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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWildlife habitat research and fire in the Northern Rockies conference paper 1988This document is copyrighted material. Permission for online posting of this conference paper was granted to Alaska Resources Library and Information Services (ARLIS) by the copyright holder. The citation to the conference paper is as follows: Lyon, L. Jack. 1969. Wildlife habitat research and fire in the Northern Rockies. Pages 213-227 in: Proceedings - Tall Timbers Fire Ecology Conference – Annual no. 9, held April 10-11, 1969. Tall Timbers Research Station, Tallahassee, Florida. Permission to post was received via e-mail by Celia Rozen, Collection Development Coordinator, on November 18, 2015 from Carol Armstrong Kimball, Librarian, Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy. This conference paper is identified as APA 934 in the Susitna Hydroelectric Project Document Index (1988), compiled by the Alaska Power Authority. Wildlife Habitat Research And Fire in the Northern Rockies L. JACK LYON1 WILDLIFE in the northern Rocky Mountains, as elsewhere, is a resource produced by land and vegetation. In northern Idaho and western Montana our land and vegetation have been in- fluenced for thousands of years by natural, recurring wildfires. Lewis and Clark (DeVoto, 1963), Granville Stuart (1925), J. B. Leiberg (1900) and others have reported the historically high incidence of fires in the northern forests. Barrows (1951) calculated that con- tinued burning at the rate recorded before 194 7 would have resulted in a 50-percent burn every 100 years with double or triple bums on 3. 7 million acres. Modern day losses to fire are, of course, nowhere near this high. Continually improving fire suppression programs over the last 30 years have reduced the acreage burned annually in the Northern Region of the Forest Service to an average of less than 15,000 acres. Nevertheless, the influence of fire on northern forest ecosystems has shaped contemporary biotic development in several important ways. 1 Principal Wildlife Research Biologist, USDA Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Ogden, Utah 84401; stationed in Missoula, Montana, at Forestry Sciences Laboratory, maintained in cooperation with Uni- versity of Montana. 213 L. JACK LYON Wildlife populations, for example, have fluctuated over the past half century in direct response to the development of forest vegeta- tion. These changes have been most noticeable for big game in a consistent downward trend of populations and harvest despite in- creasingly sophisticated management: by the State game departments. The basic problem is long-term deterioration of wildlife habitat. Unusually large fires in 1910 and 1919 created thousands of acres of seral, high-quality, brushfield habitat. Deer and elk populations in- creased in this favorable environment and reached unprecedented highs during the early 1940's. Since that time, normal successional development of forest vegetation has resulted in a variety of prob- lems including deterioration of some ranges under the tree overstory, growth of shrubs beyond reach of big game animals, and damage by overuse of remaining ranges. Maintenance of healthy big game herds, at stable levels consistent with multiple use objectives, requires replacement of these ranges. Such replacement cannot, for obvious reasons, be expected from new wildfires. However, a minimum of 100,000 acres is logged in the northern Rockies each year. Appropriate management of some por- tion of this logged acreage plus specific treatment of other acreages could produce both stability and abundance in game populations. The objective of Forest Service wildlife habitat research in the northern Rocky Mountain region is to provide the background in- formation that will enable land managers to manipulate forest vegeta- tion for the benefit of wildlife either specifically or as a part of other resource management programs. As a basis for our research we are using a hypothetical model of forest succession following fire (Fig. 1). In general, we already know that forbs and grasses appear first on burned sites-that shrubs will eventually resprout or seed in to replace herbaceous vegetation-and that trees will eventually overtop and dominate the forest plant com- munity. Such a model provides a useful concept in research, but it is virtually worthless for management of any specific game range or forested tract. In order to be useful, the model must be defined in terms of plant community structure and value to wildlife. We need to know what plants are available and for how long. We need· to recognize the variations in plant community structure caused by 214 WILDLIFE HABITAT RESEARCH AND FIRE FOREST SUCCESSION FOLLOWING Fl TREES 0 25 50 100 YEARS SINCE BURN LYOM FIG. 1. Hypothetical model of forest succession following fire. variation in original treannent, and we need to determine which sites can be expected to produce plant communities with wildlife produc- tion potential. The research program we have developed encompasses three gen- eral phases of investigation including ( 1) synecological studies of natural seral communities; ( 2) comparative studies of seral plant communities which develop following man-caused disturbance; and ( 3) autecological studies of the important plants in seral communities. Not all of our studies are fire-oriented, but in keeping with the theme and interests of this conference, I will describe several studies that are both fire-related and representative of the research in progress. SYNECOLOGY OF WILDFIRE COMMUNITIES Our most productive studies to date have been long-term examina- tions of permanent transects in areas recently burned by wildfire. 215 L. JACK LYON We have three major studies of this type in progress and probably will start others when appropriate opportunities are presented. These three current studies represent three totally dissimilar forest types and a wide range in community composition and development rates. At the same time, they include enough similarities to reveal an over- all correspondence to our hypothetical model. The first study in this series is an examination of the 28,000-acre Sleeping Child Burn on the Bitterroot National Forest. Until August 1961, the area could have been characterized as a lodgepole pine forest with subalpine fir, Vaccinium, and beargrass in the understory. Douglas-fir, Engelmann spruce, alder, willow, and other species were also present on some sites, and throughout the area a jackstraw fuel bed of dead lodgepole pine remained from a bark beetle epidemic in the 1930's. We established 12 permanent transects within the burned area in 1962 and maintained continuous records of vegetal development through 1967. Figures 2-4 illustrate three representative transects. Complete data for all transects are being prepared for publication as an 8-year summary following the 1969 field season. The most striking conclusion for the Sleeping Child Burn is ex- tremely slow vegetal development coupled with practically no changes in the species composition of the plant community. Major components of the preburn community appear to be also the major components of the postburn community. And, despite a massive re- habilitation effort by the USDA Forest Service, ground cover after six growing seasons was still less than 50 percent on most sites. Our second study involved only 120 acres, but it was unique in that we were able to examine an existing forest community before burning. Priorto August 1, 1963, the Neal Canyon study area near Sun Valley, Idaho, had a Douglas-fir overstory with a mixed understory of willow, mountain maple, serviceberry, mountain ash, two kinds of Ribes and a variety of herbaceous species (see Lyon, 1966, for more complete information). The area was burned with the trees still standing, and we have maintained annual records of vegetal develop- ment since the fire. Representative photographic records are presented in Figures 5 and 6. Vegetal recovery at Neal Canyon, compared with that at Sleeping 216 WILDLIFE HABITAT RESEARCH AND FIRE FIG. 2. Representative permanent transect within Sleeping Child wildfire, Bitter- root National Forest, 1962-1967. 217 L. JACK LYON FIG. 3. Representative permanent transect within Sleeping Child wildfire, Bitter- root National Forest, 1962-1967. 218 WILDLIFE HABITAT RESEARCH AND FIRE FIG. 4. Representative pennanent transect within Sleeping Child wildfire, Bitter- root National Forest, 1962-1967. 219 L. JACK LYON Fxc. S. Photographic transect within Neal Canyon prescribed fire, Sawtooth Na- tional Forest, 1963-1968. 220 WILDLIFE HABITAT RESEARCH AND FIRE FIG. 6. Photographic transect within Neal Canyon precribed fire, Sawtooth Na- tional Forest, 1963-1968. 221 L. JACK LYON Child, seemed spectacularly fast. The amount of shrub crown was as high in the first year as the best samples on Sleeping Child had been in 2 years, and ground cover in the second year surpassed preburn values by 90 percent. This herbaceous cover value proved to be somewhat misleading because the biennial species dominant in the second year following fire disappeared in the third year. Neverthe- less, this site has never had more than 40 percent of mineral surface exposed sirice the first growing season after the fire. Our third wildfire study was started in September 1967, while fire crews were still mopping up control lines on the 5 6,000-acre Sun- dance Fire in northern Idaho. This fire ran 22 miles in one night and burned through a variety of vegetation types including cedar, hem- lock, Douglas-fir, western white pine, western larch, and untimbered brushfields. These all provide more mesic environments than the two burned areas already described. Nevertheless, the 1-year recovery rates were spectacular even by Neal Canyon standards. Figure 7 illustrates re- covery on three representative transects in a single year. At this early date our hypothetical model has not been adequately described, but we do have a good start toward identifying areas and plant communities that have potential for successful manipulation. SYNECOLOGY OF LOGGED FORESTS The study of wildfire communities provides a background essential for understanding environmental structure and development of seral northern forests. However, economics and reason dictate that uncon- trolled fire cannot be viewed as a management tool. Thus, the second phase of our research is concentrated on plant communities created by logging and postlogging silvicultural or slash treatment. Variations in forest communities that follow man-caused disturb- ance could be considerably greater than variations following wildfire. In addition to natural variance among sites and burn communities, postlogging treatment can impose additional variance ranging from the searing fire of a heavy slash disposal through lighter bums to no bum at all. Moreover, such variations in treatment may be applied in months that would not be considered normal for wildfire. 222 WILDLIFE HABITAT RESEARCH AND FIRE FIG. 7. Representative pennanent transects within Sundance wildfire, Kaniksu National Forest, 1967-1968. 223 L. JACK LYON If we plan to utilize the obvious potential of this variation, we will have to compare and evaluate many combinations. Logging and slash preparation on two large timber sales on the Flathead and Lolo Na- tional Forests in Montana are being conducted in accordance with research needs. Replicated small blocks of timber on four different aspects have been prepared for burning at biweekly intervals between spring breakup and first snowfall. Slash loads, fuel moisture, and heat output are being measured and watershed behavior, timber re- generation, and wildlife habitat are also being studied. Air pollution is being evaluated under an outside grant. As of last summer, we had established 96 permanent transects in 45 timber stands. Planned treatments will range from unburned through light and heavy burns in every month when burning is pos- sible. Not all of these areas have been logged, and those already logged and burned have had only a single growing season to respond. Nevertheless, there are very real differences among the areas treated (Fig. 8). We believe our research will eventually delineate the situa- tions in which slash disposal can be effectively utilized for the benefit of wildlife. AUTECOLOGY OF BURNED PLANTS The third phase of our research program includes a variety of studies in taxonomy, phenology; and life histories of individual plant species. Community structure and the welfare of individuals are inseparably allied. If we understood the reproductive requirements and ecological tolerances of each species in a forest community, treatment could be manipulated to favor those species considered desirable for various management purposes. The only study in this phase that involves fire directly was initiated last summer. We are attempting to determine species response to fire by burning one shrub at a time under controlled conditions at monthly intervals. Fuel loads are supplied at three levels designed to duplicate a light flashy fire, a moderate fire, and a relatively heavy burn (Fig. 9). Each plant is instrumented with thermocouples and a flowing water calorimeter to measure absolute temperatures above and below ground and heat flux in the plant crown. 224 WILDLIFE HABITAT RESEARCH AND FIRE FIG. 8. Permanent transects within areas logged and burned, Flathead National Forest, prelogging, immediate postfire, and first growing season. 225 L. JACK LYON FIG. 9. Light, medium and heavy fuel loads in a study designed to determine shrub response to fire intensity. Having completed 1 year of burning decadent serviceberry, we can predict a great potential in this study. Fuel loads and heat flux can be converted to slash loadings for management; and if the re- covery pattern indicated by our early burns is consistent we can suggest some very significant limitations on the way slash fires should be managed to obtain wildlife habitat benefits. SUMMARY Wildlife habitat research being conducted at the Forestry Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, Montana, is not specifically fire oriented. 226 WILDLIFE HABITAT RESEARCH AND FIRE However, the history of the northern forests is a history of repeated natural fires and it is not possible to understand and describe seral forest communities without treating fire as a significant factor of en- vironment. Our research program includes three general phases: ( 1) syneco- logical studies of natural seral communities, (2) comparative studies of seral plant communities developing after man-caused disturbance, and ( 3) autecological studies of important shrubs in seral commu- nities. This paper describes representative studies in each phase of the program with emphasis on fire as an underlying ecological influence and a tool for habitat management. LITERATURE CITED Barrows, J. S. 1951. Forest fires in the northern Rocky Mountains. U.S. Forest Serv., Northern Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Exp. Sta., 253 pp. DeVoto, Bernard. 1963. The journals of Lewis and Clark. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 504 pp. Leiberg, J. B. 1900. Bitterroot Forest Reserve, U.S. Geological Survey, Twentieth Annu. Rep. Wash., D.C. Lyon, L. Jack. 1966. Initial vegetal development following prescribed burning of Douglas-fir in south-central Idaho. U.S. Forest Serv. Res. Pap. INT-29, 17 pp. Stuart, Granville. 1925. Forty years on the frontier. Vol. II. Cleveland: Arthur Clark Co., 265 pp. 227 Susitna Joint Vt>nture Document Number Please Return To DOCUMENT CONTROL PROCEEDINGS ANNUAL TALL TIMBERS FIRE ECOLOGY CONFERENCE NUMBER9 "l.IL 10-11, 1969 TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA lm~OO~£c§®£@@@ ·· Susitna Joint Venture Document Number Please .Return To DOCUMENTCONTROL . ·_~_·ALL TIMBERS PROCEEDINGS FIRE ECOLOGY CONFERENCE ANNUAL _,_,..,._ NUMBER9 APRIL 10-11, 1969 TALL.-\..I-IASSEE, FLORIDA Fire and Mammals _________________ :,_________________________________________________________ 151 Charles 0. Handley, Jr. Fire and Animal Behavior ----------------------------------------------------------------161 E. V. Komarek, Sr. Co-CHAIRMAN--SEcOND SEsSION Perry E. SkaTra Chief, Forestry Program Bureau of lndiam Affairs Some Observations on Indian Forests and Prescribed Burning ____ 209 Perry E. Skarra Wildlife Habitat Research and Fire in the Northern Rockies ____ 213 L. Jack Lyon Research on Logging Slash Disposal by Fife --------------------------------229 Dale D. Wade Postulates of the Prescribed Burning Program of the Bureau of Indian Affairs --------------------------------------------------------------------------------2 3 5 Paul S. Truesdell Controlled Burning on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation, Arizona ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------241 Harry Kallander Prescribed Burning on. Recreation Areas in New Jersey: His- tory, Objectives, Influence, and Technique ------------------------------251 James A. Cumming Fire as a Physical Factor in Wildland Management--------------------271 Robert E. Martin, Charles T. Cushwa and Robert L. Miller Attendance ---------------·-----·-----------------------------------------------------·-----------· 289