Fire Improves Forest Health, Wildlife Habitat

By Miles Benker-Idaho Department of Fish and Game Thick, white smoke rises high above the ridge. A fire crew walks along the freshly dug fire line, watching carefully as the brush snaps and crackles. The flames move slowly; the crew is pleased. Far different than several current wildfires burning out of control, this fire was intentionally set this spring by fire experts and is called a controlled or prescribed fire. In some areas where fire has been kept from its natural role, state and federal agencies have set prescribed fires to mimic natural fire and improve landscape health and community safety. These managed fires are timed to occur, generally in the spring and late fall, when conditions are favorable and fire danger is low. There is a need and a place for fire's historical role on the landscape. In recent years, the U.S. Forest Service has allowed some lightning-ignited fires to burn for habitat benefits. Many of these fires burn in rugged areas that are remote and inaccessible, and they present little risk to people and property. During the hot, dry summers, however, some fires need to be fought aggressively to protect forest communities and private property. Earlier this month, U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, toured the Clearwater Region by airplane and pledged to see that more fires are allowed to burn on federal lands to benefit elk habitat. Crapo was instrumental in forming the Clearwater Elk Collaborative through an elk summit in Lewiston three years ago. This working group provided several recommendations to improve elk habitat, including the use of fire and some logging. But many fires now are larger and more damaging than in the past. Much of this is the result of past campaigns to exclude fire entirely from the landscape. Decades of forest management practices that have eliminated fire have left many forests choked with thick undergrowth and smaller trees that naturally occurring fires would normally weed out. After years without fire, these forests become tinder boxes prone to hotter burns that are harder to control and pose a greater risk to nearby communities. These intense fires also can damage plants and wildlife species. This is evident in the Clearwater Region's elk herd decline from previous population levels. Large fires early in the twentieth century shaped much of the upper Clearwater Region habitat to favor elk needs. Fires burned some areas and skipped others, creating a mosaic of habitat types across the landscape. The results were openings in a dense forest, creating habitat and food for a diversity of wildlife. But decades without large fires gradually allowed the forests to mature and the brushfields that favored the elk to grow up. Other evidence of long term fire suppression is the reduction of fire-dependent species, such as Ponderosa pine and aspen, across their distribution range throughout the western United States. They depend on fire for their existence and regeneration. These habitat types are crowded out by competitive shade tolerant species, and increased fuel- load buildup make them susceptible to fire. The many wildlife species that rely on these fire-dependent habitats are also affected by this trend. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game supports land management agencies in finding a balance between fire suppression, wildland fire and prescribed fire. Wildlife and land managers all understand the importance of fire and the role it plays in forest health and wildlife habitat rejuvenation. The departments also support logging and thinning in areas where feasible and in areas where that will protect forest communities from large catastrophic fires. Reducing fuel loads can promote human safety, protect property and benefit wildlife. With the return of fire and selective timber harvest to the landscape, forest health, wildlife populations and their habitat, and hunting opportunities will improve. This is a long-term department partnership goal with the land management agencies in Idaho and other organizations, such as the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Miles Benker is a habitat biologist in the Clearwater Region. Before working for Fish and Game he was a wildland firefighter for the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service.