|
|||
|
|
||
|
|
How can fire help a desert toad that breeds in wetlands? The Nature Conservancy of Nevada is answering that question in the Mojave Desert — a seemingly inhospitable place for a water-dependent amphibian.
The Conservancy is conducting prescribed burns along the Mojave Desert wetlands of the Amargosa River in hopes of restoring the area's rare and unique species.
Chief among this wildlife is the Amargosa toad, whose numbers have drastically declined because its breeding pools and wetlands have been choked by cattails and reeds. And thus far, the first Torrance Ranch burn has proven amazingly successful.
Deciphering the History of the Wetlands
The natural processes that kept open these pools — located along the Conservancy's 130 acres of the Oasis Valley at Torrance Ranch — are somewhat of a mystery. However, it is known that Native Americans had burned Mojave wetlands and freshwater systems for basketry raw materials and for open water to attract waterfowl for hunting.
What is certain is that the pools have been choked with Mojave Desert vegetation for decades, without systems to naturally clear them for use by the native amphibian and fish species.
“We surmised that over 100 years of cattle grazing had led to manure deposits fertilizing the wetlands, therefore causing the current situation of overgrowth,” says Louis Provencher, ecologist for The Nature Conservancy in Nevada.
“There has been no evidence of natural pool creation within the past decade on the property," he adds. "And more significantly, artificially created pools have closed rapidly from bulrush and cattail growth.”
Burning Away the Excess
The Conservancy partnered with the Nevada Division of Forestry on the plans for the Torrance Ranch burn. Once plans were set, Jim Moore, the Conservancy’s Oasis Valley project director, notified neighbors.
“The neighbors of Torrance Ranch are few in number but great in terms of being valued partners to the Conservancy in the operation of our community-based conservation project in the Oasis Valley,” says Moore.
“Instead of resistance and concern for the possibility of damage to their own properties, I encountered high interest in seeing the results of the burn and the possibility of duplicating those efforts on their own properties for similar purposes.”
Once the site was prepared, the fire was applied using drip torches, which ensured vegetation was only ignited in discreet lines and not wholesale random patches.
Constant awareness of wind direction and speed allowed the crews to effectively “steer” the fire to burn only what was intended.
"With Nevada Department of Forestry fire crews on hand, weather conditions were great for helping us meet our objectives," said Jeremy Bailey, coordinator for the Conservancy's Global Fire Initiative. "The grasses were burned off and the spring-fed pools and creeks were exposed, improving potential habitat for native species."
Restoring Habitat and Hope
Subsequent surveys of the property in weeks following the burn have shown an incredible response to the fire:
-
Green wetland vegetation is rising above the ash.
-
Pacific tree frogs, a ubiquitous wetland species in the west, are calling, mating and laying eggs in the newly opened freshwater pools.
-
Oasis Valley speckled dace are feeding along cleared sections of the stream channels that for decades had been enclosed beneath the mat of profligate vegetation.
-
Aquatic birds such as herons and egrets can forage on the now exposed crayfish, assisting the Conservancy in knocking back this invasive aquatic predator.
And the Amargosa toad has a wide selection of open shallow pools in which to lay their strands of thousands of eggs — ensuring the future of this species within the Oasis Valley.
“The result of the fire was what we were hoping for," says Moore. "A wetland ecosystem with a patchy distribution of burned and unburned areas that are perfect for the habitat needs of the Amargosa toad, the speckled dace — a small fish — and a host of other species that call Torrance Ranch and the Oasis Valley home,” said Moore.
The partnerships coming out of the burn will prove productive as well.
“The Conservancy now has a meaningful partnership with a state agency that will allow us to conduct similar prescribed burns to serve as potential models of the use of fire as a tool for ecosystem management,” says Moore.
Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © Jim Moore (Torrance Ranch burn); Photo © USFWS (Amargosa Toad).
Join The Nature Conservancy on