Helen Y. Smith   is an Ecologist at the Missoula Fire Sciences Lab. She earned degrees in science (A.A.S., Flathead Valley Community College), wildlife biology (B.S., The University of Montana), and resource conservation (M.S., The University of Montana). 

Helen’s career with the Forest Service began as a seasonal on a stand exam crew on the Flathead National Forest. Since being employed at the Fire Lab, Helen has been involved in a wide variety of research projects ranging from fire history and reconstruction of historic stand structure to determining the effects of forest management on forest and fuelbed characteristics. She presents fire history and ecological overviews in the Northern Rockies for Rx310 (Introduction to fire effects) and Rx410 (Smoke Management Techniques) at the Northern Rockies Training Center and is a steering committee member of Rx510 (Applied Fire Effects). In addition, Helen has presented lodgepole pine ecology to many FireWorks classes and participated in various Conservation Education tours of the Lab to school-aged children.

In 2004, Helen was invited to be a facilitator at the “Managing the Unexpected in Prescribed Fire and Fire Use Operations: A Workshop on the High Reliability Organization” in Santa Fe, NM. She also facilitated at the third workshop titled “Managing the Unexpected in Wildland Fire Operations” in Missoula, MT in 2006. These workshops and the philosophy of High Reliability Organizing are important to Helen because they focus on making the prescribed fire and wildland fire environments safer places to work.

Helen also helped facilitate the Environmental Management System Lessons Learned Workshop, held in Tucson, AZ in 2006. 

Current Research Projects

Quantifying fuelbed characteristics in lodgepole pine at the Tenderfoot Creek Experimental Forest pdf, 2.2mb
Quantifying fuelbed characteristics in piñon-juniper on the Lake Mead National Recreation Area pdf, 235k
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Publications

Smith, H.Y., Hood, S., Brooks, M., Matchett, J.R., and Deuser, C. 2006. Response of Fuelbed Characteristics to Restoration Treatments in Pinyon-Juniper-Encroached Shrublands on the Shivwits Plateau, Arizona. In: Andrews, Patricia L.; Butler, Bret W., comps. 2006. Fuels Management-How to Measure Success: Conference Proceedings. 28-30 March 2006; Portland, OR. Proceedings RMRS-P-41. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 513-521.  pdf, 235k

Hardy, C.C., Smith, H.Y., and McCaughey, W. 2006. The Use of Silviculture and Prescribed Fire to Manage Stand Structure and Fuel Profiles in a Multi-aged Lodgepole Pine Forest. In: Andrews, Patricia L.; Butler, Bret W., comps. 2006. Fuels Management-How to Measure Success: Conference Proceedings. 28-30 March 2006; Portland, OR. Proceedings RMRS-P-41. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 451-464.  pdf, 2.2mb

Hillis, M., Applegate, V., Slaughter, S., Harrington, M.G., and Smith, H. 2001. Simulating historical disturbance regimes and stand structures in old-forest ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir forests. In: Barras, Stanley J., ed. Proceedings: National silvicultural workshop; 1999 October 5-7; Kalispell, MT. Proceedings RMRS-P-19. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 32-39.  pdf, 1.4mb

Smith, H.Y., ed. 2000. The Bitterroot Ecosystem Management Research Project: What we have learned. Proc. RMRS-P-17. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 154 p.  pdf, 2.8mb

Smith, H.Y. 2000. Wildlife habitat considerations. In: Smith, Helen Y., ed. 2000. The Bitterroot Ecosystem Management Research Project: What we have learned: symposium proceedings; 1999 May 18-20; Missoula, MT. Proc. RMRS-P-17. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 26-27.  pdf, 45k

Smith, H.Y. and Arno, S.F., eds. 1999. Eighty-eight years of change in a managed ponderosa pine forest. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-23. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 55 p.  pdf, 8mb

Arno, S.F., Smith, H.Y., and Krebs, M.A.1997. Old growth ponderosa pine and western larch stand structures:  Influences of pre-1900 fires and fire exclusion. Res. Pap. INT-RP-495. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Intermountain Research Station. 20 p.