"The Blackrock fire destroyed important mule deer winter range. Up to 1,000 mule deer use this area during severe winters," said Idaho Fish and Game Regional Wildlife Manger Carl Anderson. "People traveling I-15 south of Pocatello in winter often see deer above the freeway on the hillsides. Deer use these south facing slopes and the canyons in this area to survive winter."

The smoke billowed out of Blackrock Canyon and over the mountain into Pocatello over the holiday weekend. Flames could be seen just off the freeway. A week later the area is blackened with white tuffs of ash. In places, the fire was so hot everything was incinerated, in others small patches of trees and some bitterbrush were spared. Most of the area is a moonscape.

The Bureau Of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, Pocatello and Inkom fire departments worked on the fire over the weekend. Key drops of fire retardant saved houses in the area. BLM had 175 people fighting the fire. Little could be done to save the big sage and bitterbrush plants that make up the bulk of the winter food use by mule deer.

Lost efforts

"Fish and Game has planted bitterbrush in this area since the mid-1990s," said Idaho Fish and Game Regional Habitat Manager Paul Wackenhut. "Working with volunteer groups and BLM, we have planted over 4,000 seedlings in the Blackrock area over the last 10 years alone. This is a real loss."

High school students from all three of Pocatello's schools have volunteered time and put lots of effort into helping plant thousands of bitterbrush seedlings in this area to help deer. It was an area that kids could point to and say, "See those deer on the hillside. I planted winter food for them."

Jim Mende Regional Environmental Biologist for Idaho Fish and Game will be on an inter agency rehabilitation team.

"It is important to keep in perspective what it takes to rehabilitate this area. Approximately 4,000 seedlings are needed to restore one acre to normal bitterbrush densities. Restoration takes time. It takes about 10 years of growth before bitterbrush is mature enough to provide winter forage," said Mende.

Rehabilitation is a slow process and even slower during a drought. Man can make a difference with modern seeding technology. But it is not possible to do a quick fix on what took native plant communities decades to develop. This negatively affects migrating deer herds returning to the Blackrock area for many winters to come.

According to Rick Martin of BLM, a rehabilitation and planning team is being put together immediately to consider what actions need to be taken to restore deer winter range. Plant rehabilitation, erosion, OHV use and noxious weed invasion are also key issues.

30 years to recover?

One careless act will affect wildlife in the Blackrock area for the next 30 years according to Wackenhut. Critical winter range takes decades to rejuvenate. This will cause winter wildlife losses down the line. The major effects of the fire are yet to be seen.

We do not have an estimate of wildlife destroyed by the fire's flames. Anderson points out that most of the deer activity is winter related but resident deer are immediately affected along with chukars, some sage grouse, blue and ruffed grouse that use the aspen stands that burned and a host of ground dwelling creatures from mice to badgers.