When the Fire Meets the Fuel

Guest post by Clemson Summer Program student CJ Linder -  

As we wrap up this first section of the course and think about what we have learned and noticed when exploring this section of Forests & Fire the thoughts of how this relates to agriculture and sustainability in the west are rolled around in my mind. This landscape of the Bull mountains has been shaped and molded by fire over many centuries. However, fire suppression has led to a buildup of fuels high above natural levels leading to bigger, faster, and more catastrophic fires which is reshaping the landscape now. So, in an attempt to keep livelihoods regarding agriculture and ranching safe and fire free, this area has been thrown out of balance. As we explored the property we did the fieldwork analyzing the different plots for woody species, fuel buildup and vegetation cover, which could become tedious at times, but felt rewarding when we finished and the importance was greatly emphasized by Dr. Hagans lessons regarding the differences in these plots. There are 4 treatments with the plots and each plot was a different combination of thinned and burned or unthinned and unburned. I noticed that the plots that had been thinned and burned were far more lush than unthinned and unburned plots which had far more fuel buildup and less vegetation covering the ground. These plots that hadn’t been burned also had very high unnatural levels of Ponderosa pines that as I mention later is far worse for the ecosystem and helps to lead to larger fires.

Learning the different plants in these plots and noticing the biodiversity changes with a simple change such as thinning of the ponderosa pines and burning of the understory fuels shows us how the ecosystem would have looked back before European settlement. This changed ecosystem was further emphasized by Jeff, Dustin, and Noah, with the Montana DNRC who get called in to manage and suppress large fires that have gotten out of hand. Jeff and Dustin actually worked the Bobcat fire that burned 30,000 acres including areas around the ranch that we are staying at. One of the main takeaways that I had from them was that Ponderosa pines have encroached upon the Bull mountains and that the mastication of these trees down to 25 trees/acre is needed to restore the ecosystem back to normal levels as this reduction of trees helps to prevent crown fires and increase the view factor leading to more light for native plants such as prairie smoke that don’t grow as well in the shade. However, Jeff and Dustin were much more focused on just the fuels in the given area and did not really know what the plants were but were seeming interested in the ecology of the area which shows that perceptions of this area are beginning to change, but this is where Noah really shined and with his position he was looking to do much more ecological restoration to help bring this land back to what it once was even though the land will never be exactly how it was before with huge fire compartments that burned every 2-40 years that were way less catastrophic than what we know today. Now when these fires start, a fire compartment is way smaller leading to longer durations between fires that lead to fuel buildup and more catastrophic fires that can kill all the trees and sometimes sterilize the soil leading to bare ground with no grasses.

Therefore, as we think of the people living here, ie. The ranchers, hunters, and the agriculture industry in general who sees fire as bad and it shouldn’t ever happen, it seems that this perception is beginning to shift ever so slightly as science, like the research that we are doing out here, is proving that fire is needed to maintain and sustain this ecosystem. Sustainability is a funny word as people think of it in different ways. But, to me it is maintaining what we have in a way that it can persevere so that future generations can inherit a functional landscape. The use of fire and thinning in order to reach a more biodiverse and sustainable ecosystem, is helping to sustain the wildlife populations here in Montana, but it is also helping to maintain the ranchers way of life as well. Because if catastrophic wildfires keep occurring and scaring the landscape and sterilizing the soil, you can’t grow grass, and if you can’t grow grass, you can’t run your cattle because they won’t have any feed and I don’t know about you, but I do like a nice hamburger or steak and would like for ranchers to be able to raise their cattle. Therefore, following the best science available is best for all the stakeholders in this ecosystem including the consumers.