Interpretive Summary: Wildfire Recovery for Rangeland Grazing Operations
By: Doug Tolleson | Chief Scientist, Texas A&M AgriLife - Sonora Research Station
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a wildfire is “an unplanned, unwanted fire burning in a natural area, such as a forest, grassland, or prairie. Wildfires can start from natural causes, such as lightning, but most are caused by humans, either accidentally or intentionally. Wildfires can damage natural resources, destroy homes, and threaten human lives and safety”. As of this writing, just after the ASAS/CSAS/WSASAS Annual Meeting in Calgary, approximately 89,000 acres of mountainous terrain are on fire in and around Jasper National Park in Alberta and British Columbia. The historic town of Jasper has sustained serious damage. There are also over 100 large active fires currently burning in the US.
This type of news is not uncommon on range and forest lands. In significant livestock producing areas of both the US and Canada, wildfires are a fact of life. Earlier this year, the Smokehouse Creek Fire in the Texas panhandle burned a total of 1,075,000 acres. This fire has now become the largest in recorded Texas history. In its blackened wake were lost lives and property. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service released a statement on May 7 outlining the damage: more than 1.2 million acres burned and more than 12,000 cattle died. Monetarily, some $68.7 million was lost in ranch infrastructure, $26 million in long-term grazing damage, and $27 million in cattle losses which includes both cows and the estimated season’s calf crop. Another $1 million is attributed to disposal costs. The true total number of livestock lost may never be known as surviving cattle roamed across land without fences, and as ranchers made the difficult decisions of trying to save or put down injured animals. Andy Holloway, a Hemphill County extension agent is quoted as saying: “Historic homes and ranches burned to the ground — literally museums to our region and way of life. Genetics bred into cows over decades, and generations have been lost. Historic trees used as land markers by the early pioneers are gone. This is the hidden cost that deeply affects our ranchers and way of life.” The effects of this fire will thus accrue for years to come as producers, families, and communities rebuild.
But, as is typical of agricultural communities, neighbors and strangers alike pitched in to help those affected by the Smokehouse Creek Fire. In addition to firefighters and other emergency first responders, residents tell of countless volunteers helping to do whatever needed to be done…organizing relief efforts, hauling hay and water, cooking meals, or gathering cattle. There are also government and private sources of aid to producers who unfortunately find themselves in need of disaster relief. On the federal side, a good starting place to find disaster relief is available at https://www.usda.gov/topics/disaster-resource-center. The Texas Farm Bureau is an example of a private organization that provides a clearing house of private, state and federal government aid opportunities, including for those who want to contribute. There are many others.
If there is a silver lining to wildfires on rangeland it is this; unlike fences, buildings, and other ranching infrastructure, rangelands are usually inherently resilient to fire and in many cases, depend on periodic fires to remain productive and healthy. However, recovery from a fire depends on many factors. These may include pre-fire range condition, fire severity, time of the year, previous prescribed fires, and perhaps most importantly, the amount, timing and distribution of post-fire precipitation. Severely burned land that does not receive adequate well-timed moisture after a fire is more susceptible to erosion when rain does come, especially if it comes as a downpour. Disturbed soil also favors the establishment of invasive plants.
Recovery from wildfire is difficult, the effects can be traumatic and long lasting. Disaster relief efforts, especially neighbors helping neighbors, can mitigate these effects and facilitate recovery. Contingency planning, including the application of prescribed fire and targeted grazing, will help prevent or at least lessen these effects in the future.
