Post-fire grazing on public lands: 2023 Cattlemen's Tour

2023 Tour Resources

Post-fire Grazing (Stop 1)

Key Considerations

• Rangeland vegetation response following fire is highly variable. Rest from grazing after wildfire may or may not be beneficial depending on circumstances surrounding the fire. Use field assessments rather than blanket policies or rules of thumb to make grazing decisions.
• A robust perennial grass component prior to the fire, low intensity burn, and good seasonal moisture are likely to reduce the need for grazing rest; conversely a struggling perennial grass component prior to the fire, high intensity burning, and drought conditions all may slow the rate perennial grass recovery and thus require grazing rest.
• Start work on repair or replacement of grazing infrastructure as soon as possible after the fire is out. Damaged fences and water developments may limit grazing opportunity even with a positive vegetation response.
• Livestock often prefer to graze burned areas over unburned areas, so grazing patterns might change following a fire. Timing of grazing use and livestock distribution strategies can help avoid concentrated use of perennial grasses during the growing season.

How is post-fire grazing different in the intermountain region compared to other parts of CA?

• Range management objective is to maintain perennial grass dominance and minimize invasive annuals such as cheatgrass and medusahead.
• Wildfires on grazing land in the intermountain region often occur on federally managed lands, thus the grazing plan must be developed with both the livestock operator and agency personnel to optimize short-term forage need and long-term rangeland health objectives.

References

Little, J., D., Lile, L. Snell, L. Roche. 2023. Rapid User Guide: Postfire Grazing on California's Intermountain Rangelands. https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/Details.aspx?itemNo=8730 

Clark, P. E., C. J. Williams, P. R. Kormos, and F. B. Pierson. 2018. Postfire grazing management effects on mesic sagebrush-steppe vegetation: Mid-summer grazing. Journal of Arid Environments 151:104–112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2017.10.005

Young, K. K. Dohrenwend, M. McEttrick, H. Grover. 2023. Controlling soil erosion after wildfire and guiding recovery in Southern Utah. https://extension.usu.edu/ecorestore/research/soil-erosion-after-wildfire-guiding-recovery

Post-fire Forest Management (Stop 3)

Statewide Context

• Wildfire severity and patch size are increasing across dry mixed conifer forests in California. (Williams 2023)
• Landscapes dominated by snags and shrubs can be vulnerable to driving future high severity fire within the next 10-20 years. (Coppoletta et al. 2016) Landscapes dominated by high concentrations of dead fuels and high-density live stands can drive mass fire behavior not predicted by operational fire behavior models (Stephens et al 2022 on the Creek Fire). These trends are contributing to landscape scale forest loss. (Steel et al 2022). 
• The Draft California Reforestation Strategy estimates that between 2019-2021 alone, high severity wildfire resulted in 1.7 million acres of type conversion from forest to non-forest types.  The majority of this estimated reforestation opportunity (approximately 1.1 million acres) is on public lands.  Between 2010 and 2020, the maximum annual rate of planting was approximately 35,000 acres in a year.  At this rate it would take it would take over 30 years to replant 3 years of high severity wildfire. 

Important Principles for Post-Fire Forest Management

• Reforestation of high severity fires is important for restoring forests and managing post-fire fuel loads.
• Plan for these areas to burn again.  Resilient post-fire restoration includes a focus of fuels management and planning for drought. 
• Investments in re-establishing forests need to include all the tools in the toolbox.
• Timing and responsiveness are important for ecologic outcomes and to mitigate economic loss.

Additional Information

USDA Forest Service PSW GTR-278:  Interventions to Restore Wildfire-Altered Forests in California

California Fire Science Consortium Brief on Managing fuel profiles in high severity burns

California Fire Science Consortium Brief on Prioritizing planting effort and heterogeneity in reforestation