problems creatively and collaboratively Considerations for Teaching Native American Perspectives When teaching about Native American issues, it is very important to understand both historical and contemporary issues that affect Native peoples. Inextricably, the histories of colonization, land management, and environmental policy shape the fire-adapted landscapes we experience today. The current settler colonial society has created many changes to the environment, family structures, culture, and food sources of Native people. Removal of Native people to reservations caused a loss in their connection to traditional lands. While Native families struggled in new environments, many of their ancestral lands also suffered from the loss of traditional tending practices and the introduction of extractive land-use practices. Native people maintained their Indigenous land management practices through relationships with new lands, rivers, and native plants. Today, Tribes work to regain land access in places that were taken from them. At the same time, many practices used by public land agencies, such as prescribed burning, are based on Native American land management practices. A critical look at these issues is essential to teaching the curriculum. Prior to the use of this curriculum, students should have an introduction to the original peoples of the lands they inhabit and about who (Native and non-Native) inhabits these lands today. (See Native Land Map for reference: www.ctsi.nsn.us/reservation-maps/) The curriculum invites older students to seek articles and webbased resources that will help them realize the many Native people’s land science and management practices currently happening in Oregon and throughout the United States. We encourage educators to continue learning about Native goals and efforts for land management as time progresses. Concurrent to the development of this curriculum is the development of a shared curriculum for Oregon under Senate Bill 13 Tribal History, Shared History. See the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians website, Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians | Siletz Tribe located in Oregon (ctsi.nsn.us) for more information and resources regarding the 9 Federally recognized Tribes of Oregon. See Oregon Department of Education’s website for more information and classroom lessons. A Note on Honoring Tribal Knowledge, Foods and Medicines Native plants such as the First Foods mentioned in these lessons, are important to the lifeways of Siletz Tribal members and other Native American people. They are foods that keep people nourished, active, and healthy, but also important for staying connected to their families, ancestry, and culture. Many traditional food systems were diminished by colonization and replaced with the introduction of Western diets and processed foods, often with health consequences for Native people. With concurrent changes in land use and degradation of habitats, many First Food plants are now rare or endangered on the landscape. Many Siletz Tribal members and other Native American people work to restore and reconnect with food, health, community, tribal identity, spirituality, and their ancestral natural world. Traditional Ecological Knowledge of First Foods includes understandings of not only plant biology and ecology, but also about complex human-plant interactions such as cultivation strategies and harvesting ethics. With the rarity of many native plants today, it is most ethical to approach First Foods plants with ‘principles of caution,’ e.g. taking extra time to learn about the plants throughout the seasons, conservative harvesting, harvesting after plants have gone to seed, doing the least harm, engaging in practices that promote future growth of a population, being aware of invasive species, etc. With these understandings combined, we encourage nonNative learners to study and appreciate native plants as First Foods and learn principles of respectful harvest or to refrain from harvesting them. Why Native-Centric Curriculum for All? We hope this curriculum will bring Native issues to light for all students, and moreover empower Native students to take action and be leaders in their communities. Historically, education was used as a weapon of forced assimilation. Hundreds of thousands of Native American children were abducted from their families, communities, and Tribes by US government agents and sent to boarding schools where they were forced to refrain from practicing their culture, and were subject to severe physical and emotional abuse, and often death. The forced removal of Native people and cultural genocide of the last two centuries has had lasting effects, including systemic barriers, intergenerational trauma, and huge educational disparities for Native students today. Students continue to learn and celebrate historical events that were notoriously violent toward Native people, such as actions taken by Christopher Columbus and other colonizers, the Gold Rush, and settlement of the American West. This curriculum seeks equity and justice in education, attempting to keep all students engaged by honoring Native wisdom and providing perspectives for Native students to see themselves reflected in the curriculum. By creating an educational curriculum that looks at fire and land management, we hope to encourage all Oregonians to understand related issues and engage in meaningful ways as community members. We hope this work will inspire further place-based and statewide environmental education that incorporates the knowledge and perspectives of Native peoples. We hope to reverse the trend of underrepresentation of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in classroom topics and discussions and make steps toward addressing racism both in schools and beyond. Lesson Summaries and Teaching Standards All lessons include alignments with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS); some include alignments with Common Core State Standards (CCSS), Oregon Social Sciences Standards, Oregon Ethnic Studies Standards, and/or Oregon SB 13 Tribal History / Shared History expectations. 1) Reading the Fire-Influenced Landscape | Topography and Fire Recommended for 4th – 5th grades The most significant influences on fire behavior are weather patterns, vegetation, and topography, also known as the “wildland fire triangle.” The geographic region of southern Oregon provides unique case studies of fire behavior due to its geologic diversity and varied terrain. Students will look at historic photos and modern aerial photos and satellite imagery to learn about how some people have studied fire in the last 100 years and to explore how fire interacts with the landscape. Utilizing interactive satellite imagery from NASA, students will formulate a hypothesis about fire behavior and create a model of their hypothesis. NGSS: 5-ESS2-1, 4-ESS2-2, 4-ESS3-2 2) Fire Biodiversity Puzzle | Biodiversity and Fire, part one Recommended for 4th – 5th grades Plants, fungi, wildlife, humans, and other living things throughout the Western United States have adapted to coexist with fire for millions of years. In the Oregon Cascades and Siskiyou mountains, a region renowned for biodiversity, there are both common and rare species that find homes amongst blacked and regrowing conifer forests, oak savannah, chaparral, and meadows. Students will learn about local species’ adaptations to their fire-affected habitats by constructing the Fire Biodiversity Puzzle art image. Studying species adaptations is not only fascinating, but may also provide inspiration for how to thrive in a world with fire. NGSS: 4-LS1-1, 5-LS2-1, 5-ESS2-1 CCSS: ELA-L.W.4.1, ELA-L.W.4.2.B, ELA-L.W.4.3B, ELA-L.W.5.1, ELA-L.W.5.2.B, ELA-L.W.5.3.B 3) Fire Nourishes the Land, the Land Nourishes Us | Fire as an Agricultural Tool, part one Recommended for 4th – 5th grades Since time immemorial, Siletz Tribal members and Indigenous peoples have applied fire to the lands of Oregon, using traditional knowledge and skills passed down over many generations. This traditional use of fire can be referred to as a “cultural burning.” Cultural burns are used by Indigenous people to ensure the quantity and quality of First Foods and Materials plants (plants that provide traditional foods and materials for cultural practices). In this way, fire can be understood as an agricultural tool used to nourish the land and plants. In turn, this fire-enhanced landscape nourishes the people and provides materials necessary for basketry, cordage, and other tools. Students will learn about First Foods and Materials plant ecology, identification, and cultural significance. An understanding of First Foods and Materials plants and understanding cultural burns can provide key insights into sustainable forest and landscape management in Oregon. Note: This activity is not meant to guide students to harvest and use plants for food or materials without the guidance of an adult with knowledge of plant identification, safe use, plant care, and permissions to use. NGSS: 4-LS1-1, 5-LS2-1 4) Black to Green Creature Collage | Biodiversity and Fire, part two Recommended for 6th – 8th grades Fire is so important to the biodiversity of ecosystems throughout the Western United States that it is recognized as the keystone ecological process. Various intensities of burns, especially in southern Oregon forests, can be characterized as low severity, mixed severity, and high severity. Students will learn about the interconnections between the fire-affected landscape and biodiversity. Utilizing the southwest Oregon region as a case study, students will think critically about ecological relationships between the fire regimes and wildlife habitat by collaboratively creating a collage. NGSS MS-LS1-5, MS-LS2-1, MS-LS2-4 5) Burning for Basketry: Engineering Ecosystems with Fire | Fire as an Agricultural Tool, part two Recommended for 6th – 8th grades Fire is a naturally occurring part of the dry summers of Oregon, and a dependable fire cycle has created fire-adapted native plant species. Closely linked to natural fire regimes, cultural burns have been used in southwestern Oregon for thousands of years and have also shaped the land and plants within it. Fire suppression policies of the early 20th century deprived landscapes and plants of this critical ecosystemengineering process in some areas of Oregon. While prescribed burns are now recognized as important by federal land agencies, the reintroduction of fire where it has been suppressed has faced many challenges In this lesson, students will study cultural burning of hazel and look at the interrelated effects of cultural burning, wildfire, and fire suppression. Students’ evaluations will highlight opportunities that cultural burning and Indigenous cultural practice offer to forest management and fire policy and planning today. NGSS: MS-LS2-1, MS-L2-4, MS-LS-5 6) Leading the Way with TEK: Understanding Land Use Changes in Oregon | Fire and Land Use History, part one Recommended for 6th – 8th grades Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) includes knowledge and practices that have been passed down from generation to generation in Indigenous communities, and has been shaped by the close relationship between Indigenous people and their land. Since the displacement of Indigenous people from traditional homelands in Oregon in the mid 1800’s, the land has suffered from the loss of its original stewards’ tending practices like cultural burning. In recent decades there has been an increased advocacy for returning fire where it has been suppressed, and for centering TEK in land restoration. Students will study the historical shift in Oregon land use from the Long Indigenous Existence to the era of colonization, compare and contrast land management of the two eras, and utilize TEK concepts to design and present solutions for environmental issues influencing fire today. NGSS: MS-LS2-5 Oregon Social Sciences Standards: 8.23, 8.24 7) When to Burn? Climate Change and Oregon’s Fire Season | Climate Change and Fire, part one Recommended for 6th – 8th grades Climate change is affecting fire season and fire intensity across Oregon landscapes. Longer fire seasons and larger, hotter fires pose increasing risks to human, animal, and plant communities. While prescribed burns can help make and maintain fire-adapted landscapes, their ability to be implemented is complicated by factors of climate change, land use history, and an increase in population living in the wildland-urban interface (WUI). Students will look at patterns of climate change in Oregon, and learn how these affect fire season and the use of prescribed burns. Students will understand the compounding factors associated with prescribed fire and think critically about how to mitigate risks. NGSS: MS-ESS3-3, MS-ESS3-5, MS-LS2-4, MS-LS2-5 8) Community Preparation and Resilience | Forest Fire and Social Issues Today, part one Recommended for 6th – 8th grades By analyzing demographics and natural disasters, it is clear that certain people experience the effects of wildfire and smoke differently than others. Tribal communities, communities of color, immigrants, and low-income families are more vulnerable to climate disasters such as extreme wildfire due to homes located in proximity to areas of risk and exposure to weather through outdoor jobs. Some communities also experience disparities in relief efforts following climate disasters. Students will examine four case studies of diverse communities in Oregon affected by wildfire, and discuss and present solutions for community preparedness and resilience. NGSS: MS-ESS3-2 Oregon Ethnic Studies Standards: 6.26 9) Fire Policy and Practices of the Last 200 Years | Fire and Land Use History, part two Recommended for 9th – 10th grades Land management is a term that describes how people make decisions and take action with ecosystems and resources. The way in which land is managed has a direct effect on the health of humans and the environment. Students will take a look at land use policy over the last two centuries and how it has shaped forest land management in Oregon. Students will gain historical perspective for fire behavior today and think critically about how land management decisions can affect the resiliency of landscapes and human communities moving into the future. NGSS: HS-LS2-6, HS-LS2-7, HS-ESS 3-1 Oregon Tribal History, Shared History SB13 connections: Natural Resource Management: Historical and Contemporary 10) Climate Change: Mitigating, Adapting, and Taking Action | Climate Change and Fire, part two Recommended for 9th – 10th grades Climate change is the paramount context for considering how wildfire impacts ecosystems and human communities. We must continue learning about climate change as research develops, as well as think critically about our beliefs around climate change, so we may develop a sense of moral responsibility. We have potential to be agents of positive change as community members, parts of ecosystems, and citizens of Earth as a whole. Students will discuss ways that society can mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change on the fire-adapted landscape. NGSS: HS-ETS1-1 CCSS: RST.11-12.2, ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.1, ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.6, ELA-LITERACY. RH.11-12.7, ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.8, ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.9 11) Wildfire Vulnerability and Climate Justice, What Do You Meme? | Forest Fire and Social Issues Today, part two Recommended for 9th – 10th grades Historically marginalized communities are at most risk from the effects of climate change and wildfire. Recent studies across the American West are looking at the effects of wildfire on health, housing, psychology and other basic needs. The results of these studies illustrate the need for large scale changes to social systems in order to address climate change and wildfire effects into the future. Students will learn about disparities in the relative impacts of wildfire on human communities, and research information presented in news media. Students will utilize “memes,” a popular social phenomenon, to reflect on social issues and as a creative outlet and for comic relief. NGSS: HS-LS2-7 CCSS: 9-10.RH.1, 9-10.RH.6, 9-10.RH.7, HS-ESS2-4 Oregon HS Ethnic Studies Standards HS.2, HS.7, HS.8 4th - 5th Lesson 1 Reading the Fire-Influenced Landscape TOPOGRAPHY AND FIRE NGSS: 5-ESS2-1, 4-ESS2-2, 4-ESS3-2 Summary 60 min. The most significant influences on fire behavior are weather patterns, vegetation, and topography, also known as the “wildland fire triangle.” The geographic region of southern Oregon provides unique case studies of fire behavior due to its geologic diversity and varied terrain. Students will look at historic photos and modern aerial photos and satellite imagery to learn about how some people have studied fire in the last 100 years, and to explore how fire interacts with the landscape. Utilizing interactive satellite imagery from NASA, students will formulate a hypothesis about fire behavior and create a model of their hypothesis. 1 GOALS CLASSROOM PROCEDURE • 1. Introduction discussion (alternatively, you may incorporate this into Activity One) Students will learn about the interactions between topography, vegetation type, and fire behavior through a slideshow and class discussion. • Students will observe historic photographs and modern imagery to explore concepts of fire behavior and how it has been measured/ recorded by experts. • Students will gather evidence to generate and create a model of their own hypothesis about fire behavior. 2. Activity One: Reading the Burned Landscape presentation 3. Conclusion Preparation *Note: the full worksheet will require students to be able to understand how to create basic line graphs. • Print one copy of the Fire on the Landscape: Satellite View Worksheet for each student • Become familiar with the content presented in the discussion section below, also found in the PowerPoint presenter notes at the bottom of each slide. • Open up NASA’s Worldview website and use the directions at the top of the worksheet to become familiar with the website. https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov/ • Prepare to have an overhead projection of the Worldview website for the class and/or a set of classroom computers for the students. ASSOCIATED LESSON MATERIALS • PowerPoint presentation: Fire on the Landscape • Website: NASA’s Worldview Map: Satellite Detections of Fires https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov • Fire on the Landscape: Satellite View Worksheet VOCABULARY AND TERMS Aerial imagery: photos or models that illustrate the landscape from above, a ‘birds-eye view” Aspect: the direction the slope of a hill faces Klamath Knot: the mountainous region of Southwest Oregon and Northern California Topography: the shape/configuration of the landscape and its features (landforms). Topography comes from the Greek “topos” meaning place and “graphein” meaning to carve/write Pyrodiversity: characterizes the many different ways fire can burn and the resulting variety of habitats and landscapes influenced by fire Ravines: depressions in the landscape, less severe than a canyon Mixed-severity fire: describes how forest fires will show a wide range of burn effects on the trees, shrubs, and understory Saddles: dips that are found along a ridge, or depressions in a mountain range resulting from being between two mountains Slope: the degree of steepness of the land 2 Lesson 1 Reading the Fire-Influenced Landscape Introduction What influences the way a fire will burn on a landscape? Fire behavior is influenced by three main factors: weather conditions, type of vegetation or plants (also referred to as “fuels”), and topography. These three factors combined are sometimes referred to as the “wildland fire triangle.” All of these factors interact with each other to create very complex fire behaviors across the landscape. Topography is the most “static” or unchanging factor in the fire triangle since the shape of a landscape and its features are much slower to change than weather patterns or the condition of plants. Topographic features like ridges, gullies, meadows, and wetlands influence fire in different ways. Certain features may help fires to speed up, such as steeper slopes. Fire barriers on the landscape such as wetlands, rocky outcrops, or roads may slow down or stop fires. Fire scientists study fire behavior to understand the way fire moves on the landscape. There is still much to learn about the ways in which fire will heat up or cool down and why it may change its direction or speed. One of the key ways to gather information about fire behavior is to look at images. The progress of technology in the last 80 years has allowed scientists to gather more accurate imagery more quickly. Discussion Points 3 It is important to keep in mind that topography’s influence on fire is always combined with other important factors like weather and condition of vegetation. As we look at different landscape features that influence fire, consider how weather and vegetation might interact with topography. Lesson 1 Reading the Fire-Influenced Landscape 1. What topographic factors influence fire behavior? SLOPE Slope steepness: The steeper the hill, the faster fire will generally spread. This is in part due to the fact that steeper slopes can encourage higher winds. Fire moving upslope: Fire moves more quickly upslope than downhill. Daytime conditions tend to contribute to fire moving upslope because heat will tend to rise and the sun warming the earth can contribute to an upward air draft. Also with heat and flames rising, they preheat fuels on the uphill side of the fire and make them easier to burn. Fire moving downslope: During nighttime when the slope becomes shaded, the surface loses heat rapidly and becomes cool. The air next to the surface also cools and becomes more dense and heavier and it will begin to flow downslope, encouraging downslope movement of fire. ASPECT South facing slopes: Slopes facing south to southwest will receive the most sun exposure. As a result, these slopes are warmer than slopes facing a northerly direction. The warmer slope results in higher temperatures and drier conditions. The fuels/vegetation on south-facing slopes will tend to be drier and may ignite and burn readily. Fires on south-facing aspects may last longer, and may occur more often over the years. This sort of fire regime can help to maintain grasslands or shrublands. North facing slopes: Slopes that are north facing receive less sun exposure and tend to be cooler and have more forested/wet vegetation. Fires may be less severe on north facing slopes, or slopes with this aspect may be the point at which a fire will slow down as it moves. LANDFORM FEATURES Ridges and mountains: Mountains and ridges may act as barriers to the horizontal movement of air. The wind is deflected over them and may increase upward air drafts or convective winds. When these winds reach the top of ridges and meet with updrafts from the other side, flames may bend back. Ravines and gullies: Depressions in the landscape like ravines and gullies will form pathways for the flow of air and may change the direction of the fire. In narrow ravines, heat will dry out fuels on the uphill side and they will readily ignite. Saddles and gaps: Dips that are found along a ridge will funnel the wind and increase its speed. Winds will also be gusty in these features and can spread embers that ignite smaller “spot” fires nearby. Barriers: Various features on the landscape may act as barriers to stop or slow down the spread of fire. These include: • Fields • Roads • Streams, lakes, swamps • Rocky outcrops • Old burned areas 4 Lesson 1 Reading the Fire-Influenced Landscape 2. How might the varying topography across the Western United States have varying effects on wildfire behavior? The characteristics of different mountain ranges (elevation, mountain shape) and the weather patterns of different regions can vary greatly across the US. This means that the degree to which different factors influence fire behavior also varies greatly; for example, a study found that weather and vegetation were the most important factors in the Northern Rockies, whereas vegetation and topography were dominant in the Southwest. The study found that: (1) temperature was the most influential weather variable in the Northern Rockies; (2) previous burns (particularly those that were 65 years old) were moderately to highly influential in all study areas; and (3) valley bottoms and ridgetops were significantly associated with slowing or stopping fires. (Holsinger 2016) 3. What are some tools that we have to observe fire and its interaction with the landscape? LOOKOUT TOWERS The US Forest Service had built over 5,000 fire lookout towers by the mid 1930’s. Fire spotters, the people who staffed the lookout towers, could detect fires up to about 20 miles away and used a device known as the Osborne Firefinder to determine the direction of fires. Most lookout towers are no longer in use because aerial photography, satellite imagery, and infrared technology are more effective. HELICOPTER AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS Not long after fire lookout tower construction became common, planes and helicopters were used to take photographs of wildfires from above (aerial photography). These images were used to detect locations of wildfires, and study the impacts of fire on the landscape. Today, small remote-controlled drones are also used to gain aerial photos with less danger to a pilot. SATELLITE AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS Satellites are launched into Earth’s orbit and regularly collect data, often in the form of photographs. The first satellites were launched into space by Russia in 1957. Today, there are over 2,500 satellites orbiting the Earth. Images taken from space of the Earth’s surface can provide information about wildfires, along with many other things like weather patterns, landscape conditions, and human activity. Satellite photography is used to detect new fires, map the edges of fires, and detect the movement of fires over time. SATELLITE INFRARED IMAGERY NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory created a tool nicknamed ECOSTRESS (ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station) to gather high-resolution temperature data across the earth. The ECOSTRESS instrument uses infrared technology that can “read” the temperature on earth. This could, for example, show how plants are stressed when they don’t have enough water. ECOSTRESS is special because it is set up on the International Space Station, which takes a different orbit than other Earth observation satellites. The advantages over normal photographs are (1) being able to more effectively track the edges of forest fires and detect new, smaller “spot fires”; (2) collecting more data and more often than could be done with a helicopter; and (3) reducing the safety risks for helicopter pilots and firefighters. 5 Lesson 1 Reading the Fire-Influenced Landscape Activity READING THE BURNED LANDSCAPE PRESENTATION • Use the PowerPoint slide presentation and corresponding presenter notes to introduce background information about fire interacting with the landscape and past and present ways of observing fire. • Lead a classroom discussion based on prompts in the second half of the slide show. Encourage students to observe the photographs and maps closely, considering when and how photos were taken. It may be helpful to toggle back and forth between slides. • The final slide introduces NASA’s interactive satellite map interface, Worldview. Explore the Worldview website together on an overhead screen before handing out worksheets. • Students will orient themselves to the Worldview website with the directions on the worksheet and then create hypotheses* about fire behavior. They can work individually or in small groups. *suggested for older students Take it Outside Prepare in advance or debrief after a class field trip by utilizing NASA’s World View. Students may compare their activities on their field trip, sights they saw, or take pictures to compare with aerial imagery from the website. Conclusion Encourage students to share their hypothesis with the class and draw their graph on the board. Remind students to be kind to each other and support each other’s thought process, for it is possible that we may never know if a hypothesis is true or not. However, we can research it and see how much evidence there is to support it. Choose two or three different student hypotheses to consider together as a class. Ask students to brainstorm ways in which they would look further into and/or test the hypothesis. • Are there experts or other research that they would explore first? • Do they have examples of ways they could do some direct observation? • Can they use mapping and aerial imagery to look further? • How would they design an experiment? 6 Lesson 1 Reading the Fire-Influenced Landscape Take-Away Concepts 7 • Features on the landscape and overall topography have a significant impact on how fires burn on the land. • There are complicated interactions between weather, vegetation, and the landscape which influence fire behavior. • Developments in technology over time have increased our ability to safely and efficiently observe fire behavior across the landscape, and researchers continue to study fire. NAME DATE 4th - 5th Lesson 1: Reading the Fire-Influenced Landscape Worldview Worksheet Using NASA’s Worldview Website 1. Orient on the map: Go to the NASA Worldview website: worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov Scroll or use the search bar in the upper-right toolbar, zoom in to the region where you live. (Click on “Place Labels” and “Coastlines/Borders/Roads” if you need help orienting the map. Try different base layers if needed) 2. Explore layers: Click “+ Add Layers” at the bottom of the menu on the left side of the page. In the pop-up window, select the “Hazards and Disasters” tab, then click “Fire and Thermal Anomalies.” Click the check boxes to add layers to the map. Next, click on the “Science Disciplines” tab and try adding layers from “Biosphere,” “Human Dimensions,” or other categories: Settlements,Vegetation, Air Quality, Drought Hazard, and Precipitation. Observe different combinations of layers displayed together. 3. Discuss possible correlations: Do you notice any patterns or relationships between the different layers you explored? What additional information might you need to explore these patterns further? Sometimes patterns that seem to correlate might not be directly related— and in order to know if they are related we would need to further study the relationship. 4. Compare seasons and years: Use the timeline slider at the bottom of the page to see satellite images from earlier dates. First, look at the changes that occur over the course of one year (seasonal changes). Then look at earlier years. What trends do you notice? 5. Use the distance measuring tool: The distance measuring tool appears in the bottom right of the screen as a button that looks like a small ruler. Turn on one of the measuring tools (note the popup instructions) and use it to measure distances between points on the map. For example, you may measure the distance between fires, between fires and the coast line, etc... Create a model of a hypothesis about fire behavior Your hypothesis: Example: the farther away from the coast, the more fires occur How would you test to see if your hypothesis is true? 8 Lesson 1: Presenter Notes Fire on the Landscape Slide 2 Fire behavior is influenced by three main factors: weather conditions, type of vegetation (also referred to as “fuels”), and topography. This is sometimes referred to as the “fire triangle.” All of these factors interact with each other in different ways under different conditions and can create very complex fire behaviors across the landscape. Slide 3 Landscape is the most “static” or unchanging factor in the fire triangle since the landscape is slower to change than weather patterns or the conditions of plants. Patterns of the landscape that influence fire depend on the shape and amount of features like ridges, gullies, meadows etc. Certain characteristics may help fires to speed up, such as steeper slopes. Fire barriers on the landscape such as wetlands, rocky outcrops, or roads may slow down or stop fires. It is important to keep in mind that topography’s influence on fire is always combined with other important factors like weather and condition of vegetation. As we look at different landscape features that affect fire, consider how weather and vegetation might interact with topography. Slide 4 Slope steepness: The steeper the hill, the faster fire will generally spread. This is in part due to the fact that steeper hills can encourage higher winds. Fire moving upslope: Fire moves more quickly upslope than downhill. Daytime conditions tend to contribute to fire moving upslope. This is because heat will tend to rise and the sun warming the earth can contribute to an upward draft. Also with heat and flame rising, they pre-heat fuels on the uphill side and make them easier to burn. Fire moving downslope: During night when the slope becomes shaded, the surface loses heat rapidly and becomes cool. The air adjacent to the surface also cools and becomes more dense, thus heavier, and it will begin to flow down slope. Slide 5 South-facing slopes: Slopes facing south to southwest will receive the most solar radiation. As a result, this slope is warmer than slopes facing a northerly direction. The warmer slope results in higher temperatures and drier conditions. The fuel will tend to be dryer and may ignite and burn readily. Fires on south-facing aspects may last longer and may occur more often over the years. This sort of fire regime can help to maintain grasslands or shrublands. North-facing slopes: Slopes that are north facing receive less solar radiation and tend to be cooler and have more forested/wet vegetation. Fires may be less severe on north-facing slopes and may be a significant place where fire will slow its movement on the lanscape. 9 Fire Ecology & the Human Relationship Slide 6 Ridges and mountains: Mountains and ridges may act as barriers to the horizontal movement of air. The wind is deflected over them and may add to the upslope convective winds. When the ridge tops are reached, updrafts from the other side may bend the flames back. Ravines and gullies: Depressions in the landscape like ravines and gullies will form paths for the flow of air and may change the direction of the fire. In narrow ravines, heat will dry out fuels on the opposite side and they will readily ignite. Saddles and gaps: Dips that are found along a ridge will funnel the wind and increase its speed. Winds will also be gusty and can spread embers that create smaller “spot” fires igniting nearby. Barriers: Various features on the landscape may stop or slow down the spread of fire. • Fields • Roads • Streams, lakes, swamps • Rocky outcrops • Old burned areas Slide 7 Example of natural fire breaks: Beavers promoting fire resilient landscapes The Bootleg Fire in southern Oregon in 2021 burned through thousands of acres of open forest and timber plantations. This photo was taken along Dillon Creek where beavers had been tending the creek. Notice the beaver dams in the right two photographs, and the amount of lush green along the waterway that remained unburned. This oasis habitat will help neighboring areas of the forest to regenerate in the following years. Slide 8 The characteristics of different mountain ranges (elevation, mountain shape) and the weather patterns of different regions can vary greatly across the US. This means that the degree to which different factors influence fire behavior also varies greatly; in some regions topography and weather may be the biggest influence, in some regions topography and vegetation may be the biggest influence. A study found that weather and vegetation were the most important factors in the Northern Rockies, whereas vegetation and topography were dominant in the Southwest. The study found that: (1) temperature was the most influential weather variable in the Northern Rockies; (2) previous burns (particularly those that were 65 years old) were moderately to highly influential in all study areas; and (3) valley bottoms and ridgetops were significantly associated with slowing or stopping fires. (Holsinger 2016) Slide 9 Fire scientists continue to study fire behavior to understand the way fire moves on the landscape. There is still much to learn about the ways in which fire will heat up or cool down and the things that may change its direction or speed. One of the key ways to gather information about fire behavior is to look at images. The progress of technology in the last 80 years has allowed scientists to gather better imagery more accurately and more quickly. Lesson 1 Reading the Fire-Influenced Landscape 10 Slide 10 The US Forest Service had built over 5,000 fire lookout towers by the mid 1930’s. Fire spotters, the people who staffed the lookout towers, could detect fires up to about 20 miles away and used a device known as the Osborne Firefinder to locate the direction of fires. Most lookout towers are no longer in use because aerial photography, satellite imagery, and infrared technology are more effective. LEFT: Fire Control Officer and Lookout with the Fire Finder Cinnabar Lookout Tower Rogue River National Forest 1964 RIGHT: Abbot Butte Lookout Tower Rogue River National Forest Slide 11 LEFT: Panoramic photograph from the Bald Mountain Lookout Rogue River National Forest, Prospect Ranger District 1933 RIGHT: Photo of a fire near Yellowjacket Lookout Rogue River National Forest 1917 Slide 12 Not long after fire lookout tower construction, planes and helicopters were used to take photographs of wildfires from above (aerial photography). These images were used to detect locations of wildfires and study the impacts of fire on the landscape. Today, small remote-controlled drones are also used to gain aerial photos with less danger to a pilot. Pictured: Moon Prairie Fire, aerial view 1962 Slide 14 Satellites are launched into Earth’s orbit and regularly collect data, often in the form of photographs. The first satellites were launched into space by Russia in 1957. Today, there are over 2,500 satellites orbiting the Earth. Images taken from space of the Earth’s surface can provide information about wildfires, along with many other things like weather patterns, landscape conditions, and human activity. Satellite imagery is used to detect new fires, map the edges of fires, and detect the movement of fires over time. Slide 15 NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory created a tool nicknamed ECOSTRESS (ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station) to gather high-resolution temperature data across the earth. The ECOSTRESS instrument utilizes infrared technology that can “read” the temperature on earth. This could, for example, show how plants are stressed when they don’t have enough water. It is special because it is set up on the International Space Station, which takes a different orbit than other Earth observation satellites. The advantages over normal photographs are (1) being able to more effectively track the edges of forest fires and detect new, smaller “spot fires” (2) collecting more data and more often than could be done with a helicopter; (3) reducing the safety risks for helicopter pilots and firefighters. PICTURED: Scientists use satellites to help map wildfire perimeters and hotspots (indicated in red), as in this image of the Jack Fire 2021 in Oregon. Courtesy of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Slide 17 11 Fire Ecology & the Human Relationship Question: What do you observe in this lookout tower photo? Possible answers and further discussion: • Trees have been cut in proximity to lookout tower • Probe further: Why might this have been done? To increase visibility from the tower, to protect the tower from potential forest fires • You can see about 25 miles from the lookout tower, it seems slightly hazy in the distance • There are fewer, smaller trees growing alomg the ridge (pictured right) • There are open areas on the forested hills in the distance. • Probe further: What do you think that these openings are? What caused them? Possible answers: open meadows maintained by fire, rock outcrops and lava fields, areas that have been logged Photo: Blue Rock Lookout, Butte Falls Ranger District, 1936 from the RRNF Historical Records Collection in Hannon Library Special Collections. This photograph is part of the Historical Records Collection of the Rogue River National Forest, and made available courtesy of Southern Oregon University Hannon Library.” Slide 18 Question: What do you notice about the landscape that could influence fire behavior? Possible answers and further discussion: • The south-facing aspect of the hillside (foreground) of the photo doesn’t have many trees. Together with the road, they may serve as a barrier, or fire break • Probe further: Why might the hillside have fewer trees on the south slope? South-facing aspects tend to be naturally drier and lack tree growth • Mt. McLoughlin has very little snow, this picture must have been taken late in the summer/ early fall. • Open rocky lava fields on Mt. McLoughlin’s slopes may act as barriers, or fire breaks Photo: Blue Rock Lookout, Butte Falls Ranger District, 1936 Slide 19 Question: What can you observe from a lookout tower that you can’t observe from an aerial photo? Possible answers: •Individual trees, size, height, growth form/shape •Getting more detail about ground cover: rock versus small plants •Weather conditions Photo LEFT: Blue Rock Lookout, Butte Falls Ranger District, 1936 from the RRNF Historical Records Collection in Hannon Library Special Collections This photograph is part of the Historical Records Collection of the Rogue River National Forest, and made available courtesy of Southern Oregon University Hannon Library. Photo RIGHT: Google Earth image 1994 Slide 20 Question: What can you observe from an aerial photo better than from a lookout tower? Possible answers: • Landscape level features • Road networks • Logging, Clearcuts • Different stands/ patches of trees regrowing • Burned areas Lesson 1 Reading the Fire-Influenced Landscape 12 Slide 21 Buck Rock Lookout location 2005 Question: What has changed in this image 11 years later? Possible answers: • Logging (see the patches of open ground within the orange circle) • Regrowth of plantation stands (see the rows of trees within the green circle) • New road (see the blue circle) Slide 22 (Optional slide) Slide 23 Question: How might changes across the landscape 1994-2019 (over 25 years) affect changes in fire behavior? Possible answers: • Plantation stands grow in thick, with trees close together burn hotter and faster • Fires are often started by people who access this area by roads Slide 25 Question: What do you observe in this satellite image? Possible answers: • Smoke is blowing to the west • Fires are generally in the Cascade mountains • Most smoke is blowing for a long distance Follow up question: How do you think this image was created? What type of technology would illustrate the smoke, but also the outlines of the fires? Answers: Read description below Satellite imagery may include cameras but also additional technology that can detect fires. For example, infrared sensors can detect the boundaries of fire. Infrared sensors “read” temperatures on the landscape to provide detailed information about where fires are, since smoke makes it hard to see what is happening below. (See outlined red boundaries on the map image) This image of the widespread “Labor Day Fires” in 2020 from a satellite shows smoke and fire boundaries in red outline. NASA’s Aqua captured this image of the large number of fires that were burning by the first week of September 2020. Some of the fires started in August, but the majority started after an unprecedented and historically rare windstorm that swept through the region Monday Sep. 7 – Tuesday Sep. 8. Wind gusts up to 65 mph were clocked during the event. The timing of the windstorm was unusual because those strong east winds usually occur in in the dead of winter—not in early September. In addition to the heat, it is another example of the changing weather patterns that are being seen. The smoke from fires is seen cascading off the coast into the Pacific Ocean traveling more than 600 miles just in this image. It is striking how thick and concentrated the smoke is in this image, and many cities and towns up and down the entire West Coast reported almost “nightlike” conditions and red-orange skies created by particles in the air blocking out all other colors. Map Image of the widespread “Labor Day Fires” in 2020 from satellite 13 Fire Ecology & the Human Relationship Slide 26 Bootleg Fire 2021 During the summer of 2021, the Bootleg Fire in southern Oregon burned more than 410,000 acres, making it one of the largest fires in Oregon’s history. Images shown here from the ECOSTRESS tool, were used to measure surface temperature from the vantage point of the International Space Station, twice per day at a high spatial resolution (around 70 meters). Other satellites only can provide data every week or two. This provides new types of data that can be used by first responders like the US Forest Service. Areas in red represent the hottest pixels ECOSTRESS detected. The extreme heat in those areas indicates the fire front, or where the fire is hottest and spreading. Slide 27 Online exploration: explore data on NASA’s Worldview website (https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov/) 1) Read the background information below to the class. 2) Hand out the Worldview Worksheet to students 3) Explore the Worldview website together as a class. Have students then follow the directions on the worksheet to guide them through the website and creating a model for their hypothesis. US Satellites from NASA: Scientific instruments attached to satellites are often the first to detect wildfires burning in remote regions, and the locations of new fires are sent directly to land managers worldwide within hours of the satellite overpass. These instruments detect actively burning fires, track the transport of smoke from fires, provide information for fire management, and map the extent of changes to ecosystems based on the extent and severity of burn scars. Constantly updated imagery: Check out NASA’s Worldview application (https://worldview.earthdata. nasa.gov/), which allows you to interactively browse over 700 global, full-resolution satellite imagery layers and then download the data. Many of the imagery layers are updated within three hours of observation — actively burning fires are shown as red points. Orbiting every day and taking pictures: Terra passes over the equator at approximately 10:30am (day) and 10:30pm (night) local time, NOAA-20 passes over the equator at approximately 12:40pm (day) and 12:40am (night) local time, and Aqua and Suomi NPP passes over the equator at approximately 1:30pm (day) and 1:30am (night) local time. The fire information is available within Worldview approximately 3 hours after satellite overpass. Lesson 1 Reading the Fire-Influenced Landscape 14 4th - 5th Lesson 2 Fire Biodiversity Puzzle Fire and Biodiversity, part one NGSS: 4-LS1-1. , 5-LS2-1. , 5-ESS2-1. CCSS: ELA-LITERACY.W.4.1, W.4.2.B, 4.3.B, W.5.1, W.5.2.B, W.5.3.B Summary 60 mins Plants, fungi, wildlife, humans, and other living things throughout the Western United States have adapted to coexist with fire for millions of years. In the Oregon Cascades and Siskiyou Mountains, a region renowned for biodiversity, there are both common and rare species that find home amongst blacked and regrowing conifer forests, oak savannah, chaparral, and meadows. Students will learn about local species’ adaptations to their fireaffected habitats by constructing the Fire Biodiversity Puzzle art image. Studying species’ adaptations is not only fascinating, but may also provide inspiration for how to thrive in a world with fire. GOALS CLASSROOM PROCEDURE • Students will discuss with peers how biodiversity is important to ecosystem health. 1. Introduction discussion: concepts of fire and biodiversity • Students will demonstrate in writing their understanding of how different species in Oregon are adapted to fire-affected landscapes. 2. Activity One: Fire Biodiversity Puzzle Students will work collaboratively to describe how biodiversity, fire, and habitat are related. 4. Conclusion • 15 3. Activity Two: Write a Species Story Preparation • Become familiar with Introduction and Discussion Points • Print one copy of the Fire Adaptations Strategies handout per group of 2-3 students • Print one copy of the Biodiversity Fire Puzzle pages for each group of 2-3 students • Print one copy of the Species Story Worksheet per student • Suggested prerequisite lesson topics: food webs, ecosystem interactions, simple chemical reactions (heat/light) MATERIALS Per group of 2-3 students: • Masking tape OR posterboard plus glue • Colored pencils (optional) • Fire Biodiversity Puzzle Pieces • Fire Adaptations Strategies handout • Species Survival Story Worksheet • Artist’s Statement Vocabulary and Terms: Biodiversity: variety of life in a particular habitat or ecosystem Blacked forest: the stage in which a forest has recently burned, before it has started to regrow into a green forest Burl: a growth on a tree formed from unsprouted bud tissue. The burl forms large, knobby looking growths on the base and trunk of the tree where stems may grow back after disturbance Forest structure: layers of the forest including the canopy, understory, shrubs, forest floor, and soil Mycelium: the vegetative part of a fungus (whereas the mushroom is the fruiting part of the fungus). Mycelium grows in soil or wood and is made up of a network of fine rootlike filaments that are often white. Organism: a single living being Serotinous: an adaptation of plants with seeds that require fire to release and germinate Snag: a tree that is dead but still standing; snags serve as important wildlife habitat for insects, birds, rodents, fungi and other organisms. Habitat: the environment in which an organism survives that provides all the things that it needs to live 16 Lesson 2 Fire Biodiversity Puzzle Introduction Southwest Oregon is recognized globally as an incredible hotspot for biodiversity. A complex web of relationships exists among the many species native to Southwest Oregon where the Cascade and Siskiyou Mountains converge. This complex web is central to Native ancestral relationships (food, medicine, fibers, tools, and intricate cultural understandings and practices). The individual species that make up the web are able to thrive in habitats that have been affected by fire for millions of years. Some wildlife species survive with fire because they find food or shelter within the burned features of a blacked forest. Some plant species rely on fire to survive because their seeds need fire to germinate. Other understory plants may only be triggered to grow after fire when they are no longer shaded out by bigger shrubs or trees. We will explore some specific Southwest Oregon species and their adaptations to living with fire and how their interconnected existence contributes to biodiversity. Discussion Points 1. What is biodiversity? Biodiversity is the sum of all the different types of life on this earth. It includes life at all levels from groups of animals to individual species and even the genes within a single organism. 2. Why is biodiversity important? The strength of interconnections Biodiversity is important because it creates healthy ecosystems. All living things are connected by their relationship to water, air, fire, earth, and especially by their connections with each other. Connections to each other include being food for each other, helping each other to grow by sharing nutrients, and helping create rich soil when their bodies die and decompose. When there are many different types of life on this earth, all helping each other to live and grow over time, the earth and interconnected web of life is stronger. When all species benefit, humans benefit Humans depend on healthy ecosystems and biodiversity. For example, when bees and butterflies are healthy, they pollinate the plant crops that we eat. Genetic diversity amongst wild populations of all types of animals helps to ensure healthy populations for hunting and to protect against disease that can spread to domestic livestock. 3. How do Organisms Survive with Fire? Give a copy of the Fire Adaptations Strategies handout to each group of 2-3 students. Explain that in a minute, you’re going to put together a puzzle that illustrates how fire, plants, and animals interact in an ecosystem, but first, you need to learn about how organisms can survive (and thrive) with fire individually. Have each student read the information about one strategy/species to their small group, or to the whole class. 17 Lesson 2 Fire Biodiversity Puzzle Activity FIRE BIODIVERSITY PUZZLE • Complete the puzzle Hand out a complete set of puzzle pieces to each small group. Direct students to work in their small groups to assemble the puzzle pieces into the complete art image using tape on the back of the pieces OR by gluing them to a posterboard. Optional: students may color the puzzle pieces after assembling. • Reflect on the completed puzzle Once student groups have completed the puzzle, summarize the total image by reading the artist’s statement aloud to students. Students may also read the artist’s statement to themselves or in their groups if using the Species Story Worksheet. Then, lead a discussion around the question: How does fire benefit wildlife habitat and support biodiversity? Remind students to look back at the Fire Adaptations Strategies handout for clues. Fire supports habitat diversity: Landscapes burn unevenly; different patches of land respond differently to fire, stimulating suitable habitat and usable nutrients for a variety of organisms. Fire creates shelter and food: Tall snags, fallen logs and downed wood, ground hollows, and tree cavities create habitat for nesting birds and other organisms; they shelter insect life that provides forage for animals like birds, reptiles, and small mammals; they support decomposers like fungi and bacteria, which in turn further break down the wood into soil nutrients. Fire supports productivity: Fire opens space and increases available light for new life at all levels of the forest structure, especially in the mid and understory; it stimulates new plant growth from seeds stored in the soil and fungal networks are stimulated to produce mushrooms, like morels, to bloom; it changes nutrients in the soil, helping stimulate the growth of decomposers such as insects, bacteria, and fungi as they break down organic matter used by new life. Fire recycles and redistributes nutrients: In the forest ecosystem, the flow of essential nutrients is “jump started” through heat, ash additions, and changes to vegetation dynamics which allow for soil restoration and new plant growth. 18 Lesson 2 Fire Biodiversity Puzzle Write a Species Story After groups have finished assembling their Fire Biodiversity Puzzle, ask them to choose one species from the puzzle and write a short story from their (first person) point of view about how that species came to be in the post-fire burned area. For writing, students may use the Species Story Worksheet or, if you write story prompts on the board, students may write in their journals: • What was your habitat like before the fire, and what changed? • Did changes in the air and water affect your ability to find food or shelter? • What parts of your body (internal or external) helped you to survive the fire, or to grow? • Were you able to resprout (plants) or have offspring (animals) after the fire? • How are you interacting with other plants and animals around you after the fire? Optional: If students need more time, the Species Story may be assigned as homework with a target word/ paragraph count. Finish conclusion (below) in the classroom before students turn in their stories. Conclusion • Have students share their stories with their group. • Ask student groups to reflect on their puzzle experience and have students take turns sharing species adaptations they learned about. • Further prompts for wrap-up discussion: What was something new to you? Had you realized all the different species that are adapted to fire? Take-Away Concepts 19 • Many different species thrive or even rely on fire for habitat. Fire may create shelter or trigger growth of their foods, and support biodiversity across the landscape. • Species have adapted to living with fire for millions of years. The diversity of strategies they have adapted to live with fire are intricate and complex, and humans are just starting to understand some of these relationships. • What are some adaptations of animals and plants that we discussed today that could apply to humans living with fire adapted landscapes? NAME DATE 4th - 5th Lesson 2 Fire Biodiversity Puzzle Statement from Artist Zoe Keller What is a complex early seral forest? As a mixed or high-severity fire sweeps across a forested landscape, it leaves behind the vital ingredients for the life of a new forest. Tree crowns burn, and some living trees are killed or damaged severely enough to die slowly in the following years. As these mature trees wane, the canopy is pulled open. Light rains down on the forest floor, nutrients and moisture once monopolized by trees becomes available for new forms of plant life, and the ground is made rich with woody debris. Grasses, wildflowers, shrubs, and hardwood and coniferous tree seedlings take hold in this landscape, weaving together complex and diverse plant communities. This burst of vegetation creates habitats for a diverse group of species. Grasses, flower nectar, seeds and berries touch off a tangled food web, twisting through insects to rodents, birds, and bats, and finally to raptors like northern goshawks and northern spotted owls that hunt from adjacent unburned forests. Larger mammals — Roosevelt elk, Columbian black-tailed deer, and black bears in the Klamath–Siskiyou region - browse on foliage and berries. Equally as important as this lush new burst of greenery are the blackened ghosts of fires past, elements of the forest that are called “biological legacies.” Standing dead trees called snags, downed trees and woody debris provide unique habitats. Birds perch on the branches of snags, flying out across the opened landscape to feast on the flush of moths, butterflies and other insects. Bats dart across the sky, sharing in the sixlegged buffet. Woodpeckers dig grubs out of blackened trees and excavate nesting holes that are used by succeeding cohorts of birds and small mammals. This vibrant stage in the life of a forest is called a “complex early seral forest,” a name applied to forests recovering from any type of disturbance, including not only fire but also wind, severe flood or volcanic eruption. This stage lasts until tree seedlings grow tall and the canopy closes once again, a process that can take decades or even a century. Because of their high levels of biodiversity and relative rarity across forested landscapes of the Pacific Northwest, complex early seral forests are considered just as precious as old growth forests. Write a Species Story Choose one species from the puzzle and to write a first-person short story about how it came to be in the post-fire burned area. Use the backside of this paper and answer the prompts below to guide your story: • What was your habitat like before the fire, and what changed? • Did changes in the air and water affect your ability to find food or shelter? • What parts of your body (internal or external) helped you to survive the fire, or to grow? Were you able to resprout (plants) or have offspring (animals) after the fire? • How are you interacting with other plants and animals around you after the fire? Fire Ecology & the Human Relationship 20 Case Studies Species Descriptions Lesson 2: Fire Biodiversity Puzzle Oregon Cascades and Siskiyou fire-adapted species, corresponding with Fire Biodiversity Puzzle pieces: 1. Bluebirds and oregon junco Insectivorous (insect-eating) birds like Western Bluebirds will feast in post-burned forests. Insects will be some of the first life to colonize the burned forest. They help to decompose burned wood, rejuvenate the soil, pollinate new plants, and feed other creatures. Oregon juncos find seeds and make nests on the open ground found in recently burned forests. 2. Long-eared myotis bat, lazuli bunting, townsend’s solitaire Bats can benefit from fire because it creates a variety of habitat conditions. When fire clears patches of forest, it creates openings in the forest that enable bats to hunt more easily with echolocation, find an abundance of insects, and some roost (take shelter) in dead snags and rotting wood. (Steel 2019) Lazuli bunting have been shown to increase in population in areas in the years immediately following mid- and high-severity fires. (Leidolf 2007) 3. Black-backed woodpecker, hairy woodpeckers, butterflies The black-backed woodpecker relies on dead wood and large burned snags that are created by mid- to high-severity fire. Other woodpeckers, like the hairy woodpecker also benefit from big dead “legacy trees” that provide holes for nesting cavities and a place to forage for the insects they prefer. In the several years after wildfire, an abundance of flowers and flowering shrubs will often regrow and become alive with pollinators. Some butterflies, like those in the “blue” family of butterflies, rely on the lupine and other flowers that grow after wildfire to continue their life cycle. 4. Ponderosa pine old growth snag, common false lupine Old trees are extremely important to the burned forest because they can withstand hotter fires, and will provide seeds for forest regrowth. The ponderosa pines’ fire adaptations include thick fireresistant bark, shedding of lower limbs (self-pruning), and having open crowns and a branching pattern that can dampen fire. Lupines and other pea-family plants work together with bacteria in the soil to absorb nitrogen from the air. This nitrogen helps pea-family plants to be some of the first plants to spring up after a fire when they will bloom in large quantities. 5. Black bear, buffaloberry, and fireweed Black bears find a diversity of foods such as plant sprouts, berries, insects, and rodents when the burnt forest flushes with regrowth. Fireweed, named for its growth after a fire, will grow in large fields of burned forests and along waterways. Buffaloberry has roots that will survive fires to resprout in the following years. The open canopy of burned forests allows it access to more light which can increase berry production. 6. Bracken ferns, broad-leaved lotus, pine cones Some seed cones like those of the knobcone pine are serotinous, meaning they require the heat of fire to open up and release their seeds for germination. Bracken ferns have hearty roots that survive in sandy soils and readily resprout after fire. 7. Columbian black-tailed deer, valley garter snake, boreal toad, prostrate ceanothus Columbian black-tailed deer like to browse the fresh grass and plants that resprout a year after fire. Prostrate ceanothus works together with bacteria to bring nitrogen from the air into the soil soon after fire has gone through the forest. Some related ceanothus species have seeds that require highintensity fire to help them germinate. To aid this strategy, they have a flammable resin in their leaves along with seeds that remain dormant in the soil for long periods of time waiting for high-intensity fire. 8. Black morel mushroom, northern alligator lizard, umbrella liverwort (Marchantia polymorpha) Morels will often sprout in the few years after a fire because theirunderground mycelium are stimulated to grow a mushroom. The common and widespread umbrella liverwort is commonly associated with postfire shrub regrowth. Umbrella liverwort likes the exposed mineral soil and high lime concentrations present after a severe fire and can sometimes cover entire burned areas. It helps prevent soil erosion that frequently occurs after severe fires, and renews the humus (topsoil layer) in the burned soil. The northern alligator lizard is sensitive to fire and will avoid it by finding protective habitat like rocks or drainages. 9. Ground squirrels These rodents can thrive in areas post-fire, as they like to burrow in the soil in open pine forests with some rock features. Fire and other disturbances that remove the forest canopy improve the habitat for these animals. (Shick 2006 ) 10. Roosevelt elk, california globe mallow California globe mallow is a fire-following mallow endemic to the Modoc Plateau of northeast California and southern Oregon. It has recently been designated a sensitive species (Arneson 2004). Roosevelt elk like to forage at forest edges and clearings that are regrowing during the years after fire where they find fresh shoots, berries, and other foods. Traditionally, Native people of southern Oregon and other areas would use fire to manage hunting grounds. These cultural burns benefit larger, landscape-scale fire processes over time. 11. Chipmunk, manzanita, red flowering currant, hummingbird Some species of manzanita are evolved to resprout from the base of their stump, or burl, and will do so just weeks after fire. Similarly, other berry shrubs like the red-flowering currant will thrive after fire, and their red color attracts hummingbirds to their nectar. Chipmunks forage on serotinous seeds that are released and other seeds that are produced in the first few years after fire. 12. Snowberry, white-crowned sparrow, pacific blackberry Snowberry has a root crown and rhizomes that sprout after fire. Snowberry serves as pollinator habitat later in the summer when it blooms. Pacific blackberry will sprout from “suckers” after fire and is also capable of spreading rapidly from trailing stems. (Tirmenstein 1989) The white-crown sparrow is migratory and eats insects and seeds. It does best in “hybrid” habitats where fire has increased shrub diversity and the growth following a fire is still young. (Bent 1968) 2 4 1 3 11 5 12 6 10 9 7 8 Lesson 2: Biodiversity and Fire Species Strategies How might different plants, animals, and all living creatures including humans, be adapted to living with fire? Explore the many ways that species have evolved and interacted with fire over millennia: Species’ fire adaptation strategies Definition Example Oregon species Invader species Species that prefer disturbance to the landscape and are some of the first ones to regrow. Also known as pioneer species. Fireweed, deerbrush, buckbrush, willow Species that have long-lived seeds that survive on trees or in the soil during fire. Sometimes those seeds require fire to be released and grow (serotinous). Knobcone pine, lodgepole pine Avoider species Species that grow in the understory and are generally shade tolerant. These species are less resistant to fire and tend to grow in latesuccessional (old growth) forests where they can avoid frequent fire. Bigleaf maple, pacific yew, Brewer’s spruce, mountain hemlock Ponderosa pine, sugar pine, douglas fir, red fir Resister species Species that evolved closely with fire and can survive low to mid-intensity fire. Species adaptations may include thick bark, high water content in leaves/trunk, and shedding of dead branches. Species that withstand being burned above ground, but have vigorous roots that resprout after fire. These species regrow readily after high-intensity fires. Manzanita, madrone, hazel, oak, ocean spray Evader species Endurer species Fire Ecology & the Human Relationship 26 4th - 5th Lesson 3 Fire Nourishes the Land, the Land Nourishes Us Fire as an Agricultural Tool, part one NGSS: 4-LS1-1, 5-LS2-1 Summary 60+ mins Since time immemorial, Siletz Tribal members and other Indigenous peoples have applied fire to the lands of Oregon using traditional knowledge and skills passed down over many generations. This traditional use of fire can be referred to as “cultural burning.” Cultural burns are used by Indigenous people for many purposes, including to ensure the quantity and quality of First Food and Materials plants, plants that provide traditional foods and cultural materials. In this way, fire is an agricultural tool used to nourish the land and plants. The fire-enhanced landscape nourishes the people and provides materials necessary for basketry, cordage, and other tools. In this activity, students will learn about First Food and Materials plant ecology, identification, and cultural significance in relation to cultural burning. Note: Students should not harvest or use plants without the guidance of an adult who can guide plant identification safe use, plant care, and permissions to use. An understanding of First Foods and Materials plants and understanding cultural burns can provide key insights into sustainable forest and landscape management in Oregon. GOALS: CLASSROOM PROCEDURE • Students will identify examples of First Food plants by biological and ecological clues. 1. Introduction discussion: First Foods and Cultural Burning • Students will identify different ways that fire can benefit plants and be used as an “agricultural tool.” • 27 Students will develop and draw a model that describes fire as a catalyst in the movement of matter among organisms. 2. Activity One: First Foods and Materials Plants Card Game 3. Activity Two: My Fire-Adapted Plant Worksheets 4. Conclusion Preparation • Familiarize yourself with the Summary and Plant Card activity • Prepare to divide students into groups of 3 or 4 • Print off one set of Plant Cards (9 per set) for each group of students. Use cardstock, if available, so names of plants are not visible from the other side • Print off one set of Hint Cards (9 per set) for each group of students, use cardstock if available • Print one Note Sheet and Worksheet for each student • Cut Plant Cards and arrange in stacks with image-sides down, with manzanita card on top • Cut Hint Cards and arrange in stacks with name-sides facing down • Optional: have students work in groups to cut and arrange Plant Cards and Hint Cards MATERIALS • White board, chalkboard, or screen-share for making lists • First Food Plant Cards • Hint Cards • Note Sheets • Plant Worksheets • Vocabulary List Vocabulary and Terms Agricultural tool: any method, practice, or physical tool used by people to affect food production or collection in a tended ecosystem Annual: a plant that germinates, flowers, and sets seed in one year Burl: a growth on a tree formed from unsprouted bud tissue. The burl forms large, knobby-looking growths on the base and trunk of the tree where stems may grow back after disturbance. Canopy: the branches and leaves at the top of a group of trees that form the “roof ” of the forest Catkin: a long, thin cluster of tiny flowers that do not have petals; found on willows, oaks and other trees Cultural burn: traditional use of fire to maintain and manage landscapes for foods and materials, to cook food, or to hold ceremonies 28 Lesson 3 Fire as an Agricultural Tool Deciduous: trees or shrubs that shed leaves seasonally, usually in fall Endemic: describes a species that lives in only one specific place Fire suppression: a land management practice that focuses on fighting and stopping wildfires First Foods: traditional native foods (plant or animal) that provide sustenance and promote health Geophyte: a plant with underground storage parts, like starchy roots or bulbs, that can survive when conditions above ground are too harsh. Camas is an example of a geophyte. Material culture: objects of traditional use that require plants and animals to provide materials Material plants: plants that grow materials for traditional food collection and storage equipment, such as baskets and nets Mid-story tree: a tree whose canopy exists between the heights of the tallest trees and the understory plants Perennial: a plant that lives more than two years Seed bank: all viable seeds of a species present in the soil Shrub: a small or medium-sized, woody, perennial plant with multiple stems growing from ground level Time immemorial: a very long time, before written history Understory: the layer of plants and shrubs growing closest to the forest floor Introduction Discussion First Foods and Cultural Burning Discussion Classroom time: 20 minutes Materials used: screen or board for making lists 1. Make a list of “Agricultural Acts.” Ask students to imagine being a farmer, and ask, “What does a farmer do to help plants grow on their farm?” Record the responses and label this as a list of “agricultural acts,” and guide the discussion to include answers like planting seeds, watering, fertilizing, removing pests, pruning, or weeding. 2. Make a list of “First Food Plants.” Ask students if they can identify sources of food for humans that come from native plants. Some hints you may consider giving are:“Think about things that grow and fall from trees in the forests,” or “Are there any fruits you have seen growing in the wild? (acorns and berries).” Record a list and label it as “First Food plants,” and define First Foods. 3. Make a list of “Materials Plants.” Ask students if they can identify plants that people use to make items or tools. Some hints you may offer: “Is there anything in your home that came from a plant?” Define Material Plants and give examples like wood from trees for various uses, and plants used for hats and basketry. Point out that material culture is an important part of traditional gathering, storing, and processing of First Foods. 4. Discuss the agriculture of First Foods and Materials: Next, ask students to think of taking care of a First Food such as oak trees and their acorns, like a farmer: “If you depended on acorns for food, 29 Lesson 3 Fire as an Agricultural Tool what might you do to have a good acorn crop?” Ask students to think about taking care of Materials plants: “If you want plants to grow a certain way, how might you work with them?” Discuss how some plants can provide both food and materials. 5. Fire as an agricultural tool/defining a cultural burn: Ask, “Do you think fire can be used to take care of First Food and Materials plants?” “How do you think fire is used to care for plants?” Gather some student responses, then explain: “Fire is a primary agricultural tool used by Indigenous people. Cultural burns are applied widely on the land, and are important to the Indigenous way of life and to the land. The traditions associated with cultural burns are handed down from generation to generation. They are often accompanied by ceremonies and are done very carefully at specific times, in specific places. Fire helps ensure the landscape will provide enough foods and materials that people need to sustain a rich, traditional life.” Discuss some examples of fire as an agricultural tool: • Fire is a traditional way that some Indigenous people control acorn weevils, the wormy pest of acorns. Fire disrupts their lifecycle, as acorns infected with weevils fall to the ground. The weevils overwinter inside fallen acorns, but are killed by fire if it moves across the land. • Fire can return nutrients from burned material to the soil. Decomposers in the soil use those nutrients to fertilize further growth of nearby plants. Fire helps nutrients cycling through the land, and to fertilize First Foods. 6. Indigenous removal and fire suppression: Lastly, say: “Cultural burning has been on the decline in recent history. Populations of Indigenous people declined very sharply when nonnative traders brought new diseases into Indigenous communities (Wilkinson, 2010). With a decline in the number of Indigenous people on the land, the number of cultural burns also declined. Later, when Indigenous people were forcibly removed to Reservations in the mid 1800’s, the number of people practicing cultural burning further declined. By the 1900’s, fire suppression became a policy of federal and state agencies, with some Tribal weaver families being the last to practice burning around their hazel patches and close to their homes in Tribal communities (Kentta, Robert, personal communication, 2021). Fires were suppressed wherever possible for many many years. It was only recently that state and federal agencies started to acknowledge what Indigenous people knew all along: that fire plays a necessary role in ecosystem health in this region. Now fires are sometimes set intentionally on landscapes to achieve the benefits of fire. Today, Indigenous knowledge of cultural burning is beginning to be incorporated more widely in forest management by government agencies and landowners.” Activity One First Foods and Materials Plants Card Game Classroom time: 30 minutes Materials used: First Food Plants and Materials Cards, Hint Cards, Note Sheets In this activity, small groups of students will work together to identify First Foods and Materials plants using hints about plant identification, cultural uses, and relationships to cultural burning. After the group activity, each student will complete a worksheet to reflect what they learned. 1. Divide students into groups of 3-4. 2. Hand out one set of Plant Cards to each group in a stack, picture-sides facing down, with manzanita on top. 3. Hand out a Note Sheet to each student. Explain that the information they will record on their note sheets is what will help them be successful in this game. 30 Lesson 3 Fire as an Agricultural Tool 4. Explain that students will first read through the Plant Cards while taking notes on the Note Sheets about each plant. Read through the manzanita Plant Card as an example, and discuss the example notes for manzanita on the Note Sheets. You may want to write the four categories of notes on a board: Plant Name, Identification, Uses, and Fire. 5. Instruct groups to now take the manzanita Plant Card and place it in the middle of the group, imageside up, so none of the information that was just read can be seen. Explain that they will now work through the rest of the Plant Cards in their groups until all 9 Plant Cards are placed image-side up in the middle of the groups. Instruct students to take turns reading one of the plant cards while the rest of the team takes notes, until the group has worked through all 9 Plant Cards and each student’s Note Sheet is complete. 6. Point out that after Plant Cards are read, they are placed image-side up and that the information is no longer visible. This is why it is important for students to fill in notes on the Note Sheets as the Plant Cards are read aloud. 7. Allow the groups to read through the rest of the Plant Cards in their groups and monitor students to ensure they are filling out Note Sheets thoroughly for each Plant Card as they work. Note: You may use the Plant Card file to display and read the Plant Cards as a class or have the students take turns read through them in their groups. Use the method that works best for your classroom. 8. When students have read through all 9 Plant Cards, pass out one set of Hint Cards to each group, explain: 31 • Students will shuffle the Hint Cards, with the “Hint” side facing up and the “Name” side facing down, and place the stack in front of one student. • One student then reads through the top Hint Card out loud, keeping the cards in the stack, so that the “Name” side is not revealed. • After a “Hint” side of a Hint Card is read, the group uses their notes to discuss, name, and point to which Plant Card the “Hint” side referred to. The students can discuss their notes until there is a consensus or a majority agree. • The Plant Card identified during the discussion is now turned over to confirm the accuracy of the groups’ identification. The Hint Card may also now be turned over to confirm. Note: If one group finishes the Hint Cards early, they may continue to play the game by re-shuffling the Hint Cards and seeing how quickly they can go through them a second time. Lesson 3 Fire as an Agricultural Tool Activity Two Worksheets Classroom time: 15 minutes Materials used: Plant Worksheets, Note Sheets, Vocab List 1. Ensure students have access to the internet. 2. Hand out a worksheet to each student. 3. Display vocabulary list for students to reference. 4. Have students pick and use one plant from the activity to complete the worksheet. Students may also use the Plant Cards or their Note Sheets for reference. For more references, write out the following webpage for students to look up their plant: • OregonFlora Home • Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest (pnwflowers.com) 5. After students have completed the Plant Worksheet, present and discuss the take away concepts Conclusion / Take-Away Concepts • Defining cultural burns: Cultural burns are intentionally set fires practiced with the knowledge and traditions passed down for thousands of years by Indigenous people. • Understanding fire as an agricultural tool: Cultural burns can have many different, beneficial effects like fertilizing plants by recycling nutrients, “weeding” out plants that might compete with a target species, or helping to control insects or diseases. • First Food Plants: First Food plants have many different uses including seeds, edible roots, as a sweetener. • Material Culture Plants: Plants that provide materials for traditional food, textiles, tools, and other cultural uses. For example, hazel provides food and sticks for baskets and iris supplies fiber for nets. • Ethical and safe use: Although this lesson introduces food and materials plants to students, along with their uses, this is not meant to guide students to harvest and use plants without the guidance and supervision of a knowledgeable adult. • Importance: All of us can benefit from knowledge of First Foods plants, plants used in Material Culture, and cultural burns that are used to tend them. By understanding how cultural burns benefit plants and animals, we may learn to become better stewards of fire-shaped landscapes in the future. Take it Outside Students can use the plant cards to try to identify the plants (or find similar, related plants) in parks or forested areas. 32 NAME 4th - 5th DATE Lesson 3: Fire Nourishes the Land, the Land Nourishes Us My Fire-Adapted Plant Name of plant chosen Search for other names for this plant, and if you find them, list them here. Is it an annual or perennial? Annual Is it a First Food plant, a Materials plant, or both? First Food plant Materials plant Perennial Find photos of your plant, and draw your plant here. 33 Fire Ecology & the Human Relationship Think about using fire as an agricultural tool, to help your plant grow well. What is one way that fire might help your plant grow well? Think about a cultural burn of this plant. Some parts of the plant might burn and turn to soil. Others will survive. Circle the plant parts that will survive: ROOTS BRANCHES LEAVES SEEDS Now, imagine your plant one year later, following a fire. Draw it below. What has changed about your plant after the fire? Label these changes on the left and connect them to your picture. Lesson 3: Fire Nourishes the Land, the Land Nourishes Us 34 NAME 4th - 5th DATE Lesson 3: Fire Nourishes the Land, the Land Nourishes Us Note Sheet Plant Name Identification Uses Fire (Food, Materials) Manzanita tree, chocolatecovered bark, bellshaped flower berries for sugar cold drinks seeds need fire, burls Fire Ecology & the Human Relationship Plants with flower structures that look like upside down um­brellas are known as “umbels.” This native umbel has delicate white flowers and a root that can be eaten raw or cooked. The only part of this plant not covered in oils is the flower, and to preserve mois­ture, this plant closes the flower most of the day. This plant is a geophite with edible bulbs that were once the most widely traded food (after salmon) in the Pacific Northwest. This tree is grown by farmers for use in cough syrups, and has hollow stems that people can make tools and musical instruments out of. This plant has a large, perennial taproot that can grow to be decades old and has traditional and current uses as a powerful medicine for flus, pneumonia and other ill­nesses. This fruit is made of many juicy druplets around a central core. Its large leaves have been used for teas and as drying mats to preserve the fruits. The flower of this plant is called a catkin, and the shoots are used in Indigenous, Siletz basketry. After a forest fire, some of these shrubs can resprout from a burl, a swelling at the junction of the roots and stem that can survive fires. This shrub makes sweet berries that have often been collected and used to make sweet beverages. This endemic plant is not eaten by humans. It has a single, central, strong fiber found in the leaf that has been used to make nets, ropes, or in baskets Siskiyou Iris Thimbleberry Hazel Camas Elderberry Fernleaf Biscuitroot Manzanita Yampah Madia Manzanita Identification Manzanitas are evergreen shrubs with smooth, chocolate-colored bark and round leaves. They bloom in late winter or early spring, providing some of the first pollen and nectar of the season to pollinators. The flower petals are fused together into cups that hang upside down. These petals protect the pollen and nectar from spring rains. Pollinators have adapted to these bell-shaped flowers, some simply chew through the flowers, leaving holes, and certain bees can buzz at the perfect pitch to cause pollen to drop from the flowers! Food Manzanita fruits are often gathered when they are dry, used as a sweetener in a variety of foods, and to make refreshing, sweet drinks. Fire After fire, some resprout from a swelling at their base (called a “burl”). Branches atop burls may only be as old as the period since the last fire, but the burl and underground parts can be hundreds of years old. Greenleaf manzanita Arctostaphylos patula art by Zoe Keller Camas Identification Camas is a perennial plant with edible underground bulbs. Its flowers have 6 purple petals and bright, yellow anthers (the part of the flower that contains pollen and is at the end of a stalk). Camas often grows in wet meadows. Food Camas is a very special food plant. At one time, camas was the most widely-traded food in southwest Oregon, after salmon. Many places where Europeans first settled, built farms, and established cities in Oregon were ancient gardens of camas, tended to by Indigenous people for thousands of years. Fire Camas is a geophyte: a plant with underground parts that survive when conditions above ground are too harsh. Camas bulbs can survive in soils for years without flowering...even decades! When fires burn plant materials that have built up on the soil surface, that matter is released into the soil, where it can be used by camas bulbs. The removal of material on the soil surface can also help sun warm the soil, which can help dormant bulbs flower. Camas plant and seed head Camassia quamash art by Zoe Keller Tarweed Identification Few plants are better than tarweeds at preserving water, a precious resource in our dry summers. Every part of a tarweed plant is covered with oils that help keep moisture from evaporating through the plant. The only part of the plant not covered with oils is the flower. To keep moisture from escaping there, the plant closes its flowers each day as the sun rises, then opens them again at night. Food Tarweed seeds, like the rest of the plant, are high in oils and have been collected and used in high-energy foods or for cooking oil. Traditional harvests utilize special sticks to knock the seeds loose and tightly woven baskets to collect and carry the seeds. Reports say that traditional harvests are a community affair involving many people and that the “swish, swish” sounds of many sticks and baskets were a familiar summer sound of the grasslands. Fire Traditional harvests often include the use of fire before harvests. Fire removes the stickiness of tarweed’s stems and leaves, making seed collection easier. Fire can also slightly roast seeds and enhance flavor. Tarweed Madia spp. art by Zoe Keller Yampah Identification Yampah is a perennial plant with an underground edible root. It has delicate white flowers that bloom in midsummer. Yampah’s flower stalks radiate in all directions from the main stem in the shape of an upsidedown umbrella. This umbrella-shaped flower structure is shared by all members of its plant family, the “umbels.” Many spices and food plants are in this plant family, including cumin, dill, fennel, caraway, and carrots. Other members of this plant family are highly poisonous (like poison hemlock). Proper plant identification is essential to utilize umbels safely! Food Yampah is a special food plant in many Indigenous cultures. Its roots are edible raw or cooked and provide a powerful source of energy. Fire Yampah’s edible root survives extreme conditions above ground, including frozen winters, dry summers, and even fire. Plants with underground storage parts that can survive these harsh conditions even as the above-ground parts die are called “geophytes.” Cultural burning can help maintain open prairies, where yampah and other geophytes thrive. The fires can recycle nutrients to underground parts and help keep areas clear for sun-loving prairie plants like yampah. Yampah Perideridia spp. art by Zoe Keller Blue Elderberry Identification Elderberry is a mid-sized tree with large compound leaves, clusters of white flowers, and blue or purple berries. Food (and music) People use elderberry’s large clusters of flowers for teas and drinks, the sweet berries for foods and medicines, and their hollow stems to make musical instruments and tools. Blue elderberries are typically cooked before eating. They are commercially grown by farmers across the northern hemisphere for use in cough syrups. Fire Elderberry trees send up new stems and sprouts each year. Over time a single tree can crowd itself, and its branches may rub against one another and slowly weaken. Fires can burn weakened branches, allowing a tree to more efficiently use its energy on production of healthy leaves, flowers, and berries. Elderberry Sambucus cerulea art by Zoe Keller Bisquitroot Identification Biscuitroots are wildflower plants with large perennial taproots. Flowers emerge in mid summer, from a central stalk that sends out a set of smaller stalks at one point, like an upside down umbrella. (Flowers with this structure are called “umbels.” Another umbel is the plant “yampah”.) Food Roots have traditionally been dug, pounded, and preserved into biscuit-type foods. Some Biscuitroots’ taproots can grow several feet deep and live to be decades old. Fernleaf Biscuitroot is not only eaten, but it also has traditional and current uses as a medicine. More than one Indigenous name for this plant has been translated to “big medicine.” The plant is a powerful treatment for many sicknesses, and is wild-collected to create medicines available in stores. Fire Fire can return nutrients from stalks to the soil where they can be absorbed by the perennial roots in the future. Fire can also keep areas clear so they receive the ample sunlight that biscuitroots thrive in. Fernleaf Biscuitroot Lomatium dissectum art by Zoe Keller Siskiyou Iris Identification The Siskiyou iris is a small wildflower that grows only in southern Oregon and northern California. Plants that only grow in one certain area are said to be “endemic” to the area. Siskiyou iris is rare and endangered. It is estimated that there are only a few thousand individual plants of this species, all within a fairly small area in the Cascade–Siskiyou region. Many other species of iris grow in southwestern Oregon. Some are common and widespread, while several are endemic to certain areas. Food (and music) Iris has traditionally been used in making bags and nets. A single strong fiber found in the center of the leaf can be used to make sturdy thread, string, rope, and cordage. Although Iris and other plants used for materials may not be eaten, the nets, cordage, and baskets are essential parts of traditional ways of capturing, storing, and processing foods. Fire In areas where iris was gathered for cordage by Indigenous people, fire was often used to ensure a good supply of plant material. iris roots survive through the winters and form patches. Burning around iris patches clears the area for the iris to grow well, and recycles nutrients from leaves, sticks, and pine needles on the ground into the soil, making them available to the Iris. Siskiyou Iris Iris bracteata art by Zoe Keller Hazel Identification Hazel is a deciduous shrub that often grows under the partial shade of larger trees like pine and fir. In winter long, slim, cylindrical flower clusters called catkins appear and dangle downward, tinseling the branches. Wind carries the pollen from the catkins to tiny reddish florets along the stem, and from there, hazelnuts form. Food Hazelnuts are an important food plant for Indigenous people, often harvested by the basketful, hulled by hand at leisure, and dried in shell for winter/spring. They are also grown commercially by farmers. Fire Hazel shoots (the young, new growth) are important for Indigenous basketry and in making other cultural materials. Basket makers prefer hazel shoots that are long, straight, and healthy. The roots of the shrub survive low-intensity fire and send up new straight sprouts the following year. In areas where fire is not or cannot be used, basket makers may prune the plants to stimulate this growth. Hazel Corylus cornuta art by Zoe Keller Thimbleberry Identification Thimbleberries are made of tiny, juicy drupelets around a central core, like a raspberry. When the fruits are removed, a thimblelooking core remains on the plant, hence the name. Once removed from the plant (a process that easily damages fruit flesh), thimbleberries decay quickly. Since they damage so easily you most likely will not find thimbleberries in the grocery store. Food (and music) Food uses of thimbleberry include fruit preserves and beverages, food from roots, and medicinal uses of leaves for stomach aches and issues involving blood. The leaves of thimbleberry can grow to be 8 inches or wider, and some people have used them to make a drying mat to dry the berries. Fire Thimbleberries have perennial root systems that can form thickets of plants that spread out over time. Dense thickets have root systems that help hold soil in place and retain soil moisture. Thimbleberry plants often grow successfully when planted in disturbed areas or after fires. Thimbleberry Rubus parviflorus art by Zoe Keller 6th - 8th Lesson 4 Black to Green Creature Collage Fire and Biodiversity, part two NGSS: MS-LS1-5, MS-LS2-1, MS-LS2-4 Summary 60-80 min Fire is so important to the biodiversity of ecosystems throughout the Western United States that it is recognized as the keystone ecological process. Various intensities of burns, especially in southern Oregon forests, can be characterized as low severity, mixed severity, and high severity. Students will learn about the interconnections between the fire-affected landscape and biodiversity. Utilizing the southwest Oregon region as a case study, students will think critically about ecological relationships between the fire regimes and wildlife habitat by collaboratively creating a collage. GOALS CLASSROOM PROCEDURE • Students will hear about, view images of, and discuss the roles that fire plays in supporting biodiversity within an ecosystem. 1. Introduction and discussion of fire and biodiversity relationships • Students will apply prior understandings of biodiversity, species adaptations, and habitat to the relationships of various fire regimes in two classroom activities. • 49 Students will work collaboratively to create a model of species that live in the post-burn habitat created by mixed-severity fire. 2. Activity 1: Fire Severity Pictures, What do you think? (interactive presentation) 3. Activity 2: Black to Green Forest Collage 4. Discussion and conclusion Preparation • Print and prepare for each group of 3-4 students: • Black to Green Landscape Drawing (collage background) • Creature Cards • Scissors • Glue or tape • Color pencils or markers • Optional: have students work in groups to cut and arrange Plant Cards and Hint Cards MATERIALS • Student notebook and pencil for taking notes • Fire Severity Pictures Powerpoint presentation • Black to Green Landscape Drawing (2 pages) for each group of 3-4 students • Creature Collage card pages for each group of 3-4 students • Scissors, coloring pencils, crayons, or markers for each student • Glue or tape for each group of 3-4 students Vocabulary and Terms Chaparral: a habitat dominated by shrubs and maintained by high-severity fire. Chaparral is important to many birds, deer, elk and other wildlife and is considered an endangered habitat type in southern Oregon. Early-seral forest: forest ecosystem that regrows after a high-intensity fire, before re-establishment of a mature, closed forest canopy. Fire regime: the generalized pattern, frequency, and intensity of wildfires that occur over long periods of time (e.g. hundreds and thousands of years). Keystone process: an ecological event that significantly influences the ecosystem and helps to initiate further evolution of the ecosystem. Klamath–Siskiyou: ecological region of southern Oregon and northern California; includes the Siskiyou Mountains, Rogue and Klamath River watersheds. This area is renowned for extremely high biodiversity. Mixed-severity fire: the pattern of fire in mountain forests in which the burned landscape is a combination of unburned areas, medium burns, and heavily burned areas. Stand: a patch of forest that is in one given area and has fairly related characteristics in tree species, age, size, arrangement, and other forest conditions. Tree plantation: stands of same-sized trees in rows, often of the same species, that are planted for timber. Tree plantations are low in biodiversity and are less resilient to forest fires and other disturbances. 50 Lesson 4 Black To Green Creature Collage Introduction Fire has sculpted the landscape over countless millennia by creating a cycle of growth, cleansing by flame, and regrowth once again. Fire is considered a keystone ecological process since it greatly influences all components of the ecosystem including wildlife habitat, human activity, soil nutrients, plant species that regrow after fire, and features like downed wood and snags (standing dead trees) that serve as shelter. Various fire regimes, or ways in which fire can burn, create different types of post-fire habitat and affect the biodiversity across the landscape. Fire regimes are characterized by patterns of how hot fires burn and how often they burn in a particular place. We will explore some specific Southwest Oregon species, particularly how their adaptations to living with fire and their interconnected existence contributes to biodiversity. Discussion Points 1. Review Concepts of Fire and Biodiversity from Lesson 2 (page 11) 2. Read the passage below to introduce students to different types of fire regimes and how they can interact with different habitats. Fires wash across the lands like many other weather processes, greatly affecting some areas and barely touching others. This can be described as mixed-severity fire, meaning some places burn really hot and some places burn less hot. In places with low fire severity, there is little burning of the overstory vegetation, or the tops of the trees. In areas with moderate fire severity there is considerable but not total overstory burning. In areas with high severity, there is complete burning of the overstory. When looking at the diversity of fire types across the land, we can describe the landscape as a fire-created mosaic — like an interwoven patchwork quilt of various stages of post-burned habitats. Defining low-, mixed-, and high-severity fire Fires affect the landscape in a diversified, or heterogeneous (not uniform) way. Factors [Text truncated at 120,000 characters. The full text is on the page linked above.] --- Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/tribal%3Aconfederated_siletz%3A2dcb8bdfa0edd132. Public record. Not legal advice.