More than 1.8 million acres burned in Eastern Oregon during the 2024 fire season, creating urgent needs for communities and landowners. People needed evacuation information, alternative feed for livestock and clear points of contact for help from agencies and partner organizations. Many affected communities are rural and geographically isolated, including Unity and Huntington, which can limit access to timely information and technical support.
Shared decision tools support coordination across boundaries, reduce duplication and help agencies and landowners move faster on high-priority actions.
As the region moved from emergency response to recovery, landowners and agencies faced difficult questions about where to focus postfire rehabilitation efforts and limited resources. These decisions were urgent in rangelands vulnerable to invasive annual grasses, which can spread after fire and slow recovery.
The Oregon State University Extension Service responded during and after the 2024 fires, with an emphasis on practical guidance and in-person support. During the fires, Katie Wollstein, Extension Fire Program rangeland fire specialist for Harney and Malheur counties, shared time-sensitive information through individual contacts, radio interviews and public meetings.
Wollstein and other Extension faculty and staff also supported emergency managers and incident teams by connecting them with the right people and organizations, including coordination related to livestock evacuation.
To help landowners and producers find assistance during a chaotic period, Wollstein developed a “Post-fire resources for eastern Oregon agricultural and livestock producers” information sheet with key contacts for common needs. The OSU Extension Service distributed the sheet, and partner organizations also shared it, including the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association and government offices.
After the fires were contained, Oregon State organized a postfire resource meeting for those affected by the Falls and Telephone fires. The meeting brought in speakers from multiple organizations and included moderated panels to share relevant information.
OSU built planning tools
Recent work has centered on helping landowners, agencies and natural resource organizations make strategic decisions about postfire rehabilitation and limited investments across burned landscapes. In 2024, OSU co-developed a postfire prioritization framework with The Nature Conservancy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service.
The framework helps partners select management actions and prioritize investments on rangelands following wildfire, particularly where invasive annual grasses pose a high risk.
In 2025, OSU expanded this work by providing instruction on using the framework through 12 presentations, trainings and workshops. These efforts reached 358 landowners, agency staff and other partners seeking to direct limited resources toward high-priority needs and effective postfire actions. To improve access for rural residents and partners, OSU delivered in-person programming in locations where communities already gather and made several in-person landowner visits.
The 2025 efforts focused on natural resource organizations that provide technical expertise to landowners requesting planning support and guidance for postfire rehabilitation on private property. OSU faculty and staff worked with private landowners and partners that included Crook and Monument soil and water conservation districts, The Nature Conservancy and Sustainable Northwest.
OSU also worked with county, state and federal partners, including the Natural Resources Conservation Service (John Day-Umatilla and Snake River basins), the U.S. Forest Service Emigrant Creek Ranger District, and Bureau of Land Management resource managers in the Prineville District seeking guidance on a districtwide invasive annual grass management plan. OSU also worked with public land managers completing postfire rehabilitation for major fires in the region, including the Falls Fire and the Cram and Flat fires.
OSU also supported related postfire needs through meetings and consultations with Bureau of Land Management resource managers in Prineville seeking guidance on a districtwide invasive annual grass management plan. OSU also worked with public land managers completing postfire rehabilitation for major fires in the region, including the Falls Fire and the Cram and Flat fires.
Impacts continue to grow
Impacts from OSU Extension Service technical assistance with postfire planning continue to accrue as agencies and natural resource organizations attend trainings and adapt planning approaches for their regions. Workshop participants reported a stronger understanding of rangeland fire ecology principles and gained skills in assessing on-the-ground impacts, including perennial bunchgrass mortality, to help prioritize management actions.
The postfire assessment and prioritization framework has been used to develop strategies for more than 400,000 acres burned in the Cow Valley and Durkee fires. Two landowners also used ranch-level postfire strategies informed by the framework to secure funding for stabilization and rehabilitation projects.
In response to ongoing needs, OSU has extended this work by collaborating with the Post-Fire Planning in Dry Forests Workgroup, including The Nature Conservancy, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, Monument Soil and Water Conservation District and the Malheur National Forest, to adapt the postfire prioritization framework for contexts beyond sagebrush rangelands.
With OSU’s assistance on their applications, the Crook, Wheeler, Malheur and Baker soil and water conservation districts secured more than $1 million in Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board wildfire recovery funds to create postfire plans for 500,000 acres of private lands impacted by the 2024 wildfires.
These efforts addressed impacts from multiple fires that collectively burned 888,335 acres of public and private land. Harney County Watershed Council also received technical support from OSU to create post-fire plans, which led to a $800,000 Post-Fire Restoration Grant for implementing the plans.
Public value
These actions help ensure wildfire recovery dollars are spent where they can deliver the greatest benefit. Shared decision tools support coordination across boundaries, reduce duplication and help agencies and landowners move faster on high-priority actions. Stronger postfire planning can also help limit the spread of invasive annual grasses and reduce long-term costs for communities across Oregon.