Wildlife may thrive after fire - The Register-Guard, Eugene, Oregon, USA
http://www.registerguard.com/news/2003/09/19/d3.cr.fire.0919.html
Wildlife may thrive after fire
The Associated Press,   September 19, 2003
BEND - Deer, elk and bull trout will survive and possibly thrive despite a complex of fires that burned 91,000 acres in or around the areas where these creatures live, wildlife experts say.

The Booth and Bear Butte fire complex in central Oregon completely burned some areas, but it left some spots only singed and avoided others altogether. In some cases, the fires prepared the forest for new growth.

On Thursday, fire officials reopened the northern half of the Mount Jefferson Wilderness Area, citing a drop in fire activity because of continued rain and cooler temperatures.

The area north of Lizard Ridge and Hunts Creek Trail No. 3440 also were opened Thursday. Three other roads leading to wilderness trailheads - Whitewater Road 2243, Woodpecker Road 2253 and Pamelia Road 2246 - have been open since Tuesday.

The fire, which at its peak drew more than 2,130 firefighters, has burned 90,800 acres.

Deer and elk, experts said, may benefit as may bull trout, depending in part on water quality.

``It's not a total forest devastation out there,'' said Lauri Turner, a biologist with the Deschutes National Forest.

Plants that deer and elk like, such as serviceberry and bluebunch wheatgrass, will most likely grow in burned areas. The fire may have expanded the area some large animals can live in, said Steven George, a biologist with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Deer and elk herds sometimes move back into burned areas, perhaps searching for minerals exposed by the fire.

``They'll go in and start snooping around even when it's still hot,'' George said.

George said he has heard no reports of deer or elk killed by the fire.

Bull trout are making their annual spawning runs this month and sometimes swim into the most intensely burned areas.

``Apparently, the fire didn't inhibit their desire to spawn,'' said Steve Marx, a biologist with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

He said biologists are counting a higher than usual number of bull trout spawning beds this year. Streams contained more branches and downed trees, which bull trout and their young like to hide under.

Still, erosion from slopes the fires left unstable could damage some of the spawning beds.

``One of these risks is rain,'' Marx said.

Rain could wash silt and ash into streams and impede spawning, he said.


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