Interdisciplinary Social Science/Ecologist (post-doc)

Education:

• Ph.D., College of Natural Resources - University of Idaho, Moscow. 1998.
  Dissertation title: Forest Patterning in the Interior Columbia River Basin: 60 years of social and biophysical interaction.
• M.S., Forestry and Environmental Studies - Yale University, New Haven. 1992.
• B.S., School of Forestry - Resource Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula. 1984.

Background:

Since joining the Institute, my work has focused on understanding and building the organizational capacity to restore fire to fire adapted ecosystems. Much of this work blends applied science and technology transfer in an 'action science' framework and includes partners in academic science, on-the-ground fire managers, and the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center.

Prior to joining the Leopold Institute in 2002, I worked as a community organizer in central and eastern Montana, for state and federal natural resource organizations in Washington D.C. and Idaho, the Nez Perce Tribe, Point Reyes Bird Observatory, the Colorado Natural Heritage Program, University of Colorado-Denver, and The Trust for Public Land - Northern Rockies Program.

Research Interests:

• Learning Organizations and High Reliability:
• What are the key features and parameters of a learning organization?
• What is the status of learning and reliability in the fire community?
• How do we measure progress?
• What are the most effective ways to teach and transfer key concepts and behaviors of sustainability, high reliability and learning?
• What are the barriers and facilitators to reliable management of fire?
• How can we overcome these barriers and reinforce facilitators?

• Ecosystem dynamics and the effect of meso - to broad-scale social and bio-physical changes on a system and its components.

Current Projects:

• Applying concepts of high reliability and organizational learning in the fire management community
  


• Assessing High Reliability in the federal Wildland Fire Community
  


• The Interplay of AMR, Suppression Costs, Community Interaction, and Organizational Performance - A Multi-Disciplinary Approach
  


• Key Decision Log

• Assessing comfort-levels in decisions made on the fireline - a study in safety in wildland fire

• Barriers and Facilitators to Wildland Fire Use

• The Fire Effects Planning Framework (FEPF)

• Integrating Social Values in Vegetation Models Via GIS: The Missing Link for the Bitterroot National Forest

• Wildland Fuels Management: Evaluating and planning risks and benefits.

• Fuels Planning: Science Synthesis and Integration - Environmental Consequences

• Development and Delivery of Science Synthesis:FuelsTools and Training Materials

• Fire Strategic Program Area (SPA) - Science Application Portfolio Team

• Understanding the Effects of Fire Management Practices on Forest Health: Implications for Weeds and Vegetation Structure

Publications in Progress:

Alexis A. Lewis, Troy E. Hall, Anne Black. (In Press) Career stages in wildland firefighting: implications for voice in risky situations. International Journal of Wildland Fire.

Black, A.E. and P. Landres. (in Press) Understanding the effects of fire management practcies on forest health: impilcations for weeds and vegetation structure. Chptr 14 in Forest Health Monitoring Program 2008. National Techincal Report. NTR - XXXX.

Dare, M.; Luce C., Rieman, B., Hessburg, P.; Miller, C.; Black, A. (In Progress) Realigning management priorities to restore wildland fire to Western forests.

Mapping place values on public lands. (In Prep) Anne Black and Adam Liljeblad. - (Contact Anne if you're interested in seeing a draft).

Publications:

Marceron, T.; Murphy, K.; Black, A.; Duncan P. 2009. Red Rock Prescribed Fire- Klamath National Forest, Escaped Prescribed Fire Review. December 2009.

Black, Anne E.; Kathleen Sutcliffe; and Michelle Barton. 2009. After Action Reviews - who conducts them? Fire Management Today 69(3): 15-17.
Leopold Publication Number 684

Black, Anne E. 2009. The Key Decision Log: Facilitating High Reliability and Organizational Learning. Fire Management Today. 69(2): 5-10.
Leopold Publication Number 683

Black, Anne E.; Gerbert, Krista; McCaffrey, Sarah; Steelman, Toddi; Canton-Thomas, Janie. 2009. A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to Fire Management Strategy, Suppression Costs, Community Interaction, and Organizational Performance. Fire Management Today. 69(2): 11-14.
Leopold Publication Number 682

Black, Anne E. 2009. Learning From Wilderness: The Social Dimension of Fire Management. International Journal of Wilderness 15(1):34-36.
Leopold Publication Number 669

Thomas, D, A. Black, D. Dether, K. Hetts and M. Dueitt. 2007. The Jungle Prescribed Fire Review: an experiment in learning. Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center, Tucson, AZ. Available on line: http://www.wildfirelessons.net. 42p, 650 KB.

Christenson, David A.; DeGrosky, Mike; Black, Anne E.; Fay, Brett. 2008. HRO implementation at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. HRO Case Studies. Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center. 12 pp.
Leopold Publication Number 657

Black, Anne E.; Sutcliffe, Kathleen; Barton, Michelle; Dether, Deirdre. 2008. Assessing high reliability practices in the wildland fire community. Fire Management Today 68(2):45-48.   Leopold Publication Number 656

Anne Black, Martha Williamson, Dustin Doane. 2008. Wildland Fire Use Barriers and Facilitators. Fire Management Today 68(1):10-14.   Leopold Publication Number 630

Falk, Donald A.; Miller, Carol.; McKenzie, Donald.; and Black, Anne E. 2007. Cross-Scale Analysis of Fire Regimes. Ecosystems 10

Black, Anne.; Perin, Sue. 2007. Delivering the Science Synthesis: FuelsTools. Journal of Forestry. 105(4):192-200.   Leopold Publication Number 605

Dether, Deirdre; Black, Anne. 2006. Learning from escaped prescribed fires - lessons for high reliability. Fire Management Today. 66(4):50-56.   Leopold Publication Number 596

Black, A.; Opperman, T. 2005. Fire Effects Planning Framework: a user's guide. Gen. Tech. Rep.GTR-RMRS-163WWW. Fort Colins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 63 p.   Leopold Publication Number 562

Black, A. 2005. The Fire Effects Planning Framework. International Journal of Wilderness. Science and Research Perspective. 11(1):19-20.   Leopold Publication Number 540

Black, Anne. 2004. Wildland Fire Use: the ‘other’ treatment option. Environmental Consequences Fact Sheet 6; Fuels planning: science synthesis and integration. Res. Note RMRS-RN-23-6-WWW. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 2 p.
Leopold Publication Number 535

Black, A.E., P. Morgan and P. F. Hessburg. 2003 Social and biophysical correlates of change in the landscape structure of forests in the interior Columbia River Basin. Ecological Applications 13(i): 57-67

Tewksbury, J.J., A.E. Black, N. Nur, G. Geupel, V. Saab, B. Logan and D. S. Dobkin. 2002. Effects of anthropogenic fragmentation and livestock grazing on western riparian bird communities. Studies in Avian Biology No 5:158-202. Effects of Habitat Fragmentation on birds in western landscapes: contrasts with paradigms from the eastern United States.T. L. George and D.S. Dobkin (eds).

Shuford, W.D., N. Warnock, K.C. Molina, B. Mulrooney and A. E. Black. 2000. Avifauna of the Salton Sea: abundance, distribution, and annual phenology. PRBO for U.S. EPA, Contract #R826552-01-0 Salton Sea Authority.
http://www.institute.redlands.edu/salton/recon/Birds.htm

Black. A.E. 1998. Forest Patterning in the interior Columbia River Basin: 60 years of social and biophysical interaction. PhD Dissertation. University of Idaho, Moscow, ID.

Black, A.E., E. Strand, J.M Scott, R.G. Wright, P. Morgan. 1998. Land Use History of the Palouse Bioregion: pre-European to present. Land Use Planning and Urban Development. http://biology.usgs.gov/luhna/chap10.html
See also USGS LUHNA (Land Use History of North America) Homepage.

Black, A.E., E. Strand, J.M Scott, R.G. Wright, P. Morgan. 1998. Lessons learned from long-term landscape change analysis. USGS Biological Resources Division.

Black, A.E. and S. Nadeau. 1998. Integrating scale and variability into small watershed management: Silver Creek Case Study. Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Lewiston, ID.

Morgan, P., S. C. Bunting, A.E. Black, T. Merrill and S. Barrett. 1995. Fire Regimes in the Interior Columbia River Basin: past and present. Final Rept for RJVA-INT-94913; on file at Intermountain Fire Sciences Laboratory, INT, Missoula, MT. 12/29/95.

Shands, W., A. Black and J. Giltmire. 1993. From New Perspectives to Ecosystem Management: A report of an assessment of New Perspectives. Pinchot Institute for Conservation. Springfield, VA.

Contact Information:

Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute
790 E. Beckwith Ave.
Missoula, MT 59801
Phone: 406-329-2126
Fax: 406-542-4196
E-mail: aeblack@fs.fed.us

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