You are here

Home » Science Behind The Scenery Presentation: Post-Fire Vegetation Response At Chickaree Lake

Science Behind The Scenery Presentation: Post-Fire Vegetation Response At Chickaree Lake

Share
By NPT Staff - May 17th, 2019

Rocky Mountain National Park.

Rocky Mountain National Park invites visitors to a special program at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 22, at the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center.  Participants will join recent Kansas State University graduate Barrie Chileen as she shares her research on vegetation response to wildfires over the past 2,500 years at Chickaree Lake on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park. 

While it is easy to see the modern impacts of wildfire on forests in the Rocky Mountains, less is known about how fire has impacted forests in the past. How are we able to see the impacts of wildfire that occured thousands of years ago?

In this "Science Behind the Scenery" presentation, Ms. Chileen will share her master’s thesis work that reconstructs past wildfire and vegetation through materials deposited in lake mud to better understand what future fire regimes and climate scenarios may hold for Colorado Rocky Mountain forests. This presentation will unveil the hidden treasures within lake mud and show how pollen is more than just the source of spring sniffles. Ms. Chileen is a recent graduate from Kansas State University where she received her master’s degree in geography. She is extremely passionate about studying plants and wildfire and is excited to share her research with you. 

This presentation is the first in a five-part Science Behind the Scenery speaker series, brought to you by the Continental Divide Research Learning Center at Rocky Mountain National Park, and the Rocky Mountain Conservancy. Join us each month this summer to learn more about park research, and what it tells us about the park and its resources. All programs are free and open to the public.

Add comment

CAPTCHA

This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.