<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=Windows-1252">
<style type="text/css" style="display:none;"> P {margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;} </style>
</head>
<body dir="ltr">
<div style="font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MSFontService, Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
</div>
<div class="elementToProof" style="font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MSFontService, Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<br>
</div>
<div class="elementToProof" style="font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MSFontService, Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<br>
</div>
<div id="Signature">
<div style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Mitch McClaran<br>
Professor of Range Management, School of Natural Resources and the Environment<br>
Director for Research, Santa Rita Experimental Range<br>
Director, Arizona Experiment Station<br>
Division of Agriculture, Life and Veterinary Sciences and Cooperative Extension<br>
University of Arizona<br>
520-390-9801 (cell)<br>
520-621-1673 (office)<br>
<a href="http://snre.arizona.edu/people/mitch-mcclaran" target="_blank" id="OWAdc312f3d-3082-45c7-6923-d3701c7ab7f7" class="OWAAutoLink" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-linkindex="0" data-auth="NotApplicable">http://snre.arizona.edu/people/mitch-mcclaran</a></i></span><i><br>
</i><span style="font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Office Location: 112 Biological Sciences East</i></span></div>
</div>
<div id="appendonsend"></div>
<hr style="display:inline-block;width:98%" tabindex="-1">
<div id="divRplyFwdMsg" dir="ltr"><font face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size:11pt" color="#000000"><b>From:</b> Lata, Mary - FS, AZ <mary.lata@usda.gov><br>
<b>Sent:</b> Friday, May 3, 2024 9:07 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> Jeanine_Foley@nps.gov <Jeanine_Foley@nps.gov>; PERRY GRISSOM <pgris12@comcast.net>; don_swann@nps.gov <don_swann@nps.gov>; john_w_thornburg@nps.gov <john_w_thornburg@nps.gov>; Dennett, Carolyn - FS, AZ <Carolyn.Dennett@usda.gov>; Triepke, Jack -
FS, NM <Francis.Triepke@usda.gov>; jlbetanc@usgs.gov <jlbetanc@usgs.gov>; Matthew Alan Bowker <Matthew.Bowker@nau.edu>; Anita Joy Antoninka <Anita.Antoninka@nau.edu>; Sara Kristen Souther <Sara.Souther@nau.edu>; Clare Ellsworth Aslan <Clare.Aslan@nau.edu>;
Helen Rowe <hr392@nau.edu>; Brittany E Burgard <brittany.burgard@gmail.com>; Kristen Countryman <kkcountr@asu.edu>; Elizabeth Makings <Elizabeth.Makings@asu.edu>; Kathleen Pigg <kpigg@asu.edu>; Jesse Lewis <jslewi10@asu.edu>; Grondin, Micah - FS, AZ <micah.grondin@usda.gov>;
mhurteau@unm.edu <mhurteau@unm.edu>; stephen.pyne@asu.edu <stephen.pyne@asu.edu>; Stetson, Christopher - FS, AZ <christopher.stetson@usda.gov>; Spannuth, Alexander - FS, AZ <alexander.spannuth@usda.gov>; Madera, Robert - FS, AZ <robert.madera@usda.gov>; Mott
lacroix, Kelly - FS, AZ <kelly.mottlacroix@usda.gov>; Makic, Alexander - FS, OR <Alexander.Makic@usda.gov>; smunson@usgs.gov <smunson@usgs.gov>; Garry Rogers <grcoldh2o@gmail.com>; Hoskins, Eric - FS, AZ <eric.hoskins@usda.gov>; Martinez, Crystal - FS, AZ
<crystal.martinez@usda.gov>; pclarke1@une.edu.au <pclarke1@une.edu.au>; becky.ball@asu.edu <becky.ball@asu.edu>; grm@ag.arizona.edu <grm@ag.arizona.edu>; cmcdon <cmcdon@arizona.edu>; Olsson, Aaryn D - (aaryn) <aaryn@arizona.edu>; Abrahamson, Ilana - FS, MT
<ilana.l.abrahamson@usda.gov>; John Brock <john.brock@asu.edu>; Mcclaran, Mitchel P - (mcclaran) <mcclaran@arizona.edu>; Bromley, Adam - FS, AZ <adam.bromley@usda.gov>; Iniguez, Jose - FS, AZ <jose.m.iniguez@usda.gov>; Benjamin Wilder <wilder.benjamin@gmail.com>;
matthew.reeves <matthew.reeves@usda.gov>; Alan Sinclair <a13sinclair@gmail.com>; Castro, Nicholas - FS, AZ <nicholas.castro@usda.gov>; Remington, Richard - FS, AZ <richard.remington@usda.gov>; Mandell, Andrew - FS, AZ <andrew.mandell@usda.gov>; Martinez, Michael
- FS, AZ <michael.a.martinez@usda.gov>; Ullberg, Drew - FS, AZ <drew.ullberg@usda.gov>; Rana Murphy <rmurphy@azgfd.gov>; Plain, Jeremy - FS, AZ <jeremy.plain@usda.gov>; Taylor, Mark - FS, AZ <mark.e.taylor@usda.gov>; Quintana, Devin - FS, AZ <devin.quintana@usda.gov>;
Gurule, Rikki - FS, AZ <Rikki.Gurule@usda.gov>; Svoboda, Kenda - FS, AZ <Kenda.Svoboda@usda.gov>; Setaro, Danika - FS, AZ <Danika.Setaro@usda.gov>; Nicholas, Ryan - FS, AZ <ryan.nicholas@usda.gov>; Maxwell, Drew - FS, AZ <drew.maxwell@usda.gov><br>
<b>Cc:</b> Molly McCormick <Molly.McCormick@nau.edu><br>
<b>Subject:</b> [EXT]Fire in the Sonoran Desert - looking for speakers for November</font>
<div> </div>
</div>
<style>
<!--
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math"}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri}
@font-face
{font-family:Verdana}
@font-face
{font-family:"Bodoni MT"}
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria}
p.x_MsoNormal, li.x_MsoNormal, div.x_MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif}
a:link, span.x_MsoHyperlink
{color:#0563C1;
text-decoration:underline}
p.x_xmsonormal, li.x_xmsonormal, div.x_xmsonormal
{margin:0in;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif}
span.x_EmailStyle19
{font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
color:windowtext}
.x_MsoChpDefault
{font-size:10.0pt}
@page WordSection1
{margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in}
div.x_WordSection1
{}
-->
</style>
<div lang="EN-US" link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style="word-wrap:break-word">
<p style="text-align:center"><font color="red"><strong>External Email</strong><br>
</font></p>
<div class="x_WordSection1">
<p class="x_xmsonormal">Hello everyone, </p>
<p class="x_xmsonormal"> </p>
<p class="x_xmsonormal">In December of 2023 Molly McCormick and I organized and successfully put together a Special Session and a ‘Fire Circle’ on Fire in the Sonoran Desert. There was a good mix of managers, researchers, and implementers, though we were light
on Decision Makers (thanks Adam!) The Southwest Fire Science Consortium is organizing the 4<sup>th</sup> Southwest Fire Ecology Conference in Santa Fe in November, right before Thanksgiving. I hope you will consider the value of your experience in this area
and help make this another successful session. Each talk is expected to be 15 minutes long.</p>
<p class="x_xmsonormal"> </p>
<p class="x_xmsonormal"><a href="https://swfireconference.org/cfp-ss/">https://swfireconference.org/cfp-ss/</a></p>
<p class="x_xmsonormal"> </p>
<p class="x_xmsonormal"><b>In order to submit</b>, I will eventually need a title, your name, and your affiliation.
<b>Right now, I just need a serious commitment by May 15<sup>th</sup> that you will present something on this topic.</b></p>
<p class="x_xmsonormal"> </p>
<p class="x_xmsonormal">Below is my drafty-draft abstract for the session which, thus far, is almost identical to the one I submitted for the Fire in the Sonoran Desert session for the AFE Congress in Monterey. Feel free to make suggestions for edits and please
spread far and wide to any colleagues you think might be interested. If you have contacts in Mexico, be sure to include them – I don’t know what has been occurring south of the boarder, but it would be of significant interest as well.
</p>
<p class="x_xmsonormal"> </p>
<p class="x_xmsonormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The ecological trajectory of the Sonoran Desert is largely unknown, though large areas are fast becoming frequent fire systems driven primarily (but not exclusively)
by introduced grasses augmented by non-native winter annual forbs. Little is known about the historic fire regimes of the Sonoran Desert prior to the influx of non-native grasses, because there is little evidence other than photos to determine natural fuel
structure, or the evaluation of fires’ effects on ecosystems and individual species. Fuel structure and loading varies tremendously within the Sonoran Desert but the
<b><i>native</i></b> vegetation in the Sonoran Desert mostly occurred in clumps separated by areas that were mostly bare most of the time. The upper elevations of the Sonoran Desert interface directly with Semi-Desert Grasslands where frequent fire is a keystone
ecological process. These grasslands are the most flammable in June, when dry lightning is common, and fires would have burned until they were rained out or ran out of contiguous fuel…which would have happened when they burned into the Sonoran Desert prior
to the introduction of non-native grasses. It is generally assumed that, historically, desert fires were infrequent and ecologically insignificant, and yet there are many native plants of the Sonoran Desert that survive even high intensity (hot) fire by sprouting;
seeds of many species survive low severity fire in the spaces between clumps of vegetation to germinate and flower when precipitation and temperatures are favorable; and many cacti can survive low intensity (cool) fire. When conditions are favorable, these
species produce a contiguous bed of fine surface fuel capable of carrying a cool, patchy fire fast and far. So it is likely that fire had some kind of a role of fire in the historic Sonoran Desert, but it is poorly understood. And it is changing fast.
<span style="color:black">The Sonoran Desert is being destabilized by introduced grasses and winter annual forbs</span>, and land managers, implementers, and decision-makers need to better understand the potential ecological trajectories of the Sonoran Desert,
and to identify management actions that will be sustainable for the ecological future of the Sonoran Desert.</span></p>
<p class="x_xmsonormal"> </p>
<p class="x_xmsonormal"> </p>
<p class="x_xmsonormal"> </p>
<p class="x_xmsonormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Bodoni MT",serif">Mary Lata</span></b></p>
<p class="x_xmsonormal"><span style="font-family:"Bodoni MT",serif">Fire Ecologist</span></p>
<p class="x_xmsonormal"><span style="font-family:"Bodoni MT",serif">Tonto National Forest</span></p>
<p class="x_xmsonormal"><s><span style="font-family:"Bodoni MT",serif">928-474-7994</span></s><span style="font-family:"Bodoni MT",serif"> (office)</span></p>
<p class="x_xmsonormal"><span style="font-family:"Bodoni MT",serif">928-203-6245 (cell)</span></p>
<p class="x_xmsonormal"><span style="font-family:"Bodoni MT",serif">1009 E. Highway 260</span></p>
<p class="x_xmsonormal"><span style="font-family:"Bodoni MT",serif">Payson, Arizona
</span><span style="font-size:9.0pt; font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif; color:#333333; background:#FFFDEE">85541</span></p>
<p class="x_xmsonormal"><span style="font-size:9.0pt; font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif; color:#333333; background:#FFFDEE"><a href="mailto:mary.lata@usda.gov">mary.lata@usda.gov</a></span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Cambria",serif">Mary Lata</span></b><b><span style="font-family:"Cambria",serif"></span></b></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Cambria",serif">Fire Ecologist</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Cambria",serif">Tonto National Forest</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Cambria",serif">928-203-6245 (cell)</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Cambria",serif">1009 E. Highway 260</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Cambria",serif">Payson, Arizona <span style="color:#333333; background:#FFFDEE">
85541</span></span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><a href="mailto:mary.lata@usda.gov"><span style="font-family:"Cambria",serif; color:#0563C1; background:#FFFDEE">mary.lata@usda.gov</span></a><span style="font-family:"Cambria",serif; color:#333333; background:#FFFDEE"></span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style=""><img border="0" width="54" height="111" id="x_Picture_x0020_1" style="width:.5625in; height:1.1562in" data-outlook-trace="F:1|T:1" src="cid:image001.jpg@01DA9CC1.50B5E4D0"></span>
</p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
This electronic message contains information generated by the USDA solely for the intended recipients. Any unauthorized interception of this message or the use or disclosure of the information it contains may violate the law and subject the violator to civil
or criminal penalties. If you believe you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete the email immediately.
</div>
</body>
</html>