Ecological Restoration Institute

08/25/2026

Our new ReSHAPE website is live. The updated site is the easiest way to get to TWIG — the Treatment and Wildfire Interagency Geodatabase — along with TWIG tutorials and resources, our team's recent research, and the latest ReSHAPE news and events from the Southwest Ecological Restoration Institutes. Take a look and bookmark it: reshapewildfire.org.

08/25/2026

ERI's Han-Sup Han and Tucker Herbert had a great week Aug. 2-5 at the 49th annual meeting of the Council on Forest Engineering in beautiful Missoula, Montana. The team presented research on cut-to-length operations, connected with forest operations colleagues from around the world, toured active timber operations, and capped off the week with a visit to the brand new National Museum of Forest Service History. See how ERI is studying cut-to-length operations near Flagstaff, Arizona in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVoyp-gYt_o&t=2s

08/20/2026

How much does a wildfire actually cost? Suppression spending is the number that makes the news, but it's only part of the total. Our new meta-analysis sorted 131 documented costs from 29 U.S. wildfires. For larger fires, damages to the built environment (homes and infrastructure) are typically the single most expensive category, followed by suppression and lost ecosystem services (natural benefits like water, soil, and carbon storage). But the bigger story is what's missing. Cost accounting is usually published before long-term costs materialize, and entire categories go unmeasured or under-measured — human health, ecosystem services, and market impacts. We found zero smoke-exposure cost estimates for individual wildfires. That gap matters, because communities use these numbers to plan.

Fact sheet: https://app.box.com/s/g8frhhcxwm5lt8id93yhm725xapw9aa7 Full paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666719326002256?via%3Dihub.

Photo Credit: Images 1 & 3 Coconino National Forest, Pocket Fire. Image 2 flooding in Flagstaff, AZ post-Schultz fire.

08/12/2026

Day 1 of ERI's Science to Stewardship Workshop at the High Country Conference Center in Flagstaff was all about connection and collaboration — bringing agencies, practitioners, and researchers together to align on the challenges and opportunities of cross‑boundary restoration.

It's not too late to join us for Day 2 where we will take a deep dive into the science gaps and questions driving future management. Breakfast is at 8 a.m. and sessions begin at 9.

08/10/2026

ICYMI: Two of our staff, Claire Rapp and Melanie Colavito, joined the Association for Fire Ecology on their Fire Ecology Chats podcast!

Take a listen to learn more about better use of wildfire decision support tools!

Colorado Forest Restoration Institute

NEW EPISODE of Chats! 🔥Claire Rapp and Melanie Colavito discuss how practitioners on the ground can better use wildfire management support tools Listen here: https://fireecology.org/feco-podcast/ep102

07/30/2026

Staff from our sister institute, New Mexico Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute, joined ERI crews at the Marshall Lake project in Flagstaff this week. The teams had a great time working together while monitoring and evaluating mastication and chip‑fuel conditions after mechanical thinning, using field measurements and LiDAR to understand how these treatments influence forest structure, understory response, and future fire behavior.

07/28/2026

Last week, our Ecological Restoration Institute crew hit the trails — literally. We recently adopted a section of the Flagstaff Urban Trail System (FUTS), and our first cleanup day was a great success! It felt amazing to give back to a trail so many in our community rely on and love.

If you're local, get out there and enjoy the difference. See you on the trail!