Rocky Mountain Research Station

Wildlife and Terrestrial Ecosystems Program Publications

For broader searches check out the national databases TreeSearch and FSINFO. If you are looking for one of our publications in paper form or a publication not listed here please contact our Program Operations Assistant.

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Wightman, C., V. Saab, C. Forristal, K. Mellen-Mclean, and A. Markus. In press (2010). White-headed woodpecker nesting ecology after wildfire. Journal of Wildlife Management.

Saab, V.A., R.E. Russell, J.G. Dudley. 2009. Nest-site selection by cavity-nesting birds in relation to postfire salvage logging. Forest Ecology and Management 257: 151-159.
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Forristal, C. 2009. Influence of Postfire Salvage Logging on Black-Backed Woodpecker Nest-Site Selection and Nest Survival. M.S. thesis. Montana State University, Bozeman. 103p
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Buckland, S.T., R.E. Russell, B. Dickson, V. Saab, D. Gorman, W. Block. 2009. Analysing designed experiments in distance sampling. Journal of Agricultural, Biological, and Environmental Statistics 14: 432-442.
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Russell, R.E., A. Royle, V. Saab, J. Lehmkuhl, W. Block, and J. Sauer. 2009. Modeling the effects of environmental disturbance on wildlife communities: avian responses to prescribed fire. Ecological Applications, 19(5), 2009, pp. 1253-1263.
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Russell, R. E., V. Saab, J. Rotella, and J. Dudley. 2009. Detection probabilities of woodpecker nests in mixed conifer forests in Oregon. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 121(1):82–88.
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Hutto, R., C.J. Conway, V.A. Saab, and J.R. Walters. 2008. What constitutes a natural fire regime? Insight from the ecology and distribution of coniferous forest birds in North America. Fire Ecology 4:115-132.
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Fowler, J., C. Sieg, B. Dickson, and V. Saab. 2008. Exotic plant species diversity: influence of roads and prescribed fire in Arizona ponderosa pine forests. Range Ecology and Management 61: 284-293.
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Saab, V., R. Russell, and J.G. Dudley. 2007. Nest densities of cavity-nesting birds in relation to postfire salvage logging and time since wildfire. Condor 109: 97-108.
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Saab, V.A.; Block, W.; Russell, R.E.; Lehmkuhl, J.; Bate, L.; and White, R. 2007. Birds and Burns of the Interior West: Descriptions, habitats, and management in western forests. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-712. Portland, OR.
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Dudley, J. G. and V. A. Saab. 2007. Home range size of Black-backed Woodpeckers in burned forests of southwestern Idaho. Western North American Naturalist 67(4), 593–600.
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Russell, R.E, V.A. Saab, and J. Dudley. 2007. Habitat suitability models for cavity-nesting birds in a postfire landscape. The Journal of Wildlife Management 71(8):2600–2611.
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Saab, V., L. Bate, J. Lehmkuhl, B. Dickson, S. Story, S. Jentsch, and W. Block. 2006. Changes in downed wood and forest structure after prescribed fire in ponderosa pine forests. pages 477- 487 In: Andrews, P.L.; Butler, Bret W., comps. Fuels Management - How to Measure Success: Conference Proceedings. 2006 28-30 March; Portland, OR. Proceedings RMRS-P-41. Fort Collins, CO: USDA, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station.
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Russell, R.E., V. A. Saab, J. Dudley, and J. J. Rotella. 2006. Snag longevity in relation to wildfire and postfire salvage logging. Forest Ecology and Management. 232: 179-187.
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Pope, T. L. 2006. Effects of prescribed fire on wintering, bark-foraging birds in northern Arizona. Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona. Thesis. 70 pp.
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Saab, V. A. and H.D.W. Powell. 2005. Fire and Avian Ecology in North America: Process influencing pattern. Studies in Avian Biology 30: 1-13.
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Dudley, J. G. 2005. Home range size and foraging habitat of Black-backed Woodpeckers. M.S. thesis. Boise State University, Idaho. 76 p.
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Saab, V. A., H.D.W. Powell, N.B. Kotliar, and K.R. Newlon. 2005. Variation in fire regimes of the Rocky Mountains: implications for avian communities and fire management. Studies in Avian Biology 30: 76-96.
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Saab, V. A., and H. Powell (eds.). 2005. Fire and avian ecology in North America. Studies in Avian Biology No. 30.
11 chapters, see Abstracts.

Saab, V. A., N.B. Kotliar, and W. M. Block. 2005. Relationships of fire ecology and avian communities in North America. pages 1083-1085 in Proceedings of the Third International Partners in Flight Conference, March 20-24, 2002. Ralph, C.J., Rich, T., and Long, L. (editors). USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-191.
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Saab, V. A., J. G. Dudley, and W. L. Thompson. 2004. Factors influencing occupancy of nest cavities in recently burned forests. Condor 106:20-36.
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Abele, S. C., V. A. Saab, and O. Garton. 2004. Lewis’s woodpecker: species assessment for the Rocky Mountain Region. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region, Lakewood, CO.
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Kotliar, N.B., S. Hejl, R.L. Hutto, V. A. Saab, C.P. Melcher, and M.E. McFadzen. 2002. Effects of wildfire and post-fire salvage logging on avian communities in conifer-dominated forests of the Western United States. Studies in Avian Biology 25:49-64.
can be ordered from

Saab, V. A., R. Brannon, J. G. Dudley, L. Donohoo, D. Vanderzanden, V. Johnson, and H. Lachowski. 2002. Selection of fire-created snags at two spatial scales by cavity-nesting birds. In Proceedings of The Symposium on The Ecology and Management of Dead Wood in Western Forests, Nov 2-4, 1999, Reno, Nevada, editors Shea, P. J.; W.F. Laudenslayer, Jr.; B. Valentine; C. P. Weatherspoon, and T. E. Lisle. USDA Forest Service PSW-GTR-181.
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Saab, V. A., and K.T. Vierling. 2001. Reproductive success of Lewis’s woodpecker in burned pine and cottonwood riparian forests. Condor 103:491-501.
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Johnson, V., D. Vanderzanden, H. Lachowski, V. A. Saab, L. Donohoo. 2000. Using landsat satellite imagery to evaluate fire-created habitat for cavity-nesting birds. USDA, Forest Service, Remote Sensing Tips RSAC-12-TIP1, Remote Sensing Applications Center, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Johnson, V., V. A. Saab, D. Vanderzanden, H. Lachowski, R. Brannon, and C. Crist. 2000. Using landsat satellite imagery to assess fire-created habitat for cavity-nesting birds. In Remote Sensing and Geospatial Technologies for the New Millennium; Proceedings of the Eighth Forest Service Remote Sensing Applications Conference, 10-14 April 2000, Albuquerque, New Mexico, editor Greer, J.D. American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Published on CD-ROM.

Dixon, R.D., and V. A. Saab. 2000. Black-backed Woodpecker (Picoides arcticus). In: The Birds of North America. No. 509. (Poole, A. and Gill, F. eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington D.C.
link to publisher

Shaw, N.L., V. A. Saab, S.B. Monsen, and T.D. Rich. 1999. Bromus tectorum expansion and biodiversity loss on the Snake River Plain, southern Idaho, U.S.A. Proceedings of the VI International Rangeland Congress. Townsville, Australia.

Saab, V. A. and J. G. Dudley 1998. Responses of cavity-nesting birds to stand-replacement fire and salvage logging in ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir forests of southwestern Idaho. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. Research Paper, RMRS-RP-11.
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Saab, V. A. 1998. Effects of recreational activity and livestock grazing on habitat use by breeding birds in cottonwood forests along the South Fork Snake River. USDI, Bureau of Land Management, Technical Bulletin No. 98-17. BLM/ID/PT/004-1150.
can be ordered from

Saab, V. A. 1997. Cavity-nesting bird responses to stand-replacement fire and postfire salvage logging. Blue Mountains Natural Resources Institute 7:8-9.