BRIDGER-TETON NATIONAL FOREST — With Fish Creek Fire holding strong at 25,069 acres and the Pack Trail Fire growing to 11,881 acres over the weekend, Buckrail spoke to Bridger-Teton National Forest (BTNF) Wildlife and Habitat Biologist Ashley Egan about how wildfires impact wildlife habitat.
“The number one priority when it comes to a wildfire is prioritizing human safety, property values and structures,” Egan said. “When possible, wildfires are managed in a way that often provides beneficial impacts to the ecosystem and wildlife habitat. Depending on wildlife size, intensity, seasonality and other human- related values, wildfire is an important and necessary role in the ecosystem that can have substantial beneficial effects.”
According to Egan, a common misconception is that many animals die during a wildfire. She said that while temporary displacement can happen, the benefits to wildlife and the entire ecosystem outweigh any detriments, as long as human safety and structural damage is not at risk.
“It’s extremely rare to see wildlife that have perished in a wildfire,” Egan stressed.
Egan explained that when a wildfire starts in the fall, wildlife species are able to move or seek shelter. If a fire sparks in the spring, the critical breeding, nesting and calving period, it’s more difficult for young animals to move.
According to Egan, beavers are critical for creating a wildlife refuge during a wildfire.
“Beavers play an important role in maintaining wetlands on the landscape, and one of the direct benefits, among others, is creating and maintaining riparian areas as fire breaks,” Egan said. “Aside from the water system, this is simply due to the type of vegetation that grows within wetlands, which are more adaptable to resist wildfire.”
When commenting on the Fish Creek Fire, Egan explained that not only can wildlife find a new temporary home, but more “desirable, palatable and higher-protein” vegetation will grow back this spring. She said that the nutrient dense regrowth can benefit elk, mule deer and moose foraging habitat. After fire clears out the older tree canopies, a variety of plant species can grow in the newly accessible sunlight. Additionally, dead plant tissues after a fire will decompose, releasing nutrients back into the soil, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
Egan stressed that the Fish Creek Fire in particular continues to burn in a mosaic pattern of severely burned, lightly burned and unburned areas within a mix of conifer trees. Mosaic, low-intensity fire benefits wildlife habitat by decreasing conifer in areas where they are dominating Aspen or sagebrush communities, which are high value wildlife habitat, and increasing desirable understory forage for ungulates, according to Egan.
According the Forest Service, there are certain species that are being impacted by the Fish Creek Fire, including the whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis), which is threatened in Wyoming and across western North America, and is protected under the Endangered Species Act. Whitebark pine seeds are a preferred food source for many animals.
The whitebark pine tree has been one of the special resources that Resource Advisors (READs) and firefighters have been working hard to protect during the Fish Creek Fire. Firefighters continue to clear vegetation surrounding individual whitebark pine trees and remove some low branches. This work decreases the likelihood that they will burn if fire reaches them.
Experts have been researching and collecting data to help provide appropriate management recommendations to the BTNF long after the fire is out, the Forest Service said via social media.
