ODFW release

[Jennie@ifish]

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
Contact: Anne Pressentin Young (503) 872-5264 x5356
Internet: www.dfw.state.or.us Fax: (503) 872-5700

For Immediate Release August 2, 2002

Biologists Watch Forest Fires for Wildlife Effects

PORTLAND - With the fire season still young, wildlife biologists wait and hold their breath.

As trained scientists, they know fire is an integral part of ecological health and usually provides longterm benefits to wildlife. They also know that a catastrophic fire in extremely dry conditions can burn critical habitats in forests and rangelands and adversely affect some wildlife populations in the short term. Once human safety concerns subside, biologists from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife begin assessing the fire season's effects to wildlife resources.

Firefighters are mopping up the Winter and Tool Box fires in south central Oregon, and wildlife biologist Craig Foster already has found some good news and bad news in the burn area. Two trees with bald eagle nests burned and it is unknown if the young survived. A herd of about 10 bighorn sheep that make the Winter Rim their home were spotted three days ago already using a burned area.

"We haven't seen much direct loss," said Foster, a wildlife district biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in Lakeview. "This isn't like the Pines Springs Basin fire of '89 moving 70 miles an hour and catching deer and elk."

Foster said most large mammals move out of the way of a fire as it approaches. However, fire may directly impact species living or nesting in trees. The young of many small bird species such as warblers, native sparrows and hummingbirds may have perished in the Toolbox or Winter fires because they were too young to fly. It's too early to tell if small ground mammals such as chipmunks and ground squirrels suffered a population loss as the fire burned along the ground, he said. Usually ground-burrowing animals safely seek refuge underground or in a small oasis the fire has missed.

Foster and other ODFW biologists will actively work with federal, state and private land managers in the coming months in rehabilitation efforts to stabilize soil and replant native plant species that support wildlife.

Many forest and rangeland habitats evolved over time to thrive with intermittent burns. Alder and lodgepole pine will quickly re-establish in their habitat niches. In most cases, fire releases nutrients causing the plant quantity, quality and diversity to increase dramatically for one to five years. Large fires also result in a mosaic of habitat types that many wildlife species use. For example, within a 100,000-acre burn, some areas burn clean and some areas are untouched by fire.

Wildlife species also evolved to thrive on the plants that recolonize a burn area within one to three years. Deer and elk eat the grasses, leaves and shrubs of young forests and will likely increase in population size after an initial decline. Other species, such as bear and cavity nesting birds, will experience population declines in the short-term. In the long-term, snags and downed woody debris left by the fire will benefit those same bear and bird species.

John Toman, an ODFW district wildlife district biologist in Charleston, has witnessed the change in wildlife populations over the course of a decade after the Silver Fire complex burned the Kalmiopsis Wilderness in the late 1980s. After decades of fire suppression efforts, the forest floor was dense with undergrowth and burned hot. In the early 1990s, the 150,000-acre burn area was used heavily by deer and elk.

"Now we've grown up again and have mature brush, which is not as rich in proteins or nutrients for the ungulates," Toman said. "But, it's heavily used by bears, small mammals and birds."

Toman is watching the Florence and Sour Biscuit fires, which are burning in and out of the Kalmiopsis Wilderness. He has not observed or heard reports of any wildlife losses, but cautions it is too soon to make an assessment.

According to Merv Wolfer, ODFW wildlife biologist in Roseburg, people living in the urban-wildland interface near fire areas could see an increase in wildlife on their property.

"Deer will move to areas where they can find food," Wolfer said. "In some cases, it's the green lawns and area protected around the houses."

Wolfer advises people not to feed wildlife that may visit their property to discourage them from staying and keep damage to a minimum. Any wildlife that does take refuge on personal property may stay nearby it rains.

"A good rain will create a fall green-up which the deer will love," Wolfer said. "Deer will then move back to the forest."

Hunters planning for this fall's season also are watching the fires with interest. In some areas, access to hunting lands is blocked by active fire fighting efforts. In other cases, the land used by deer, elk or antelope herds has burned and caused the animals to move.

"We're going to have some habitat losses in the short term. The Toolbox fire burned 30 to 40 percent of the winter range used by mule deer in the Silver Lake area," Foster said. "There's going to be some impact to mule deer hunters this year, but we've got to get the fires contained and controlled before we decide anything."

For more information about fall hunting seasons and potential access restrictions, ODFW biologists ask hunters and other outdoor enthusiasts to check with local land management agencies and the local ODFW office. Additional information can be found on the ODFW Web site at http://www.dfw.state.or.us/fire_drought.htm and on page 8 of the 2002 Oregon Big Game Regulations.
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