In 2025-26, the CAL poly humboldt mcintire-stennis grant will fund the following six projects: 1) mcintire-stennis research planning and administration

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded the CAL Poly Humboldt Sponsored Programs Foundation (doing business as HSU Foundation) $305,258 under the Cooperative Forestry Research program (CFDA 10.202) on October 1, 2025, for six projects spanning research planning, forest fire recovery, forest management, and landscape conversion in Northern California forests.

The projects are: McIntire-Stennis research planning and administration; investigation of fire characteristics' influence on soil contaminant reactivity and mineral transformations to assess whether prescribed and cultural fires can reduce soil-water contamination risks from wildfires; testing long-distance conifer recruitment ability using remote sensing and field data to improve understanding of forest post-fire recovery capacity; assessment of thinning and burning treatment effects on shrub fuel and moisture dynamics in Northeastern California forests to inform forest manager scheduling of maintenance fuel reduction and seasonal fuel hazard trends; continuous dendrometer monitoring to quantify tree-level responses to thinning in Douglas-fir forests, generating data to support landscape-scale forest vigor management and demonstrate treatment efficacy; and evaluation using field-based and remotely sensed data of forest-to-shrubland conversion trajectories in the Klamath Mountains due to repeated burning.

The recipient, HSU Foundation, operates as fiscal intermediary for federal research grants at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt. Performance occurs in Arcata, California. The award period runs through September 30, 2027.

The goal of this project is to facilitate research planning and administrative activities for the mcintire-stennis research program at CAL poly humboldt. 2) fire intensity and duration drive chromium oxidation: implications for managing soil contamination. This project will determine how fire characteristics influence contaminant reactivity and mineral transformations in soils and if use of prescribed and cultural fires can help reduce soil-water contamination risks associated with wildfires. 3) long-distance recruitment by conifers in very large severe patches. This study will improve our understanding of forest post-fire recovery capacity by testing the long-distance recruitment ability of different conifers using remote sensing and field data. 4) long-term influence of thinning and burning treatments on shrub fuel and moisture dynamics in forests of northeastern california. Findings from this project will inform forest managers about how best to schedule maintenance fuel reduction treatments for maximum efficacy. FIN dings will also improve our understanding about seasonal trends in fuel hazards, a strong influence on fire behavior and intensity. 5) thinning reduces late-season water stress in douglas-fir forests: continuous dendrometer monitoring in managed VS. Unthinned stands. Findings from this work will quantify tree-level responses to thinning treatments to inform landscape-scale management efforts to increase forest vigor; these data can be used to demonstrate management efficacy and increase public support for these activities. And 6) expansion of treeless patches in formerly forested landscapes of the klamath mountains due to repeated burning: how quickly are forests being converted to shrubland and will they recover? This project will use field-based and remotely sensed data to evaluate the trajectories of vegetation recovery after short-and long-interval fires and understand how subsequent fires might perpetuate and expand shrub patches. Deliverables from these projects will include progress reports (four projects), a final report (one project), field demonstrations, sample collections, student professional development, and scientific presentations to increase public awareness about these projects and the current issues in forestry that they address.