Wildfire recovery

wytex

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May 17, 2016
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Wyoming
Went up into part of the Badger Creek fire, 2018, area to cut some firewood. Here are a few pics of the area we cut in this weekend.
Undergrowth of new aspen and lots of wild flowers and other lush undergrowth. This area was mainly Spruce/fir stands of timber with some pine and aspen interspersed.
Last weekend we cut just up the road in a pine stand that had very little regeneration of any kind yet, still bare soil.
The wildflowers were just beautiful, some of the biggest columbine blooms I have ever seen.
The fire did burn a pretty nice mosaic pattern, a good stand of unburned pine in an old clearcut just above this road.

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I've been through there a bunch the last two years. Pretty big difference between last year and this year. I love the wildflowers. Seen a bunch of elk, deer, and a few moose in the burn.
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We’ve been cutting wood in there as well. It’s been fun watching it green up. We have seen a bunch of moose, deer, and a few elk. It’s funny to me how you can have a completely burnt spot followed by a spot completely untouched less then 100yd away.
 
Wish more hunters appreciated how essential fires are to vegetative health and diversity. We commonly look at wildfire as THE ENEMY but in the mountain West, most of the forested vegetative types are fire dependent for their health. Logging can make lame attempts at replication but fails in many aspects and leaves legacy of roads and weeds. Appreciate these pictures plus observations of wildlife observed. Frankly our public lands needs more fire, not less.
 
Thanks for the photos. I've been itching to get up to the high country and get away.
 

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