$Firefighter walking in a burning forest$

U.S. Forest Service workers light small contained fires that burn brush. These prescribed fires will prevent future infernos.

Eric Knapp/U.S. Forest Service

STANDARDS

CCSS: 6.SP.B.5.C, MP2, MP5, MP6

TEKS: 6.12C, 6.12D

Owls Under Fire

Can we learn from Indigenous groups how to better manage wildfires and save threatened owls?

October 2022

By Ashley P. Taylor

John Cancalosi/Alamy Stock Photo

Finding Mexican spotted owls in trees is tough because they blend in so well.

Serra Hoagland is a biologist with the U.S. Forest Service. She describes her job as playing “Where’s Waldo?” in the forest. But instead of hunting for a man in a striped top, she’s looking for Mexican spotted owls. “They’re very hard to see and are pretty hidden in the trees,” Dr. Hoagland says. “When we find them, it’s very exciting!”

The Mexican spotted owl is a threatened species in the U.S., and wildfires are the main threats to its survival. Not only do fires kill owls as they burn, but they also destroy the birds’ homes. Wildfires strip the forest of its canopy of leaves and needles, exposing the owls to predators. “They’re left with nowhere to hide,” Hoagland says.

Serra Hoagland is a biologist with the U.S. Forest Service. She spends a lot of her time in the woods. She’s looking for birds called Mexican spotted owls. “They’re very hard to see and are pretty hidden in the trees,” she says. “When we find them, it’s very exciting!”

The Mexican spotted owl is a threatened species in the U.S. Wildfires are the main threat to its survival. Owls can die when forests burn. Even if they survive, the fires destroy their homes. Wildfires scorch the leaves and needles off of trees. This makes the owls more visible to predators. “They’re left with nowhere to hide,” says Hoagland.

Wildfires Around the World

Watch a video about the causes of wildfires and their effect on the environment.

To protect Mexican spotted owls, Hoagland needs to know where they live. She monitors the trees where the owls choose to build nests, which are primarily white firs and Douglas-firs. She conducts her research in two forests located side by side in New Mexico: the Lincoln National Forest, which the U.S. Forest Service manages, and a forest within the Mescalero Apache Reservation, which the Mescalero Apache Tribe manages.

Hoagland wants to protect Mexican spotted owls. That means she needs to know where they live. So she monitors the fir trees where the owls build nests. She conducts her research in two forests located side by side in New Mexico. One is the Lincoln National Forest, which is managed by the U.S. Forest Service. The other is a forest within the Mescalero Apache Reservation. It is managed by the Mescalero Apache Tribe.

Hoagland is a member of the Laguna Pueblo Tribe and the first female Native American with a Ph.D. to work for the U.S. Forest Service. Throughout her career, she has served as a liaison between the Forest Service and Native American tribes. Now, Hoagland is making similar connections in her research: Learning from the Mescalero Apache people about how the Forest Service can better protect the forests—and owls.

One strategy that many tribes use for forest management is prescribed fire. They will set small fires to clear the brush. That way, if a wildfire begins, there will be fewer leaves and sticks to fuel it. “Tribes are trying to be at the forefront of managing their forests by reintroducing fire,” Hoagland says.

The Forest Service uses prescribed fire too. What sets tribal forest management apart is the overall approach: “Tribes really try to take an integrated, holistic perspective with their management,” Hoagland says.

Hoagland is a member of the Laguna Pueblo Tribe. She’s the first Native American woman with a Ph.D. to work for the U.S. Forest Service. Throughout her career, she has helped the Forest Service and Native American tribes communicate with each other. Now she is learning from the Mescalero Apache people about how to better protect the forests and owls.

There are many strategies for managing a forest. One that many tribes use is called prescribed fire. They will set small fires on purpose to clear out dry leaves and sticks. That way, if a wildfire begins, there will be less fuel for it. The Forest Service uses prescribed fire too. But the tribes’ techniques may work better. “Tribes are trying to be at the forefront of managing their forests [with] fire,” says Hoagland.

Measures of Center

Watch an instructional video about measures of center.

FINDING MEAN, MEDIAN, and MODE

Finding measures of center like mean, median, and mode can help you analyze and understand the trends in a data set.

MEAN:
The sum of numbers in a data set divided by how many numbers are in the data set. It’s also called the average.

MEDIAN:
The middle value when a data set is ordered from least to greatest. If a set has two middle numbers, add them together and divide by 2.

MODE:
The number that appears most often in a data set; a set can have more than one mode or no mode at all.

FINDING MEAN, MEDIAN, and MODE

Finding measures of center like mean, median, and mode can help you analyze and understand the trends in a data set.

MEAN:
The sum of numbers in a data set divided by how many numbers are in the data set. It’s also called the average.

MEDIAN:
The middle value when a data set is ordered from least to greatest. If a set has two middle numbers, add them together and divide by 2.

MODE:
The number that appears most often in a data set; a set can have more than one mode or no mode at all.

Hoagland collects data about Douglas-fir and white fir trees where she finds Mexican spotted owl nests. Find the mean, median, and mode of the trunk circumferences and heights of select trees with nests that she studied in 2015. Round answers to the nearest tenth. Record your work and answers on our answer sheet.