We dedicated a good portion of my radio show Saturday to discussing the impact of the recent outbreak of wildfires in Colorado. I want to say that we did not cover much of the effects on lives and property. I certainly do not want to minimize how horrific that can be, but other types of news outlets and reporters do a great job of covering those issues. What we talked about was the impact on organizations, resources, wildlife, recreation and habitat.
Several guests from Colorado Parks and Wildlife joined me to cover various aspects. First was Kyle Davidson, who updated us on the status of a unique and endangered species of cutthroat trout. The Hayden Pass fire is roaring through the Sangre De Cristo wilderness fed by the extensive dead trees from beetle kill. Parks and Wildlife personnel felt both the northern and southern prongs of Hayden Creek had been devastated. This would have resulted in the extinction of a cousin of the Colorado greenback cutthroat that is found only in these waters.
Upon ability to gain access to the area, it was discovered that only the northern prong had been affected. There was another problem to be faced now. The large “burn scar” left huge areas covered with ash and devoid of vegetation to hold the soil in place. This meant that heavy rains would wash sediment and ash into the river which would result in fish kill and at least temporary loss of the habitat, much like we experienced with the Deckers area years ago. Action had to be taken. A plan was immediately implemented to remove many of the fish and relocate them, both to isolated hatchery facilities and other appropriate waters. Parks and wildlife is optimistic it will be able to preserve this species. Great work guys, but this also goes to my point that resources that were devoted to other activity had to be diverted because of a fire that we believe was started by lightning.
Next I was joined by Brad Gabrielski, the hunt plan coordinator from Colorado Parks and Wildlife. His main focus was to make people aware of the upcoming over the counter and left over big game licenses sales. We did feel it necessary because of the size of the recent fires and the fact they were not yet controlled, to discuss contingency plans for hunters whose selected hunt areas could be affected by the fires. Colorado Park and Wildlife is monitoring the situation. It will provide updates and what alternatives are available if certain “units” or areas are affected. This could be a refund, a transfer of a license to another area or just recommendations of areas to avoid. If you are currently planning your big game hunt (and you should be) you may want to stay in touch with a Colorado Parks and Wildlife hunt planner at 303-291-7526.
My last guest from Colorado Parks and Wildlife was Manda Walters, who is also a sergeant in the Colorado National Guard. Because of this she got to cover the Cold Spring Fire from a Blackhawk helicopter. Manda brought a unique perspective. First, of course, was the sadness due to the loss of property in this human-caused fire. There was extensive devastation. She also expressed a great sense of pride. In May she and the Guard had taken part in extensive training for just such an occurrence and she said it really paid off.
Besides CONG, participants in the Cold Springs Fire response included U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center, Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control, Boulder Office of Emergency Management, Boulder County Sheriff, fire departments from Colorado Springs, Longmont, and others, as well as student firefighters. Several of these agencies also participated in the May exercise. You can .
Manda and I then moved on to talk about the “good” effects of the fire. Colorado has experienced extensive beetle kill in recent years. These large areas of dead timber provide very poor habitat for wildlife and do not present very good opportunity for recreation. Nature has a way of healing itself. The immediate result of these fires seems devastating. There is loss of habitat and property.
Tremendous resources are called on, at great expense, to mitigate damage and control the fires, but removing the beetle kill is necessary to the revitalization of these areas. Soon we will see new growth of healthy vegetation. The habitat will thrive and the wildlife will return. A great example is the current state of Yellowstone National Park after the historic fires years past had devastated the park.
We should all strive to prevent fires. Our thanks go out to the many people who put their life on the line to control the damage and those who work to mitigate it after the fire, but out of these losses hopefully will come something even better.
Listen to the podcast of :
https://soundcloud.com/1043thefan/manda-walters-terry-wickstrom-outdoors-2
For more information on Jackson Lake State Park got to:
https://soundcloud.com/1043thefan/brad-gabrielski-terry-wickstrom-outdoors
https://soundcloud.com/1043thefan/kyle-davidson-terry-wickstrom-outdoors
Don’t forget to join us every Saturday morning at 9 a.m. for all your outdoor information on Terry Wickstrom Outdoors on 104.3 The Fan and follow me on .
