Burning And Learning?

This domestic horse pasture was not burned by the wildfire that burned all around it due to reduced fine fuels, unlike all of the surrounding areas that had heavy fine fuel loading (upper right of photo). The pasture withstood embers as well.

by William E. Simpson II

Some initial observations of the positive effect that wild horses have on the fire regime

First let me say that after 7-days on the fire line, I am pretty beat... in order to make morning briefing at Camp Creek (aka D.P. 43) at 8:00, I have to wake up at 5 AM to get at least get some of my chores done, and then after attending to my writing when I get home, I hit the pillow about 11:00. So I have some token idea from this recent experience of what the firefighters are dealing with as to fatigue. And in this triple digit heat, firefighters wearing a full Nomex fire suit with a layer of cotton clothing is not helping.

Obviously our local 52 adult wild horses have very little spotty but good effect on fuel loading as ODF firefighter Jake K. said. This is because their work is spread-out over grass and brush fuels across about 2-thousand acres where they range. Nevertheless, their evolved signature mutualisms with forbs, plants and trees can be observed and are undeniable.

In this case someone installed a meter square cage over the ground to prevent any grazing by any horses. This cage was curiously located in some of the worst soils of the entire area, where the plant/grass density was scant compared to the majority of the area (note: in the subsequent photos, the horses are seen in more typical grass and brush areas, which are a mere 200 yards away from the test grid).

Burning And Learning? — One of nearly a hundred or more typical grass areas in and around the local OR-CA border near our ranch. This one is just 200 yards from the cage in the photo above and on the Hamrick ranch lands, which have the same local native-natural pasture we around the area. These grasses and light brush fuels kindle the heavier fuels in the landscape during wildfires. And when grasses and brush like this are not subject to a normal and natural level of grazing by large-bodied herbivores, the heat of the fire becomes abnormally high resulting in catastrophic wildfire, as opposed to normal wildfire we expect in the wilderness landscape. Given the severely depleted deer herds in CA and OR, wild horses are a wonderful and free option to protect our wilderness areas from total destruction by catastrophic level wildfire.

This juniper tree (above) was used by wild horses occasionally for shelter and they had grazed much of the fine fuel out from under it's lower canopy making the area under and around the tree more resilient to the wildfire. The Klamathon Wildfire burned within 20-30 feet of the tree and then ran out of fine fuel near the tree as a result of grazing by wild horses (note the horse droppings, which serve to fertilize the tree and re-seed the ground with native plants).

These horses are working the areas under these large pines and provide a symbiotic relationship that is undeniable.

This family of wild horses has created a nice low-fuel area between stands of conifers. These native species American wild horses are integral to a healthy forest ecosystem. Learn more about the latest science that tells us they are native and beneficial to North American ecosystems.

This natural mountain spring and large associated riparian area has been used daily for the past 4 months by the local wild horses. And they have used this water source regularly for the past 5-years to my personal knowledge (likely hundreds of years). As anyone can see, it remains virtually pristine.

Above photo showing a juniper that has been frequented by wild horses for shelter... this tree has not been subjected to wildfire, but as we see, it will likely fare well due to the lack of fine fuels and ladders under its canopy.

Over the past week of this disaster, I have been focusing on the fantastic work being done by the fire fighters while they are here, but I intend to spend much more time focused upon and recording the benefits of wild horses grazing in and around the local wilderness forests. The proof of their cost effective efficacy in reducing fine fuels in the landscape and thereby reducing wildfire severity, damage and suppression costs is obvious, even if at small scale with just ca. 52 wild horses. Currently we have just 7% of the estimated number of wild horses needed as a minimum in this immediate area in the provision of a substitute natural herbivory for depleted deer populations.

The best science tells us that overall effectiveness (including reducing initial and secondary costs of catastrophic wildfire) of wildfire grazing at scale is not linear, but scales in a somewhat logarithmic manner.

Wild Horse Fire Brigade would cost effectively devolve catastrophic wildfires to normal wildfires as seen in the wilderness area landscape in decades preceding the depletion of cervids in CA and OR, which previously provided a similar benefit to forest wilderness areas. It will takes many decades of very careful management to bring back our deer herds and that work can only begin after mountain lion populations are brought into check. In the meantime, we must protect their forest habitat until that day arrives, and given wild horses have co-evolved with all cervids on the north American continent, they are without any doubt the best tool for this critical and urgent job.