Colorado Parks and Wildlife release podcast on wildfires and wildlife
Colorado Park and Wildlife released a podcast Friday, discussing the influence of the recent wildfires on wildlife.
This year, three of the largest wildfires in state history have occurred, burning over 600,000 acres. The two largest, the Cameron Peak and East Troublesome fires, are still burning.
In the podcast, CPW senior wildlife biologist Shannon Schaller talks about why this is good and bad for local wildlife.
Schaller said wildlife can usually smell and hear a fire coming and get out of the way long before it reaches them. While the old and sick don’t typically make it, most of the wildlife will escape unharmed.
“For the most part, they are totally adapted to survival of the fittest,” Schaller said.
Recent wildfires have also come at a time when few babies are on the ground.
However, Schaller said the East Troublesome fire moved faster than most. While CPW has not yet been able to assess the loss, Schaller said she anticipates the East Troublesome fire resulted in many casualties from wildlife who couldn’t run fast enough.
“We don’t really know what the effects are on the ground until we can get in there and look,” Schaller said.
Though, the area’s wildlife won’t be gone for long. Schaller said wildlife is attracted to post-fire areas as the fire rejuvenates the landscape by exposing vegetation under the ground to nutrients and sunlight.
CPW has been tracking the behavior of wildlife to see how they respond to the fires and what long-term effects the fires may have.
Near the Cameron Peak burn area, 30 elk are being tracked with GPS collars.
Schaller said CPW will use this information to figure out how to better prepare for wildfires in the future.
The podcast also discusses wildfire’s effect on waterways and how the fires will influence the state moving forward. CPW’s senior aquatic biologist Jeff Spohn and forest habitat coordinator Casey Cooley touch on those subjects.
The podcast was the newest episode of CPW’s “Colorado Outdoor” podcast series.
The episode is available at art19.com/shows/colorado-outdoors/episodes.