Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit

The U.S. Geological Survey, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK), in collaboration with the Alaska Science Center (ASC), is offering a funding opportunity to study the effects of wildfires, forest structure and composition, and fuel treatments on demography and habitat characteristics of Plethodon neomexicanus (Jemez Mountains salamander, hereafter, PLNE) in the Jemez Mountains of north-central New Mexico, including the Valles Caldera National Preserve (VALL) and identified critical habitat zones in the neighboring USDA Santa Fe National Forest (SFNF). The Jemez Mountains salamander is a federally listed (USFWS Endangered, 2013) species endemic to the Jemez Mountains; this species spends much of its life belowground but exhibits periods of surface activity associated with reproduction and foraging. Recent large, high-severity wildfires that are not in alignment with natural fire regimes have been identified as the greatest threat to the species, with ~65% of all historic locations burned in recent wildfires, leading to rapid population decline. Little research has been conducted on fire effects on salamanders, but the few studies that exist point to wildfires degrading habitat by altering the thermal and moisture conditions. VALL and SFNF are working to reintroduce fire into forested ecosystems in the Jemez Mountains in a way that reduces the risk of catastrophic wildfires but protects important micro- and macrohabitat features for PLNE; however, it is unknown how the species will respond to fuel reduction treatments and ongoing changes in climate and fire regimes.