Out-of-control fire becomes unexpected blessing
Published at | Updated at
When someone gives you a load of manure, make fertilizer – or – if a fire gets out of control, use the burned area to benefit waterfowl, wildlife and recreationalists. Everyone wins when apparent negatives are turned into positives.
Last fall when an attempted control burn got uncontrolled at the Sand Creek Wildlife Management Area, the personnel of the Department of Fish and Game had some choices to make. They chose to make positives out of what appeared to be a negative.
“Sand Creek Pond #2 had become a biological desert,” explained Aaron McKarley, Wildlife Technician, stationed at Chester Wetlands and Sand Creek Wildlife Management Area. “It has silted in and in places the peat is so thick it feels like you are walking on a sponge.”
With financial help from the Teton Land Trust, the Department of Fish and Game is in the process of renovating the pond to benefit waterfowl nesting and habitat.
“We want it to resemble a natural wetland by putting three small ponds hooked together by a meandering stream,” McKarley said. “Last spring we had thousands of waterfowl migrate through Sand Creek and this will give them another place to feed and rest on. We hope it will also give Trumpeter swans another place for a nest.”
The small ponds will be about three feet deep with small islands in them. When Pond #2 was originally built, a channel was dug for a stream to come straight through the middle to the rock dam; not producing much area for nesting waterfowl. With the meandering stream and the small ponds containing islands, nesting waterfowl will have many more opportunities to raise their broods.
“Fish will not be stocked in Pond #2 or Pond #3, but we will allow waterfowl hunters to use these ponds,” McKarley explained. “That will give fishermen three ponds (Blue Creek, Pond #1 and #4) where fish will be planted leaving the other two for waterfowl to use.”
What water has seeped into the ponds and stream bed are now frozen. Next spring, runoff along with the flow from Blue Creek through Pond #1 will hopefully fill the newly renovated area.
“We hope the small ponds will fill and the water will flow through the stream, bringing more usable habitat for the waterfowl,” Eric Anderson, the Regional Habitat Biologist at Sand Creek said during a recent walk through the renovated area. “We will evaluate what needs to be done as we see how the changes work.”
During the September fire, a fire line was built around it that extends from the dam on Pond #2 up the hill to the east and north, then coming west, joining Blue Creek above the Blue Creek Pond. Plans are not in the works to develop them into a nature trail because some hills are too steep. But people will be allowed to use the fire lines as part of the trail system already developed there.
The burned area will be seeded next spring with native grasses and forbs to keep the weeds from taking over and create food for wildlife. Seeding was planned for last fall, but the seeds did not arrive in time to be planted. Even though the fire was not planned to be as big as it was, many felt it was a good thing.
“The fired burned a lot of brush that was too thick to be utilized and we may look at other areas on the WMA for future controlled burning,” said McKarley. “The back-burning in the bottom of the canyon really improved that area and will generate new aspen growth for the large animals to use.”
“Aspen needs sunlight to grow and with the back burning aspen should regenerated in the canyon,” agreed Anderson. “It will be interesting to see what happens.”
Unintended actions can result in blessings for all concerned – reminds one of an old song, “Thank heaven for unanswered prayers.”