Using GIS and the ecosystem management decision support tool for forest management on the Okanogan-Wenatchee national forest, Washington State

Abstract

As forests continue to experience uncharacteristically severe fires and insect outbreaks, forest restoration activities are critical to maintaining ecosystem services such as fish and wildlife habitats while restoring natural processes such as fire return interval. Large-scale forest restoration projects help land managers meet restoration goals for multiple resources and allow planning efforts to become more efficient by analyzing whole watersheds. Restoration activities are critical to enhance forest resiliency while anticipating the impacts of a warmer, drier climate. This article discusses a geospatial process for prioritizing restoration areas using an ArcMap extension called Ecosystem Management Decision Support (EMDS). Five resource criteria were evaluated to prioritize restoration project areas in two adjoining subwatersheds on the Entiat Ranger District in Washington state: vegetation, fire risk, insect risk, wildlife habitats, and an assessment of aquatic/road interactions. Using models generated from EMDS, a road network evaluation, and in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act, forest managers designed a landscape level restoration project where 19,700 hectares were analyzed, with 3,896 hectares identified as priority for restoration activities. Identifying priority restoration areas and interpreting model outputs with metrics lead to the development of stand treatments to meet restoration goals (e.g., forest tree thinning, prescribed fire, and road closures).