Point Reyes wildfire reshaping coastal wilderness

Aug. 29--The Woodward wildfire burning in the Point Reyes National Seashore is altering the landscape and ecology there in ways not seen for almost 25 years.

Wildfires can have lasting impacts -- for good or ill -- on the region's natural environment and inhabitants, from pines to moths to mountain beavers.

Some plants such as the bishop pine require fire for their seeds to germinate. The flames can also clear away dense vegetation, making way for other species that had been crowded out for decades.

But fires can also destroy key habitat for wildlife such as the Point Reyes mountain beaver, which is unique to the park, and other species already under threat, such as the northern spotted owl or steelhead trout.

"In some areas, it may be quite some time before it's suitable wildlife habitat again," said Dave Press, a wildlife ecologist with the Point Reyes National Seashore.

As of Saturday, the fire had burned 3,072 acres with 10% containment.

The last major fire to occur in the park can offer some insight into what the Woodward fire's lingering environmental effects might be. However, there are key differences between the two conflagrations.

The Mount Vision fire was sparked by an illegal campfire in October 1995 and rapidly grew over three days. The fast-moving blaze burned more than 12,300 acres in the Inverness Ridge area and the Point Reyes National Seashore and destroyed 45 residences. It was the first major fire to occur in the region for nearly 60 years and led to a large restoration effort in the years that followed.

Former Marin County fire chief Ken Massucco, who was a captain at the time, said the combination of low humidity, wind and years of built-up organic litter turned the thick bishop pines into torches that scattered embers. The Woodward fire shares similarities in that some areas have not burned in decades, he said.

"Similar to what the firefighters are experiencing on the Woodward fire, the vegetation is so dense out there you can't really physically walk through it," Massucco said. "You have to cut your way through it."

About half of the acres burned in the Woodward fire previously burned in the Vision fire, according to Alison Forrestel of the National Park Service.

Forrestel, who is advising Woodward fire crews on how to prevent damage to park resources as part of their suppression efforts, has recorded how significantly fires can alter the West Marin landscape. As part of a 2011 study, she and other researchers found fire-dependent species such as bishop pine and the ceanothus scrub were able to drastically expand their distribution as coastal scrub was burned away by the Vision fire.

While the Woodward fire is not burning as much bishop pine, it is burning the regrown vegetation from after the Vision fire as well as untouched areas such as Douglas fir stands, which have more difficulty recovering.

"It'll be really interesting to see how the vegetation shifts," Forrestel said. "I would expect there to be some pretty big changes but I'm not sure what they will be. I think the landscape might have some surprises for us."

The landscape can quickly begin to regrow, though some trees will take far longer compared to scrub or manzanita, she said. However, park managers will need to be on watch for invasive species trying to claim the open landscape.

Ongoing drought conditions and the upcoming rain season will also have an impact on the landscape's recovery, she said.

Much of the regrown bishop pine from the Vision fire, for example, has been affected by both drought and a non-native pathogen called pine pitch canker, which has weakened and killed trees.

Should the Woodward fire move closer toward these pine stands, it could potentially become problematic, Massucco said.

"I would consider the footprint of the Vision fire to be in far worse shape now than when it burnt in 1995 because of the drought and the amount of bishop pines that were killed," he said.

The National Park Service recently began a study to determine the fire risk among these infected trees, Forrestel said

Some wildlife species suffered heavy losses in the Vision fire, but the impacts of the Woodward fire are not known at this time, Press said.

The scorched earth left behind from the Vision fire revealed thousands of Point Reyes mountain beaver burrows that were previously unknown. However, the flames were so intense that only an estimated 0.4% to 1.2% of the 5,000 beavers estimated to inhabit the fire area survived, according to a federal study.

The Woodward fire appears to be burning in the mountain beavers' range once again, but the impacts remain to be seen.

"Again, it's one of those situations where the impact may depend on how hot the fire burns," Press said. "If it's a low-intensity fire then the mountain beavers may survive OK down in their holes."

The Woodward fire has burned through potentially two known northern spotted owl territories as well. The owl, which is recognized as threatened species, nests in older trees. However, the fire appears to be burning mostly in the understory and is slow moving, which may reduce the habitat damage and allow owls plenty of time to escape the flames, Press said.

"Fortunately we are not in the nesting season right now," Press said, noting that the season ends in early June.

Loss of vegetation can also lead to erosion, which can impact local creeks and threatened species such as California red-legged frog and steelhead trout, Press said.

The iconic tule elk herds at Point Reyes are not under any immediate threat from the Woodward fire, according to Press.

The closest herd to the fire, the 164-member Limantour herd, can sometimes range to the open chaparral and grassland near Coast Campground, Press said.

"Based on the slow growth initially of this fire, the elk would have had plenty of time to move in the northwest direction to the Muddy Hollow and Glenbrook drainages to move away from the fire," Press said.

The 138-member Drakes Beach herd is separated from the fires by Drakes Estero.

Much of the attention among environmental groups and activists has been on the 445-member Tomales Point elk herd, despite it being 9 miles to the north of the fire.

Even before the fire began, Diana Oppenheim -- a former park volunteer and founder of the forELK advocacy group -- said she and others have called on park officials to allow the elk to pass through the 3-mile, 8-foot-tall fence that separates the elk preserve from ranching land to the south. The group is one of several advocating for the removal of ranching operations in the national seashore in favor tule elk.

Opening the gates or removing the fence entirely, she said, would address two issues: It would allow the elk a chance to escape from the peninsula should the fire move closer and allow them to search for more water sources. Oppenheim said observers have found that there are very few water sources in the preserve, with stock ponds left behind from the former ranching activity drying up. At least five dead elk have been found in the preserve, she said.

Oppenheim argues there are similarities to the drought conditions experienced when 250 of about 500 elk in the preserve died between 2012 and 2014.

"We talked to biologists and ecologists and we are kind of seeing this as a red flag toward another mass elk dieoff," she said.

Press said the concerns are based on misconceptions about the water sources in the preserve. The stock ponds regularly go dry, but the elk have other water sources such as seeps and springs, including one that runs to McClure Beach, Press said. These sources have been monitored since July, he said.

"We feel comfortable with the levels of water we're seeing out there," Press said.

Oppenheim argues there isn't enough water in the preserve to sustain the herd and that, at a minimum, water should be trucked into the preserve at a minimum.

As for the dead elk, Press said the number and cause of the deaths has not been confirmed. Park staff perform a census on the elk herds once a year and do not actively survey for dead elk within the park throughout the year, Press said.

As of now, the drought conditions are not as severe as when the 2012-14 die-off occurred, Press said.

"On the other hand, we don't know when the significant winter rains are going to return this year, so we will need to keep our eyes on the situation out there," Press said.

Trucking water into the preserve is not warranted at this time, but water could be brought out to troughs should the need arise, Press said.

Should the fire become a threat to the Tomales Point herd, Press said the park could open the fence. However, he said, the fire is currently burning north so the elk would likely flee further north on the peninsula.

"This Woodward fire is a major event and it's affecting our park significantly but it will not impact Tomales Point," Press said.

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