Wildlife is likely to thrive after fire

Doing fine, thanks... photo by Jim Anderson

BEND, Ore. (AP) -- 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.

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.

"They are very capable of getting out of the fire's way also," he said.

"Most of the animals killed by the fire are probably smaller creatures, such as rabbits and squirrels."

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.

Different parts of the forest will grow back faster than others, depending partly on moisture and burn patterns.

George said he's seen estimates that about 10 percent of the burned area was consumed at a high intensity, meaning it will probably take longer for plants to establish themselves in those spots.