Hey guys, just wondering what your thoughts are on wildfires from the stand point of regrowth coming back and how many years after a wildfire goes thru an area where there just isnt good green feed etc for animals. Is it the next spring right away or is 2 or 3 years better or more than that? Looking at a western elk hunt this fall and debating on whether an area that had a fire a couple years ago could be good or terrible or possibly really good. Hope this makes snese. Thanks, Luke
Wildfire Thoughts
- Thread starter mustang8
- Start date
JimP
Administrator
I've seen burn areas start to come back in weeks if not days depending on how hot the burn was.
I've even seen elk and deer inside of burn areas munching on the fresh shoots of oak brush and other plants that survived as they are just starting to come out of the ground.
I've know quite a few hunters who actively hunt burn areas the hunting season after the burn and they usually have pretty good luck. There are always pockets of trees left that don't burn and they are usually enough to give the animals enough cover that they usually don't feel threatened until they get pushed.
I've even seen elk and deer inside of burn areas munching on the fresh shoots of oak brush and other plants that survived as they are just starting to come out of the ground.
I've know quite a few hunters who actively hunt burn areas the hunting season after the burn and they usually have pretty good luck. There are always pockets of trees left that don't burn and they are usually enough to give the animals enough cover that they usually don't feel threatened until they get pushed.
disabled combat vet
Active Member
Yeah i did call them yesterday and they actually said even tho the fire was two years ago the re growth was not very good and to stay out for a few more years. I find that very hard to believe!
Hilltop
Veteran member
Really depends on the fire. I would trust the biologists personally. One fire I know of from a few years back really changed the entire mountain and some areas still look like the moon. Many deer and elk relocated and the area is still pretty tough hunting if you don't really know the mountain.
JimP
Administrator
If the fire is hot enough it will create a crust almost like dirty glass on the surface and plants have a heck of a time breaking through it. If this happens then the area will be quite barren until something happens to start breaking up that surface crust.
disabled combat vet
Active Member
Yeah, we decided against that area, didnt want to chance it. Thanks for all of the input tho guys!
depends how hot the fire was. could be a year or a couple years could be many. I would say roughly 5-ten years after is the ideal conditions. wildlife generally moves back in pretty quickly. I am speaking of feed conditions.
you have to take into account that they don't want you there.
disabled combat vet
Active Member
feed and water will play a part, but elk are creatures of habit. if they frequented an area at a specific time of year before a fire there is a high percent chance, they are going to be back in there the very next year.
this of course is not gospel. but the chances are high.
this of course is not gospel. but the chances are high.
KHSRanger23
Active Member
Lots of great information in this conversation. New growth areas after fires can definitely be productive areas to hunt with plant shuts and young trees for feeding. Then find the closet cover and you will probably find some elk, deer or other game animals hanging out.
With all the snow and cold this year don't forget to try and find updated winterkill information. I know this can be tough as some states have pretty early draws.
Also consider that burn scars on hills/mountains are often prime areas for mudslides. With the amount of moisture all ready down in the snowpack and more still to come I would image some areas could be impacted by flooding and mudslides.
With all the snow and cold this year don't forget to try and find updated winterkill information. I know this can be tough as some states have pretty early draws.
Also consider that burn scars on hills/mountains are often prime areas for mudslides. With the amount of moisture all ready down in the snowpack and more still to come I would image some areas could be impacted by flooding and mudslides.
Too many people simply repeat the short version of what they've read or heard, they leave out some important details.
I live in a place where burns and extensive tree harvesting occurs and I can tell you that, in regards to elk, there is no canned answer to the OP's question. There are several things at play and the most important is that elk are browsers, not grazers, they have a pretty varied diet but they have preferences for certain foods. While grasses are important to their diet, they prefer specific grasses. At the same time, if there is no grass then they will eat the fresh tips of young trees and brush. They love forbs (flowering plants) but if they can't find them then they'll move to another food.
When a burn occurs, it can be so intense that it burns the nutrients out of the soil, in which case it takes a lot longer for plant grown to start again. Plants grow through a cycle and the types of browse that an elk will eat is mostly toward the end of that cycle. Grasses will start earlier in that cycle but, as I said, elk prefer specific grasses (bunch grass, wheat grass) and those are not the first of the grasses to regrow. Also, it takes water to make grasses and trees grow and if your hunting area doesn't get a lot of water then the plants will not grow back very quickly. Finally, elk don't mind going in to an open area to eat, but they usually prefer to be in a grassy area with trees close by, enough trees to provide cover, and they typically prefer pretty dense tree cover, just a handful of trees in the middle of a large burn wont work.
In my opinion, over the years, the idea that a burn makes a good hunting area of one of the old wives' tales. It used to be common for a farmer to burn off his fields so that he could eliminate weeds and other unwanted plants. Because this was farm land and the farmer then replanted after the burn, and there was regular rains, the new plants would grow pretty quickly. As a result, a lot of people have jumped to the conclusion that the same thing always happens in the forests...it doesn't.
We've had a lot rain this year where I live (rural, southwest Montana) and I've got grass and trees sprouting in places that there hasn't been any growth in for the last seven years. We have burns and extensive tree cuts that haven't had any reasonable new growth for at least the last three years that are now showing new plants everywhere. But extensive rains have made the difference and I'm sure that we will see it effect where the elk move to.
I live in a place where burns and extensive tree harvesting occurs and I can tell you that, in regards to elk, there is no canned answer to the OP's question. There are several things at play and the most important is that elk are browsers, not grazers, they have a pretty varied diet but they have preferences for certain foods. While grasses are important to their diet, they prefer specific grasses. At the same time, if there is no grass then they will eat the fresh tips of young trees and brush. They love forbs (flowering plants) but if they can't find them then they'll move to another food.
When a burn occurs, it can be so intense that it burns the nutrients out of the soil, in which case it takes a lot longer for plant grown to start again. Plants grow through a cycle and the types of browse that an elk will eat is mostly toward the end of that cycle. Grasses will start earlier in that cycle but, as I said, elk prefer specific grasses (bunch grass, wheat grass) and those are not the first of the grasses to regrow. Also, it takes water to make grasses and trees grow and if your hunting area doesn't get a lot of water then the plants will not grow back very quickly. Finally, elk don't mind going in to an open area to eat, but they usually prefer to be in a grassy area with trees close by, enough trees to provide cover, and they typically prefer pretty dense tree cover, just a handful of trees in the middle of a large burn wont work.
In my opinion, over the years, the idea that a burn makes a good hunting area of one of the old wives' tales. It used to be common for a farmer to burn off his fields so that he could eliminate weeds and other unwanted plants. Because this was farm land and the farmer then replanted after the burn, and there was regular rains, the new plants would grow pretty quickly. As a result, a lot of people have jumped to the conclusion that the same thing always happens in the forests...it doesn't.
We've had a lot rain this year where I live (rural, southwest Montana) and I've got grass and trees sprouting in places that there hasn't been any growth in for the last seven years. We have burns and extensive tree cuts that haven't had any reasonable new growth for at least the last three years that are now showing new plants everywhere. But extensive rains have made the difference and I'm sure that we will see it effect where the elk move to.
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