Citizen Science in High Valley

The High Valley Integrated Restoration Project includes 7,735 acres in the Upper and Lower Little Squaw Creek subwatersheds, surrounding High Valley, Idaho.

The Boise Forest Coalition and the Boise National Forest adopted a Citizen Science strategy for monitoring outcomes of forest restoration treatments.

Within the gray polygons displayed on the map, community member monitoring of outcomes includes large tree transect and photo point data collection.

Four transects were established in 2014 as part of the environmental assessment for the High Valley Integrated Restoration Project. The green circles on the map locate the starting point for each transect.  The objective of these transects is to monitor large tree and legacy tree density and distribution before and after treatment within the project area.  Citizen scientists will follow previously established transacts and compare post treatment characteristics with the 2014 attributes.

Tree vigor and photos will be used to assess how large trees respond to treatment. Post treatment data collection includes notes on suspected rational for tree removal, e.g. meet restoration objectives for density or species composition, temporary road development or other safety/operational reasons.

Why Large Trees?

Legacy Trees: Older trees are an important component of the forest landscape. In our region, a variety of disturbances modify forest structure and composition. Trees that survive multiple disturbances, including wildfire, develop legacy characteristics that contribute to vegetation structural diversity and wildlife habitat quality. 

Transect Training

Training sessions for the Citizen Scientists prepare each person to follow the transect and collect data that describes large trees (DBH greater than 20"). The Citizen Scientists will need to follow the transects in order to locate and observe. How far will they walk? The distance depends on the total transect length required to sample 45 large trees.

Observation notes and a photograph of the tree and surrounding habitat will contribute to a post treatment evaluation of change.

The second Citizen Science monitoring activity addresses a data gap in the forest's current approach - a photo reference for different ecological conditions and the outcome of management actions. 

The sample design selected 54 locations, representing a mix of vegetation conditions, treatment methods, and management objectives. The photo recorded at the time of plot establishment will be compared with two or more photos taken subsequent years post harvest.

Vegetation condition is characterized by historical fire regime in the sampling stratification. Differences in management objectives include the approach for contract specification of silvicultural prescriptions. In addition, a subset of the plots are located on Idaho Department of Lands ownership.

The sample includes the following treatment methods: regeneration harvest, intermediate harvest, variable density thin from below, and noncommercial harvest.

Although the progress on Citizen Science was hampered due to safe distancing policies for public health, the Boise Forest Coalition and the Boise National Forest remain committed to the project. Citizen Science is an ideal platform to help the Coalition broaden exposure to a range of interests not typically represented in coalition meetings.

Are you interested in tracking our progress?  Subscribe to the BFC E-News  for meeting and events announcements. We thank you for your interest and look forward to meeting you.