Two late-season wildfires ripped by means of the center of Pennsylvania’s elk vary final week. One burned greater than 100 acres of forest in aptly named Elk County, whereas the hearth in Centre County burned greater than 800 acres. Both counties are within the central a part of the state, which is house to an estimated 1,400 elk, resulting in issues about potential results on the native herd. But wildlife managers say the fires might truly assist enhance elk habitat in the long term.
The Winslow Hill fireplace was first reported of Nov. 9, and it began someplace alongside Route 555 a pair miles east of the Elk Country Visitor Center close to Benezette. By 3:30 p.m., firefighters from 19 completely different corporations and 6 counties had responded to the blaze. The fireplace was contained roughly 9 hours later, and a spokesperson with the Pennsylvania Game Commission advised reporters that the reason for the hearth continues to be beneath investigation.
The Sandy Ridge fireplace, which additionally sparked on Nov. 9, was the results of a prescribed burn that obtained uncontrolled. It was contained by 10 p.m. that night, and crews with the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources put out the remaining hotspots the next day.
Because the fires burned by means of among the state’s prime elk habitat, some hunters and conservationists had been involved about unfavourable impacts to the herd and the general well being of the forest. But wildlife managers within the state point out that the burn is perhaps useful for the elk. This is as a result of fires are inclined to open up the forest cover, which permits extra daylight to penetrate and results in new vegetation progress—significantly the saplings that deer and elk like to browse on. The charring of the forest flooring can even add vitamins to the soil, which results in much more progress.
“In general, elk are just going to avoid the fires,” PGC elk biologist Jeremy Banfield tells Outdoor Life. “And then all they’re going to do is provide additional habitat opportunities through rejuvenation. Barring anybody’s personal property being burned up, generally, [the wildfires] are a good thing for elk.”
To Banfield’s level, no constructions burned in both fireplace, though one individual in Elk County needed to be rescued from his house and handled for minor smoke inhalation, in response to the Courier Express. The timing might even have been a lot worse. The state’s common elk season came about the week earlier than and ended on Nov. 5, so there have been no elk hunters within the woods when the fires occurred.
Still, it’s uncommon to have wildfires this late within the yr in Pennsylvania, with most burns going down within the late spring and early summer time. In 2021, for instance, there have been 1,371 fires reported all through the state, with solely seven incidents in October—and none of these burned greater than 5 acres.
“Wildfires in Pennsylvania are rare,” says Banfield. “I mean, it’s possible, but the sources of ignition are not nearly as common.”
What’s Good for the Ground Is Good for the Elk
The smaller Winslow Hill Fire was large enough for native information retailers to label it a “major forest fire”, although a 100-acre burn is minuscule in comparison with those seen in Western states, the place wildfires usually burn tens (if not tons of) of hundreds of acres. As a consequence, wildlife managers there are at all times studying extra in regards to the interaction between elk herds and forest fires.
In the aftermath of Colorado’s Cameron Peak Fire—the most important wildfire in state historical past— researchers with Colorado Parks and Wildlife launched a migration examine to determine how collared elk reacted to the burn. Their knowledge confirmed that most of the elk didn’t appear to be affected, with some remaining of their ordinary territories and persevering with to ship radio collar indicators from throughout the fireplace boundary. In the months that adopted the record-setting burn, researchers discovered that the elk inhabitants remained wholesome and that their total habitat had expanded.
“Now all of a sudden, that ground is getting nutrients that it didn’t have before,” senior CPW biologist Shannon Schaller advised native information retailers in November 2020. “This should really be a benefit to wildlife habitat and expand what we would call their homes or their available habitat.”
Banfield and different wildlife managers in Pennsylvania are hoping for a similar leads to their very own elk herd, which continues to increase yearly, and particularly during the last decade. In 2019, Pennsylvania hunters harvested a complete of 129 elk, which was greater than twice what they harvested within the 2010. The elk harvest already reached 90 up to now this yr, in response to early experiences by PGC, and there may be nonetheless one other looking season that runs from December 31 to Jan. 7. After that, the state will conduct its annual winter depend, which is able to give managers a greater thought of how the herd is faring after the fires.