Prescribe Burns Restoring Muleshoe
Willcox, AZ...May 4, 2005—Riparian areas are springing back to life and surrounding semi-desert lands are reverting back into thick, robust grasslands as the result of four prescribed burns between 1995 and 2000 at the Muleshoe Ranch Cooperative Management Area.
The biggest burn benefit is water availability, suggested Preserve Manager Bob Rogers. “Grasslands act like a sponge holding water in the soil and allowing it to soak the ground,” he said. “Healthy grasslands mean a healthy water supply.”
Planned burns are used to restore damaged land to a healthy condition. Before the Muleshoe burns, totaling 17,000 acres, overgrazing and the absence of a formal fire regime had reduced perennial grass cover and promoted unwanted shrub growth. Also, after six years of severe drought, Muleshoe Ranch’s five perennial streams are running strong.
Some Muleshoe burns have encompassed up to 6,000 acres. Hot Springs Creek has sprung back to life, showing significant increases in aquatic habitat cover and depth resulting in an increased fish density, including the Gila chub.
Muleshoe burns will serve as a model for larger grasslands in the Southwest, added Director of Stewardship Ken Wiley: “You either have controlled, prescribed fires at ongoing intervals, or you have a catastrophic disaster every 120 years.”
###
|
Join The Nature Conservancy on