West Texas Wildfires 2011 — 
Ecological Impacts and Recovery
By Steve Nelle
Note from Ricky Linex, USDA NRCS, Weatherford: The attached ecological impact related to the recent wildfires is written by Steve Nelle, NRCS Zone 2 wildlife biologist in San Angelo.
His comprehensive thoughts and summary concern the Deaton Cole wildfire of Crockett and Val Verde Counties in West Texas. This fire eventually burned 175,000 acres and was going on at the same time as the Possum Kingdom (PK) Complex fire in Palo Pinto and Stephens Counties that burned 126,000 acres in north Texas.
While some of the plants mentioned in Nelle’s report do not occur in north Texas, the impact to our plants will be similar, especially if we continue without significant rainfall.
The PK fire was blessed to receive limited rainfall after the fires were out. The Deaton Cole area looks much as it did immediately following the fire. The Cooper Mountain fire burned 152,000 acres in Kent, Stonewall, Scurry and Fisher Counties in northwest Texas and has received only in a few tenths of an inch of rainfall. The soils and vegetation of both these West Texas fires have struggled with scant moisture, high winds and high temperatures causing blowing soil on many ranches.
While we have had some green grasses showing up in the PK area, landowners and hunters should read and consider Steve’s recommendations. If it continues to be dry, the vegetation within the PK Complex fire will undergo drought stress similar to the burned areas in West Texas.
Grazing management, deferments and wildlife effects are something every landowner and hunter must
consider.
 The coverage and influence of pricklypear will be significantly reduced for several years. |
 Most pricklypear plants are still alive and will re-sprout following the fire. |
 Yucca plants will re-sprout from the expansive root systems. |
 Most larger sotol plants are alive after the fires, while smaller plants may have been killed (Deaton Cole fire damage shown). |
 The 2011 fires varied in intensity and impact. Much of the area burned with extreme severity. |
 Some areas burned with reduced intensity and impact. |
 The fate of grass plants will be a major factor in the recovery after the fires. Four weeks after the Wildcat fire, less than 1 percent of grass plants had re-sprouted. |
 Bare soils are extremely vulnerable to erosion. Re-establishment of grass cover may take several years. |
 Severe soil erosion resulted from an extreme fire 1995 in Kimble County. |
 Lotebush beginning to re-sprout from a stump 4 weeks after the Wildcat fire. |
 Shin oak beginning to re-sprout from roots 4 weeks after Wildcat fire. |
 Texas snoutbean re-sprouting from taproot 4 weeks after the Wildcat fire. |
 Deep-rooted perennial forbs (bush sunflower shown) re-sprouting from large tap roots 4 weeks after Wildcat fire. |
 The first plant to re-sprout in some burn areas is poisonous twin-leaf senna. Livestock consumption of toxic plants may be a consideration in some areas. |
 Most mesquite will re-sprout and become multi-stemmed plants. |
 Smaller redberry juniper will be killed if the basal bud zone is above ground. This should materially reduce future density and aid in keeping pastures more open. |
 Wildlife cover has been severely impacted across much of the burned areas. |
 Pockets of unburned cover remain in some areas, which will help retain some resident deer and other wildlife. |
During the spring of 2011 an unprecedented number of large wildfires occurred across West Texas causing
a great deal of loss to ranches and rural landowners. This report is primarily restricted to
the effects of the Wildcat fire north of San Angelo and the Deaton Cole fire south of Ozona. This report is not a comprehensive summary of all aspects of these fires. The report will focus on the short-term and possible long-term impacts to the land, with emphasis on livestock ranching and wildlife management.
The report will offer the best scientific information available and comments from some of the people affected by the fires.
Because the severity of the fires varied a great deal from place to place, the impacts and the post
fire recovery will also vary. The context of these fires and the prevailing conditions following the
fires has compounded the impacts. Soil moisture preceding and during the fires was extremely low. Rainfall after the fires has been generally very low and in several cases there has been no rainfall since the fires. The long-term forecast from NOAA is for drought to persist or intensify across most
of Texas through the end of July.
Misunderstanding of impacts
Some of the information disseminated by the media has misrepresented the severity of the impacts of these fires. Some of this is due to a misunderstanding of the difference between extreme wildfire and the less intense kinds of fires, including prescribed burning.
Prescribed burning has been widely promoted and practiced in Texas for the past 25 years. When properly planned and applied, prescribed burning provides significant benefits to the land with minimal detrimental side effects. Likewise, some of the less intense wildfires provide some of the
same benefits as prescribed fires.
Some people seem to think that all fire is good, and have confused the extreme impacts of severe wildfire with the mostly positive impacts of normal fire. These excerpts from 2 newspaper articles represent some of this misinformation:
Dallas Morning News, May 1, 2011, regarding the Possum Kingdom fire: "In two or three weeks, the area will be very green. By the end of summer, we'll have lots of grasses and wildflowers."
Dallas Morning News, May 5, 2011, regarding Texas wildfires: "Biologists continue to predict what effects the fires will have on wildlife. For most species there will be no impact at all …"
Another theme frequently repeated in the aftermath of the fires:
"Well after all, fire is natural, so these fires are really not such a bad thing."
To the landowners who were personally affected by the fires, these optimistic statements provide little comfort and they diminish the real impacts that these fires have caused.
Impacts to grass cover
From a ranching and an ecological perspective, the biggest questions are how much grass will survive; how much grass will die and how long will grass recovery take?
These conclusions from numerous formal scientific studies were summarized and taken from the
book "Fire Ecology" by Henry Wright and Arthur Bailey. This is the most authoritative and up-to-date source of scientific information available on the subject of fire.
- Most species of short grass are harmed by fire during a dry year.
- Following a spring wildfire, when soil was dry, recovery of short grasses took 3 growing seasons; recovery was 35 percent, 62 percent and 97 percent following the first, second and third growing seasons.
- The rhizomatous form of sideoats grama is almost always reduced 40 percent to 50 percent
by
fire during dry years and may require 3 years for full recovery.
- Rhizomatous sideoats tolerates fire reasonably well during exceptionally wet years with no significant reduction in yield.
- As long as soil moisture is adequate, vine-mesquite, Arizona cottontop, plains bristlegrass,
Texas cupgrass, bunchgrass sideoats and meadow dropseed thrive after fire.
- Texas wintergrass is severely harmed by sweeping hot fires, but increases following creeping cool fires.
- Fire will cause little bluestem to decrease as much as 58 percent during dry years or increase
as much as 81 percent during wet years.
- Tobosagrass is severely harmed by burning during dry years but will recover fully by the end
of the third growing season.
- If the soil is moist at time of burning, tobosagrass yield is 2 or 3 times higher than unburned areas.
- Following wildfire in a dry year, the cover and yield of these grasses were reduced — big bluestem, little bluestem, hairy grama, sideoats grama, buffalograss, blue grama.
- Bush muhly and black grama are seriously harmed by fire, especially in dry years.
The message here is clear and consistent across many scientific studies: Most grasses thrive after fire in wet years; most grasses are damaged after fire in a dry year. Several of the studies indicate
a 3-year recovery period if the fire occurred in a dry year.
A recent study was published in the January 2011 issue of Rangeland Ecology and Management documenting grass response after the East Amarillo Complex fire in March 2006. The study, conducted by researchers at Texas Tech University, was conducted on 11 ranches in 3 counties
with these results:
- Initial grass mortality was 80 percent in fall 2006 for short-grass sites (primarily blue grama
and buffalograss).
- Initial grass mortality was 60 percent in fall 2006 for mid-grass sites (primarily sideoats grama, little bluestem, sand dropseed).
- Grass productivity (pounds per acre) was not harmed by the wildfire in 2006, 2007 or 2008.
- Fewer living grass plants provided increased compensatory growth.
- Grass density increased by the end of 2008, but was still measurably lower than non-burned
areas.
The context of this study is important to note:
- Rainfall for the 3 years following the East Amarillo Complex fire was average to above average.
- This fire was primarily a grass fire, not a juniper fire and was therefore generally less extreme than the Wildcat and Deaton Cole fires.
Impacts to soil
After severe fire, ground cover is eliminated and the soil is exposed. Existing plants consumed and the cover of decomposing litter and organic debris is burned up.
Living plants and plant residue normally protect the soil from wind and water erosion and extremes in temperature. Without this cover, the soil is vulnerable to erosion. In a study conducted in the Edwards Plateau, soil erosion after severe fire was documented to be 7 to 10 tons per acre over a 2.5-year period. Other extreme fires in other locations have resulted in soil loss rates exceeding
100 tons per acre.
The severity of erosion is related to slope, rainfall intensity and the length of time soil remains
exposed.
In addition to the risk of irreversible erosion, the physical and biological attributes of the soil are impacted by severe fire. Soil exposed to the sun remains hotter and drier with increased rates of evaporation. Runoff rates are increased because the capacity of the soil to absorb rainfall is diminished.
Soil microorganisms, which have a great influence on soil nutrients, are diminished after fire and, according to a study, required 3 to 5 years to recover.
Impacts to livestock grazing
The premise of successful and sustainable livestock ranching is the grazing of surplus grass. The consensus of scientific information indicates that grass cover does not generally recover until the
end of the third year after severe fires burned under dry conditions. This often means a loss of grazing for 3 years.
The length of time for the grass to recover and for grazing to resume will depend a great deal on rainfall in the months and years following the fire.
Livestock producers would be prudent to suspend grazing until a desirable density of grasses returns and the covering of litter is re-established and the grasses have made two good seed
crops. The economic loss of grazing and the substantial cost to rebuild fences is extreme in many cases.
Impacts to wildlife habitat
Most species of wildlife escape direct mortality by fire. Some species that are more vulnerable to death by severe fire include slow moving animals and some animals that may not be able to jump netwire fences.
The more significant wildlife impacts are the indirect effects of extreme fire on the habitat of wild animals. Loss of cover and loss of food supplies will usually cause animals to relocate to other
nearby areas. When cover and food supplies return, wildlife will return. In the meantime, ranchers who lease hunting rights may be impacted for several years or longer. The 3 most commonly managed species of wildlife in West Central Texas are deer, turkey and quail.
Deer
White-tailed deer are especially associated with, and dependent on, moderate and thick woody cover. The loss of cover over a large area will have a significant effect on deer populations.
Woody cover that has been lost will begin to re-sprout in the year of the burn and will gain canopy density and height each year. In the more extreme burned areas, regrowth of cover will take
several years, or even longer.
If ashe juniper previously provided the majority of woody cover, it will take even longer since this species is killed by fire.
Ranches adjacent to the outer edge of the burn will gain additional deer from the loss of cover in
the interior of the burn. The owners of these ranches may want to consider the responsibility to be good stewards of their neighbor’s deer until cover is re-established and the deer return to their former ranges. On the other hand, if these increased populations threaten the food supply by overgrazing, there may be some need to manage the population, especially the female segment.
The food supply for deer in burned areas will begin to return faster than the supply of cover. Deep-rooted perennial forbs and most woody plants will begin to re-sprout within 4 to 8 weeks after
fires, even where soil moisture is low. The deep rooted nature of these plants usually allows for an initial flush of growth after fire.
The subsequent growth and production will depend on rainfall. If rainfall is near normal in the
months after the burn, deer food supplies will generally be adequate for the reduced populations which have been impacted by the lack of cover.
Important food items that will be severely affected for several years after fire include acorns, mesquite beans, pricklypear apples, persimmon fruit and other forms of mast and fruit.
Turkey
Turkey nesting cover has been essentially eliminated in large vast burn areas. However, this may
be a moot point in 2011. The severe drought conditions that have preceded the fires, and which have continued after the fires, have precluded successful turkey nesting even in areas that did
not burn.
Many turkey roost areas have been burned up in these fires including large live oak, pecan,
western soapberry and other suitable roost trees. The impact of the loss and damage to roost
areas is difficult to assess, since turkey will use manmade structures and dead trees for roosting in the absence of natural roost areas. Turkeys that were displaced due to the fires will find other
places to live and survive until burned areas recover.
Since turkeys are very mobile and able to travel long distances, their numbers are not likely to be affected initially, although their distribution will change.
The turkey food supply will be impacted for several years depending on rainfall.
Quail
Quail are not as mobile as turkey or deer and are more severely impacted in large contiguous burn areas.
Nesting cover, loafing cover and food supplies have been eliminated initially. Food plants will likely flourish after better rainfall patterns return, but the lack of suitable cover will continue for several years.
Quail numbers were low across the entire region even before the fires, so the direct impact of the fires is exacerbated by the ongoing drought and the overall poor conditions for quail across the region.
Comments from landowners
These quotes provide some insight from some who have been directly impacted by the fires. These comments are from interviews and responses from ranchers and outfitters with a great deal of experience in West Texas. The comments were made about 3 weeks after the fires.
"The bad effects are obvious; the good, not as obvious."
"Will we be looking at a different ranch for the next 20 years? I feel sure. I think it will be better
and hope that the quail rebound and the cattle and deer benefit as well. We anxiously await recovery of the range."
"We have no plans to restock with livestock until we have a sense that we’ve made adequate recovery for the wildlife."
"We have made the decision to not hunt the ranch next fall. In the interest of economics, I have decided not to fly a deer survey this fall."
"Make no mistake, these fires not only present some heartburn over potential impact to wildlife
and wildlife habitat, it also sends a lot of business up in smoke as well."
"The white-tail hunting business has been in a tailspin over the last few years. These fires certainly do not help the cause at all."
"We recently cancelled all hunts that we had booked on 2 ranches."
"No doubt, over the past 500 years, our range land in West Texas has suffered similar fires. So the
eventual recovery is assured … but will any of us live to see it?"
"Short-term loss of forage, cover and mast crops is going to hurt, no doubt about it"
"Worst losses: grand live oak trees, native pecans, lots of grass (feed), fences and deer stands."
"Best losses: raccoons, porcupines, skunks, and hopefully anything else that eats a quail, as well as dead brush from previous years’ grubbing and maybe even some of the old fences.
The big picture
In fires of this magnitude, there are positive and negative impacts and opportunities that would otherwise not be available.
On the positive side:
- Greatly reduced pricklypear cover (although most plants are alive and re-sprouting
- Excellent control of tasajillo (although tasajillo is very important to turkey)
- Greatly reduced cover of cedar, including a high degree of kill on blueberry cedar and a probable high degree of kill on smaller redberry cedar
- With the decrease in cedar cover there is an opportunity for increased future grass, forb and browse production
- Improved browse availability (after initial regrowth)
- Enhanced use of low-value browse such as persimmon, whitebrush, lotebush, algerita
- Enhanced nutritional value of all browse
- Removal of dead slash
- Reductions in raccoons, skunks, porcupines and rattlesnakes (this may not be viewed as positive to everyone)
- The land will recover.
On the negative side:
- Bare ground — soil vulnerable to erosion
- Rainfall infiltration reduced; runoff increased; rainfall effectiveness reduced
- Possible (probable) death of some grasses — extent unknown
- Loss of grazing
- Loss of fences, solar panels, aboveground water lines, deer blinds, etc.
- Loss of woody cover for deer and other wildlife
- Loss of nest cover for birds and fawning cover for deer
- Loss of mesquite beans, acorns, pricklypear apples as important wildlife foods
- Reduced deer populations and hunting potential (depending on location)
- Turkey roost impacts
- Increased vulnerability to predation
- Current and future marketing of hunting
- Possible toxic plant problems, if grazing
- Extreme economic impacts
Opportunities:
- Reconfigure fences to better accommodate grazing management.
- Control redberry cedar sprouts with Individual plant treatment (IPT) herbicide within the first 12 to 18 months (use Brush Sculpting principles to retain needed cover).
- Monitor grass recovery on a regular basis and keep track of corresponding rainfall.
- Chronicle range recovery for the benefit of future generations.
- Establish photo points — take repeat photos at fixed locations to document recovery and changes.
- Install cages to monitor growth and utilization of grasses, perennial forbs and shrubs.
- Initiate mini-plot irrigation — water small plots with 1 inch at 1-, 2- and 4-week intervals to provide indication of response. (Will need to fence off or erect cages on these plots.)
- Take advantage of enhanced opportunities for predator and feral hog control.
- Monitor deer population with informal spotlight runs, helicopter or trail camera.
- Depending on speed and degree of initial grass recovery, ranchers may consider chaining and aerial seeding some areas to hasten establishment of desirable grasses.
|
