I was just looking at some news stories of the wildfires that are burning. Here in Wisconsin we do not get major fires like you do out west and even in Alaska. Obviously it changes trapping. But I was wondering if anyone has any first hand experience with it and pass on your observations?

Good topic. I've seen clear cuts discussed, but never wildfire areas.

Up here it depends on how hot the fire gets. If it is a fast moving fire that just burns the trees enough to knock a few over and burns the brush, it is helpful. If it gets really hot and moves slowly it heats the soil so hot that plants don't rejuvenate for many years.

The first instance creates new plant growth and therefore seeds and stems. This leads to high populations of voles. That, of course, attracts furbearers. The trees that fall provide cover for both prey and predator alike. This process may take a few years to develope and last several years until the plant life matures.

Just what I have seen happen.

White17, so what you are saying is that a wildfire area is hot after 2 or 3 years? Something for those boys down in Georgia to think about. A lot of national forest land got burned by a fast moving fire this spring.

Right Buck. It takes just about 3 years to start seeing a difference and it is usually most pronounced at the edges of the burn. It might happen faster in that Georgia climate.


OH. Maybe I misunderstood you Buck. No the area isn't hot, temperature wise. What happens in really hot fires is that the extreme heat kills all the nutrients in the soil and plants take a long time to grow back.

I also meant that it takes about three years for a fur population to show a response to the increased microtine populations and that response is most noticeable at the edges of the burned area.

He doesn't mean these fires burn for 3 years, just that they take a long time to cool down. If you want to see a long term fire check out some of the coal mine fires that have been buring for years.

And, Yes, we do get some long burning fires down here. It's fires than have burned down into the duff, or peat, or whatever you want to call it. Some of these fires can smoulder for years.

A burn over, or a wild burn can improve the trapping and deer hunting. The deer will move into a burn so soon, you'ld expect to see smoke rising from their hooves. They like to mouth the ash, it's sort of like salt to them - anyway they like it. They roam out into the ashes, and don't judt hang around the edges.

As trapping is concerned, the predators will move into a burn quickly. The first ones you see will be the hawks and owls looking for grilled prey. The buzzards won't be far behind them.
The canids and the 'cats have learned how much food doesn't make it out of a burn, and they move in quickly also looking for grilled goodies. If there is a cool way into the burn such as a skid road, or wider woods road, walk these places looking for sign. On points, and large limbs you can make more conventional sets. If you see signs of several animals veering of the road and into the woods, go see what they found to eat. You can make this work for you in several ways. Kick a small path down off the road into the burn, and use some good meat type baits/lures.

Bear in mind that the predators, like the deer, won't hold to the edges, they'll "get out there amongst them ashes".

I don't use a lot of this stuff, but I have used it effectivetly from time to time... , mix up 2 or 3 eye dropper DROPS of liquid smoke with your food lure. Now don't go adding gallons of liquid smoke to all your food lures, but try a little bit if you have a fresh burn to work with.

A lot of bird's nests, eggs, and fledglings get caught-up in a fire, controled or wild - makes no never-mind to the fire. If you collect birds' nests like I do, you can place it into a set, and add some of Mr. Red's special juice, that is 2 or 3 Never More Than 3, eyedropper DROPS of SFE, and stir around in and beside the "fallen" nests.

Don't do what one of my students did one time. He said, "Mr. Bill, that SFE jist don't work fer me".

Well, Hoss, how were you using it? "Jist like you said Mr. Bill. Jist a little tad, three eye dropper fulls of SFE in a ½ oz of water or urine".

Oh Well... .

If you have a chance to work a burn, give it a try. You can get real creative in a burn over.

Adios,
45/70,

By the area being "hot" after 2 or 3 years, I meant that it was a hot place to catch fur. I knew he meant it didn't burn for 3 years.

45/70 that's any interesting post. I don't know if you all have heard about the Peshtigo fire here in Wisconsin, it ocurred the same day as the famous Chicago fire so it didn't get the publicity although it was a much larger fire. I was reading about it and some of the reports said the same thing you did. Predators returned very quickly. Some of the birds, as they flew over the top of the fire got their wings singed and crashed right into it! Nasty stuff for sure.

I know we have had several big fires on the mountain here and it has taken several years to get the animals back into the burns, the big game animals come bach in fairly soon but it dont seem to bring the cats and coyotes back for awhile. I have one place that use to have a lot of cats in it burn, and they are still not back in there yet, and the fire was 4 years ago. I am sure it has to do with the brush and under cover, if there isn't any rabbits and samll rodents there is probably not going to be any preditors.

Right. Thats what I originally thought you meant

Don't know about the effects on fur, but it does improve the flow of honey. Fireweed makes some delicious and copius honey crops.