Why These Wyoming Prairie Fires Are A Good Thing

Wildfires have blown across Wyoming's grasslands for the past few weeks, destroying vital grazing land and homes.

Nobody likes dealing with all of that smoke. It can't be healthy.

But fire is a natural event that prairies have grown to depend on. There is an upside to all of this.

Fire is critical to the health and survival of prairies.

I found an article about the benefits of prairie wildfires by Chris Helzer, the Director of Science for The Nature Conservancy in Nebraska.

Prairie fires have been an integral part of prairies for a very long time, Writes Mr. Helzer.
Here are some things I think are true about fire in prairies:

He begins by pointing out that fire is one of three major forces (along with climate and grazing) responsible for creating, shaping, and sustaining prairie landscapes.

Yes, grazing is important to a healthy prarie. That includes cattle grazing.

Fire often eliminates invasive species, allowing the ones that are natural to the area to take over, since those that have been here longer are dependent on fire and most invasive species are not.

Expect a good spring on the prairie after a harsh fire season. Plants that begin their seasonal growth spurt right after the fire benefit greatly because it removes many of their competitors for light, nutrients, and moisture.

Fire will remove dead vegetation that has been clogging up new growth.

Fire exposes the soil beneath.

Sunlight hitting that soil can increase microbial and root activity, making nutrients more available to plants and triggering seed germination among some species.

Fire releases bound-up nitrogen from dead vegetation, sending most of it into the air as part of the smoke.

It releases vital CO2 into the air and into the soil that is desperately needed for growth.

Other nutrients, including phosphorus and potassium, stay behind in the ash.

People have been using fire to manage the land long before history was written down. Fire has been used since the end of the Pleistocene era (aka Ice Age) and the re-emergence of prairies in central North America, people have actively managed those grasslands with the strategic use of fire.

Because of this people and wildfires have become connected for survival. One needs the other.

With all that in mind, I think it’s fair to say that fire was an essential component in the development and persistence of the prairie ecosystem in central North America.

The consistent occurrence of fires set by people, as well as through lightning, kept prairie from becoming woodland.

To sum up, fire was one of the major reasons prairies developed and persisted following the last ice age. Writes Mr. Helzer.

Indigenous people’s strategic use of fire helped keep grasslands from becoming overwhelmed by trees and created the dynamic habitat and species diversity that maintained prairie resilience.

Read Mr. Chris Helzer at this link.