Scouting burns

[Stilpr]

First time elk hunter headed out to Colorado this year.

The unit I am planning on drawing in has a couple of burns I located using onX maps. Both are fairly recent, with in the last three years, but one is substantially larger than the other. Right now I’ve got them as my 1a and 1B spot to zone in on, but I have concerns on how to affectively long distance scout or plan my hunt without being able to put boots on the ground.

My plan right now is to locate features within the burn area that I would look for outside of a burn area, North facing slopes, benches, patients, and water sources. The problem is not being able to tell which areas with in the burn The problem is not being able to tell which periods with in the burn are actually regrowing or generating feed/cover etc.

I think I’m going to have to rely heavily on the local biologist for some info how the house specific areas are responding, but is there anything else I should be looking at or resources I should be looking at that would help me concentrate on a specific area with in those zones ?


Thanks in advance!

 

[idahohikker]

It's harder when google maps/earth hasn't updated it yet so you can't see it. I'm in that position with an area I've been e-scouting. The problem is if the area got torched by the fire. Then there may not be escape cover around or re-growth either for a few years. You can try to call the Forest Service and look through the inciweb daily reports for clues on that. Ultimately, you'll probably need to get boots on the ground to see how it looks and whether animals are hitting it. To not have all your eggs in one basket, you might want to pick another couple areas that you like in the immediate vicinity.

 

[rayporter]

I have only got experience around one burn but the elk were using it before the smoke cleared and the following year elk hit a lot.

so I don't think you have to search for a great spot in the burn. it will be a magnet.

 

[Campo]

Unit 76?


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[Stilpr]

Not 76...

 

[idahohikker]

You haven't received many responses. Maybe there will be more but here's a good past thread http://www.rokslide.com/forums/elk/73425-elk-bedding-burned.html I've been in many different burned areas. I've found many elk in them. I became concerned that elk wouldn't use hot burns (crown fires) that torch the topsoil, undergrowth, and old timber would not provide elk bedding cover. Some in the thread didn't think it was a huge problem but I think the majority position is if a burned area doesn't have any cover nearby that less elk would use that. I have read that on Fish and Game reports describing how fires are largely quite beneficial for elk in producing better forage but out-of-control fires can leave miles of elk country basically uninhabitable because it's just bare ground. I believe that was in the elk management plan.

The bottom line is that it's at least something to think about--burns are good but cover is still a basic elk need. Mosaic burns where some trees remain seem best to me. There's also the opportunity to hunt the edges of a burn where it likely wasn't burning as hot and there's still some cover on the other side of the mountain or whatever.

 

[idahohikker]

From the Idaho Elk Management Plan-said much better than I can. I'm interested to know if anyone disagrees with the scientists on wildlife and elk habitat. I think it's pretty much right on.

Wildfire is a major ecological force that helps maintain historical plant communities. Today, few factors play as critical a role in elk habitat
condition and health as wildfire. Historically, wildfires helped maintain a mosaic of plant communities across the landscape. Succession
of vegetation post-fire provided excellent forage and cover for elk. However, current wildfire frequencies have departed significantly from
historical regimes throughout many of the plant communities occupied by elk (Miller and Rose 1999). In general, current wildfire return intervals
are too frequent in low elevation shrub-steppe communities and too infrequent in mid- to upper elevation shrub and aspen-conifer communities
to create optimal elk habitat. For several years following a fire, many preferred elk forage species are enhanced by an increase in available nutrients (Asherin 1973, Leege 1979, DeByle et al. 1989). Fire improves the quality of forage under aspen stands (Gruell and Loope
1974, Canon 1985). Prescribed burning of shrubs in grand fir (Abies grandis) and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) forests increased
forage by reducing the height of tall shrubs and promoting growth of preferred forage species (Lyon 1971, Leege 1979).
Aspen-conifer communities provide important seasonal cover (security, calving, and thermal) and forage resources for elk in Idaho. Under
normal circumstances, aspen-dominated patches are often scattered throughout or on the edge of larger conifer-dominated stands, and conifer
encroachment is a natural process within aspen stands. However, aspen is well adapted to fire and other disturbances and aspen-dominated
stands were historically maintained through these processes (Jones and DeByle 1985). Historical fire frequencies in aspen-conifer communities ranged from 25 to 100 years (midrange 63 years) with a mixed pattern of severity (USDI 2004). Fires are currently much less frequent (≥100 years), increasing the potential for landscape-scale events (Tausch et al. 1981, Miller and Rose 1999, USDI 2004). The use of targeted mechanical and prescribed fire treatments in aspen communities subject to conifer encroachment can help improve stand conditions and increase the extent of aspendominated communities throughout the range of elk in Idaho. Shrub-steppe communities are a crucial component of elk winter range in central and southern Idaho. Historically, wildfires in low elevation sagebrush-steppe were small and patchy, resulting in a mosaic of burned,
recovering, and unburned lands (Howard 1999). By the mid-1900s, the combination of wildfire suppression and land use resulted in a trend
toward monotypic stands of woody plants (such as sagebrush and rabbitbrush [Chrysothamnus spp., Ericameria spp.]) and the loss of important
herbaceous understory vegetation. These factors, combined with the introduction and invasion of exotic annual grasses, have resulted in a current trend toward larger and more frequent wildfires in low elevation sagebrush-steppe communities (USDI 2004). After fires in shrubsteppe communities, annual grasses can out-compete native shrubs for water, thus preventing re-establishment of the shrub component.
The increase in fire frequency has decreased availability of quality forage, negatively altered structure of the plant community, increased patch size, and decreased patch diversity. These changes relate to how elk use these areas for foraging, bedding, security, and breeding. In general, decreased diversity and structure results in fewer areas that can inclusively meet the needs required during the annual cycle of healthy
elk herds. Large scale wildfires can also result in vast areas that are unusable to elk and currently cannot be effectively restored.[/B][/B]

 

[Stilpr]

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Topo_trekker]

You archery or rifle?


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[Stilpr]

Archery

 

[541hunter]

This last season while archery blacktail hunting in Oregon i focused on a burn area. I found that the fringe area between the areas of a higher intensity and lower intensity were great places to be. The higher intensity area sprouted green vegetation much quicker it seemed and the lower intensity area still held enough cover that the animals thought they were safe. This is probably due to their being less vegetative competition and crown cover in the higher intensity burn. With not a lot of experience hunting burns, I found the most intriguing thing to be is how safe the deer felt in the low intensity areas, yet with a short binocular work they weren't hard to pick up. I did see a lot of elk sign in the same type of areas.


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[Topo_trekker]

There's a old USGS map layer in onX. Look for the springs symbol and creeks that start on north slopes. Usually aspen groves around those areas. They will be the first to grow back. You can also get on google earth, make sure you select in the bottom corner the most current date. You'll be able to see regrowth even the year after. Burns are tough with archery, usually lower elevation 6-9k, dry too(not good for still hunting.) The guys that are successful in these burns either have a tree stand or second caller and a slick way to get in and out. If you can, have a plan c that is high(10k), with meadows or old clear cuts.


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[Stilpr]

Thank you for those responses! Focusing on the fringe area makes a lot of sense, especially leaning towards higher elevation. Great info on the USGS map to look for springs and creeks on the north slopes. This is exactly what I was looking for, areas within the burn to focus on. After these tips, I'm looking for the high altitude edges near springs/creeks.