How Big Should Wildlife Habitat Burns Be?

[pg83]

Another great conservation article from Mark LR Hall.



http://hunterconservationist.ca/how-big-should-wildlife-habitat-burns-be-spoiler-alert-really-effin-big/


What Can Conservationists do to Help Advocate for Effin Big Fires on the Landscape?

Always be engaging your local habitat biologists to help them identify critical areas for habitat burns (draw really big circles on their maps).

Demand habitat biologists responsible for prescribed burns either go big or go home.

Demand that habitat biologists demonstrate how habitat burns are linked to firm population objectives (no wishy washing stuff).

Become familiar with your local Wildfire Center’s Fire Management Plan because it should show areas where the fire management objectives call for “modified responses” – aka let-burn-but-keep-an-eye-on-it approach. Hold fire managers accountable to letting fire burn where the objective is to let it burn. Tell them there will be no sneaking in to put out fires in those areas just because fire crews are on overtime.

Help support habitat projects and contribute third party funding to effin big habitat burns. Boycott funding for micro burns.

Engage your local politicians and government decision makers to educate them about the benefits of effin big burns. Help build their confidence in B.C.’s wildfire management experts’ abilities to execute effin big habitat burns. Tell them effin big habitat burns help protect communities from nasty wildfires. Tell them effin big fires will increase wildlife populations which will help get them re-elected.

Use social media and local newspapers to praise habitat burns (yes even micro burns).

Counter people who are complaining about smoke from habitat burns and tell them it’s the sweet smell of biodiversity. Super Natural B.C. = smoke once and while.

Be like a woodpecker looking for a grub deep inside a dry snag and relentlessly pound away on all the above items. The future of healthy wildlife populations depends on your hammering away at making effin big habitat burns a reality. Failure here is not an option folks.

[Liptugger]

Would have to make sure they do not spray them afterwards

[Jelvis]

I think the shape of the finished burn wood B more important than size for animal habitat and protection.
1. Too open when a great big block cut on a mountain side, make it a different shape to allow a corridor of trees on a ridge or gulley to be left for cover when going in and out and around for feed.
Jel -- The shape more important than size for proper wildlife protection - don't need a P.H.D. to figure that out, just hunting experience over the decades ..

[KodiakHntr]

Spray them? Spray them with what?

[Rob Chipman]

Yeah, he cranks out good stuff. Thanks for posting. One observation that pops out at me (and which I wish more policy makers understood):



Predation or hunting might not be limiting population growth when poor nutrition is affecting the population.
Conversely, predation or hunting may be very strongly impacting wildlife populations when the habitat is severely degraded.

[Walking Buffalo]

"Become familiar with your local Wildfire Center’s Fire Management Plan because it should show areas where the fire management objectives call for “modified responses” – aka let-burn-but-keep-an-eye-on-it approach. Hold fire managers accountable to letting fire burn where the objective is to let it burn. Tell them there will be no sneaking in to put out fires in those areas just because fire crews are on overtime."

I can tell you from experience that this is critical for the enforcement of modified fire management policies.

Back in 2015 a lightning strike started a fire deep in the Wilmore Wilderness Park in early June.

Within hours of the fire being reported, an Immediate Action by Alberta Wildlife was taken to put the fire out. Firefighters were ready to start work, as there was nothing else to do. "Fortunately", the efforts to kill the fire one day one were not successful.

Parks sat back and made media bites regarding the progress to extinguish the fire.

Trying to put this fire out didn't sit well with many. We felt that the vast research done in this area showing the negative effects of a century of fire control was competent, and this area needed to burn.

I dug up the Wilmore Fire Mangagement Plan, and low and behold, this area was in a designated "Natural Fire Zone". Wildfires are to be allowed to burn!

It took many calls to various government departments, and probably most importantly letting the public know through social media. Alberta Parks and Alberta Wildfire fought to divert attention away from the Park's Wildire plan, claiming the fire must be put out for the caribou, for the grizzlies, for the White Pine.... Then relented.

Those within the government either were ignorant or complacent in ignoring the fire policy. It took public knowledge and shaming to allow this fire to burn.

I am happy to report the fire covered over 14000 hectares, and the sheep, goats, caribou, bears and plants are loving it!

[boxhitch]

Most parks in BC don't have such management plans, informal means non-committal
OMP was supposed to get a plan after the wildfire, so far no commitment to maintaining the bighorn habitat

[boxhitch]

Always be engaging your local habitat biologists to help them identify critical areas for habitat burns (draw really big circles on their maps).
And to identify areas where wildlife should get priority over resource extraction ( timber, grazing, residential development etc)

[hunter1947]

There is no wildlife left to eat the habitat in the EK shoot a wolf save prey..:lol:..

[Dannybuoy]

There is no wildlife left to eat the habitat in the EK shoot a wolf save prey..:lol:.. ditto in the WK , and the numbers in N OK are dismal as well ..... far more habitat than wildlife .

[kootenaihunter]

..... far more habitat than wildlife .

depends on what you consider habitat. Definition: the natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism. Not much natural about things any where nowadays (cut blocks, road density, unnatural replanted forests/mono-cultures, flooded valleys, wildlife management, recreation tenures, etc. etc. etc. ). Animals should thrive in habitat, not just survive. If the habitat is there, animals will come back and thrive.

[rocksteady]

Making habitat burns is not as easy as you may think... Spring burns, low intensity, best recovery in short time frame. Summer wildfires, high intensity, takes longer to recover and create suitable habitat. Fall burns, can vary intensities, so may be low or high intensity.

With the spring burns, one of the key factors is the short time frame of the temperature being warm enough to meet objectives and low enough relative humidities to consume slash and carry fire. Around the East Kootenay, our window in the spring for something to be in the right parameters, we may have a 5 or 6 hour window. Once the sun starts to dip, temps go down, rh go up, fire slows and dies.. We have found, through experience, that burning with the psd machine that we can ignite about 100 has per hour. So max block size is usually around 600.. Unless we go with 2 helicopters or more...

Low elevation burns are easy in the spring, doing larger scale burns outside of valley bottom is difficult due to snow levels and drying...

There is a lot more to it than what some may think by just looking at it for face value...

[Dannybuoy]

depends on what you consider habitat. Definition: the natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism. Not much natural about things any where nowadays (cut blocks, road density, unnatural replanted forests/mono-cultures, flooded valleys, wildlife management, recreation tenures, etc. etc. etc. ). Animals should thrive in habitat, not just survive. If the habitat is there, animals will come back and thrive. example ...I was shown a huge natural meadow this winter , where in previous winter's hundreds of elk would winter ..... according to guy that showed me ( he has lived here for 70+years) and a few spots in the same valley where there has traditionally been approx 30 moose .... the wolves moved in killed almost everything and moved on .... habitat is still there maybe better than ever due to some logging ...
I am not against burning just saying it isnt going to fix whats wrong...and killing the females isn't a step in the right direction either

[boxhitch]

Killed everything? Good, must have been some bad genetics, don't need that spread around

[Dannybuoy]

Killed everything? Good, must have been some bad genetics, don't need that spread aroundyou are a shit head ....nuff said

[boxhitch]

I'm smilin, hope you are too )