Drought And Forest Fires.

[jdmidwest]

We have just went thru the driest October in a long time. I think I only had a single 1/2" rain and that was last week when the big low front went thru. We have had alot of wind that has further dried things out coupled with very low humidity. The woods are a tinder box waiting to be fired up and alot of hunters will be hitting the woods for deer season soon, smoking and building camp fires. How many acres of timber will be burnt up this season if we don't rain soon? Should season be postponed till it rains?

[flytyer57]

We have just went thru the driest October in a long time. I think I only had a single 1/2" rain and that was last week when the big low front went thru. We have had alot of wind that has further dried things out coupled with very low humidity. The woods are a tinder box waiting to be fired up and alot of hunters will be hitting the woods for deer season soon, smoking and building camp fires. How many acres of timber will be burnt up this season if we don't rain soon? Should season be postponed till it rains?

No way. Shoot bambi and burn the trees. They just get in the way of seeing the forest.

[FishinCricket]

No way. Shoot bambi and burn the trees. They just get in the way of seeing the forest.

Thanks for the laugh... Lol

[ozark trout fisher]

It's a fair question. I am always meticulously careful with my fires, but I'll throw an extra bit of caution in.

It sounds like we may get some significant rain between now and then-early next week. I hope so- it's badly needed on many counts.

While I'll role with the punches if it's the smartest decision, I do hope opening day isn't moved back for purely selfish reasons. The thought of the first weekend of deer camp on a certain deep Ozark conservation area is what's getting me through right about now.

But as I said, I will be okay with any decision so long as it is best for the area.

[Justin Spencer]

We need more forest fires left to burn in this day and age, it helps regenerate the forest and open up the floor killing off maples, cedars and other trees that have very little wildlife value. Most forest fires burn slow because the woods are so thick that mainly the leaves are all that burns. If you get into an area of cedars however that can be a scary thing, but they really need burnt. Most houses should be safe here as long as some yard has been maintained. Hopefully everyone will be careful, but if not "burn baby burn". I don't see deer season ever being postponed due to dry weather and don't think it ever should be.

[eric1978]

We need more forest fires left to burn in this day and age, it helps regenerate the forest and open up the floor killing off maples, cedars and other trees that have very little wildlife value.

As long as those forest fires are a result of natural causes. If it's caused by a lightning strike, then so be it, but a fire caused by a cigarette or a campfire is a different story. And I don't see how maples and cedars have less "wildlife value" than any other flora.

[Outside Bend]

As long as those forest fires are a result of natural causes. If it's caused by a lightning strike, then so be it, but a fire caused by a cigarette or a campfire is a different story. And I don't see how maples and cedars have less "wildlife value" than any other flora.

They don't provide much food for deer, turkey, squirrels and the like, compared to oak, hickory, pine, etc. Nor are they of much timber value compared to other hardwoods.

I'm not sure how likely a major forest fire is in the state, but there's a lot of wind and ice-caused deadfall in some parts of the Ozarks, and I'd be concerned about it going up. Concerned enough to postpone deer season, especially when folks are inevitably be burning leaves and garbage and the like? I'm not sure.

[eric1978]

They don't provide much food for deer, turkey, squirrels and the like, compared to oak, hickory, pine, etc. Nor are they of much timber value compared to other hardwoods.

So since a cedar glade doesn't offer much food for animals, we should just torch it? Cedars grow in rocky areas where most other trees will not. They fill a niche. And I've never encountered an old-growth forest so choked with maples that no other trees can grow...they're usually interspersed among the oaks, hickories, and pines. Yeah, maybe a hillside that was clear-cut for timber came back as a dense jungle of silver maple saplings...but that was our fault anyway. Hard maples are a native species of tree and are of just as much value as nut-bearing trees.

If nature put it there, it belongs there. It's not our place to go burning what we consider to be of less "value."

[Outside Bend]

So since a cedar glade doesn't offer much food for animals, we should just torch it? Cedars grow in rocky areas where most other trees will not. They fill a niche. And I've never encountered an old-growth forest so choked with maples that no other trees can grow...they're usually interspersed among the oaks, hickories, and pines. Yeah, maybe a hillside that was clear-cut for timber came back as a dense jungle of silver maple saplings...but that was our fault anyway. Hard maples are a native species of tree and are of just as much value as nut-bearing trees.

If nature put it there, it belongs there. It's not our place to go burning what we consider to be of less "value."

From a wildlife perspective, they don't provide as much food as other hardwoods. From an economic perspective, they don't fetch as high a timber value as other hardwoods. You can't make staves from them, so what's the point?

Historically, maples weren't a dominant tree species in most of the state's forests. The state's forests were adapted to periodic burnings, and maples aren't particularly fire hardy. They did exist, even dominated, in a few areas- sheltered slopes and bottoms where fire didn't penetrate. Fire set the clock back on succession. It kept maples from becoming abundant. It restricted cedars to bluffs and other rocky areas. Fire removed leaf litter, exposing bare mineral soil for trees like pine to take root. Fire opened the canopy, allowing shade intolerant species like oak, hickory, walnut, and others to thrive.

Without fire to manage the forests the succession clock keeps going, and shade-intolerant species can't establish new seedlings. It's happening in many parts of the Ozarks and particularly along the hills of the Missouri River.

Removing fire from the equation is an unnatural situation too, just as unnatural as the current abundance of maple and cedar in the state.

[Wayne SW/MO]

Removing fire from the equation is an unnatural situation too, just as unnatural as the current abundance of maple and cedar in the state.

And oak. Pine were the dominate species and they were reasonably wild fire proof. Pines don't lay down a mat of debri that burns like leaves and their branch height gives some protection against fire climbing into the mast. Their seeds also benefit from fire. Realistically fire isn't the enemy of the forests survival, man is.