ROGER D. OTTMAR
USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station
Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Laboratory
400 North 34th Street, Suite 201
Seattle, Washington 98103
Desk (206) 732-7826
General (206) 732-7800; Fax (206) 732-7801
Cell: (206) 849-3172
e-mail: rottmar@fs.fed.us
website: www.fs.fed.us/pnw/fera
Educational background
Bachelor of Arts, Eastern Washington State College, 1973. Secondary Education/Geology.
Bachelor of Science, University of Washington, 1977. Atmospheric Science
Master of Science, University of Washington, 1980. Forest Management (specialization in fire science)
Honorary Doctorate Degree, University of Idaho, 2008, Natural Resources
Professional Experience
Roger Ottmar is a Research Forester with the Fire and Environmental Research Applications Team, US Forest
Service Pacific Northwest Research Station at the Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Laboratory located in Seattle,
Washington. He has been involved with fuels, fire, and smoke related research for over 36 years. Roger has
completed or is currently leading research efforts to 1) modify and evaluate the fuel consumption and emissions
software Consume, 2) modifying and evaluate the Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS), 3) produce
natural fuel photo series for fuelbed types of the United States, Mexico and Brazil, and 4) assess wildland
firefighter exposure to smoke and the associated health risk, Roger has supervised and hosted 10 visiting scientists
from Portugal, Spain, Australia, and Brazil. He is leading the Prescribed Fire Combustion and Atmospheric
Dynamics Research Experiment (RxCADRE), a team of 90 scientists and technicians that are developing processes
for collecting complementary research data across fire-related disciplines before, during, and after the active
burning periods of prescribed fires for fire model development and evaluation. Roger has authored and co-authored
over 165 research publications and final reports and has served as principal investigator on more than 85 grants,
agreements (including 15 Joint Fire Science Program Projects), and coops between other USDA Forest Service
Research Stations, governmental agencies, private corporations, and Universities. Roger also teaches over 30
lessons per year at land management Rx training sessions including Smoke management, Fire effects, and Burn
Boss, rewriting 3 chapters for the Smoke Management Guide book, and leads several fuel workshops each year.
Roger is a member of the Society of American Foresters, American Meteorological Society, Ecological Restoration
Society, International Association of Wildland Fire, and Tall Timbers Society. Roger has received a certificate of
Appreciation from the National Wildland Coordinating Group (2012), an honorary Doctorate of Philosophy from
the University of Idaho (2008), thirteen USDA Forest Service Certificates of Merits, USDA Forest Service Chief’s
Award for Technology Transfer (2006), PNW Station Technology Transfer Award (2006), National Fire Plan for
Excellence in Research Award (2005), Outstanding Service in Fire Management Award (2002), Pacific Northwest
Region Excellence in Prescribed Fire Award (1999), PNW Research Station Vision Award (1993), and PNW
Station Technology Transfer Award (1991).
Selected Publications
Huff, Mark H.; Ottmar, Roger D.; Alvarado, Ernesto [and others]. 1995. Historical and current forest landscapes in
eastern Oregon and Washington. Part II: Linking vegetation characteristics to potential fire behavior and related
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smoke production. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-355. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest
Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 43 p.
Ottmar, Roger D.; Vihnanek, Robert E.; Wright, Clinton S. 1998. Stereo photo series for quantifying natural fuels,
Volume I: mixed-conifer with mortality, western juniper, sagebrush and grassland types in the interior Pacific
Northwest. PMS 830. Boise, Idaho: National wildfire Coordinating Group, National Inetragency Fire Center. 73 p.
Ottmar, Roger D.; Vihnanek, Robert E. 1998. Stereo photo series for quantifying natural fuels, volume II: black
spruce and white spruce types in Alaska. PMS 831. Boise, ID. National Wildfire Coordinating Group. National
Interagency Fire Center. 65 p.
Ottmar, Roger D.; Vihnanek, Robert E. 1999. Stereo photo series for quantifying natural fuels, volume V: red and
white pine, northern tall grass prairie, and oak/hickory in the Midwest. PMS 834. Boise, ID: National Wildfire
Coordinating Group, National Interagency Fire Center. 99 p.
Ottmar, Roger D.; Vihnanek, Robert E. 2000 (a). Stereo photo series for quantifying natural fuels, Volume III:
lodgepole pine, quaking aspen, and gambel oak types in the Rocky Mountains. PMS 832. Boise, ID. National
Wildfire Coordinating Group. National Interagency Fire Center. 85 p.
Ottmar, Roger D.; Vihnanek, Robert E. 2000 (b). Stereo photo series for quantifying natural fuels, Volume VI:
longleaf pine, pocosin, and marshgrass types in the Southeast United States. PMS 831. Boise, ID. National
Wildfire Coordinating Group. National Interagency Fire Center. 56 p.
Ottmar, Roger D.; Vihnanek, Robert E; Regelbrugge, Jon C. 2000. Stereo photo series for quantifying natural fuels,
Volume IV: pinyon-juniper, sagebrush, and chaparral types in the Southwestern United Sates. PMS 833. Boise,
ID. National Wildfire Coordinating Group. National Interagency Fire Center. 97 p.
Reinhardt, Timothy E.; Ottmar, Roger D. 2000. Smoke exposure at western wildfires. Smoke exposure at western
wildfires. Research Paper PNW-RP-525. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific
Northwest Research Station. 72 p.
Ottmar, R. D.; Sandberg, D. V. 2001. Wildland fire in eastern Oregon and Washington. Northwest Science. 75
(Special Issue): 46-54.
Hardy, C. C.; Ottmar, R. D.; Peterson, J. L. [and others] 2001. Smoke management guide for prescribed and
wildland fire: 2001 edition. Boise, ID: National Wildfire Coordinating Group. 226 p.
Wright, Clinton S., Ottmar, Roger D.; Vihnanek, Robert E.; Weise, David R. 2002. Stereo photo series for quantifying
natural fuels: grassland, shrubland, woodland, and forest types in Hawaii. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-545.
Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 91 p.
Ottmar, Roger D.; Vihnanek, Robert E. 2002. Stereo photo series for quantifying natural fuels. Volume IIa:
hardwoods with spruce in Alaska. PMS 836. Boise, ID. National Wildfire Coordinating Group. National
Interagency Fire Center. 41 p.
Ottmar, Roger D.; Vihnanek, Robert E; Wright, Clinton S. 2002. Stereo photo series for quantifying natural fuels.
Volume Va: jack pine in the Lake States. PMS 837. Boise, ID. National Wildfire Coordinating Group. National
Interagency Fire Center. 49 p.
Sandberg, David V.; Ottmar, Roger D.; Peterson, Janice L; Core, John. 2002. Wildland fire in ecosystems: effects
on air. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-42-vol. 5. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,
Rocky Mountain Research Station. 70 p.
Ottmar, Roger D.; Vihnanek, Robert E.; Mathey, Jared W. 2003. Stereo photo series for quantifying natural fuels.
Volume VIa: sand hill, sand pine scrub, and hardwood with white pine types in the Southeast United States
with supplemental sites for Volume VI. PMS 838. Boise, ID: National Wildfire Coordinating Group, National
Interagency Fire Center. 78 p. Order Number – NFES #1119.
Ottmar, Roger D.; Vihnanek, Robert E.; Wright, Clinton S.; Olson, Diana. 2004. Stereo photo series for quantifying
natural fuels. Volume VII: Oregon white oak, California deciduous oak, and mixed-conifer with shrub types in
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the western United States. National Wildfire Coordinating Group, National Interagency Fire Center. 76 p.
Order Number – NFES #1119
Reinhardt, Timothy E. and Roger D. Ottmar. 2004. Baseline measurements of smoke exposure among wildland
firefighters. Journal of Ocuppational and Environment Hygiene, 1: 593-606.
Ottmar, Roger D.; Vihnanek, Robert E.; Wright, Clinton S. 2007. Stereo photo series for quantifying natural fuels.
Volume X: Sagebrush with grass and ponderosa pine-juniper types in central Montana. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNWGTR-719. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest service, Pacific Northwest research Station.59 p.
Ottmar, R.D., Sandberg, D.V.; Riccardi, C.L.; Prichard, S. J. 2007. An overview of the Fuel Characteristic
Classification System (FCCS) - quantifying, classifying, and creating fuelbeds for resource planning. Can. J.
For. Res. 37:1-11.
Riccardi, Cynthia L.; Ottmar, Roger D.; Sandberg, David V., Andreu, Anne; Elman, Ella; Kopper, Karen;
Long, Jennifer. 2007. The Fuelbed: a Key Element of the Fuel Characteristic Classification System, Canadian
Journal of Forest Research. 37(12): 2394-2412.
Ottmar, Roger D., Anna Miranda, and David V. Sandberg. 2009. Characterizing sources of emissions from
wildland fires. Wildland Fires and Air Pollution, Chapter 3; Elsevier Book series: Developments in
Environmental Science: 61-78.
Hyde, Joshua C., Smith, Alistair M.S., Ottmar, Roger D., Alvarado, Ernesto C., Morgan, Penelope. 2011. The
combustion of sound and rotten coarse woody debris: a review. International Journal of Wildland Fire.
International Journal of Wildland Fire 20(2) 163-174.
Turetsky, M.R., Kane, E.S., Harden, J.W., Ottmar, R.D., Kasischke, E.S. 2011. Recent acceleration
of biomass burning and carbon loss in Alaska forests and peatlands. Nature Geoscinece 4:27-31.
Ottmar, Roger D.; Prichard, Susan J. 2012. Fuel treatment effectiveness in forests of the upper
Atlantic Coastal Plain -- an evaluation at two spatial scales. Fire Ecology and Management. 273: 1728.
Ottmar, RD (2013) Wildland fire emissions, carbon, and climate: Modeling fuel consumption. Forest
Ecology and Management. Online at:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378112713003782
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