Efforts to manage forests and mitigate wildfire damage are intensifying in the Southwest, focusing on the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico. A collaborative study has been conducted to understand the effects of fire and thinning on black bears across a vast area of 1,400 square miles.
Researchers utilized radio collars on bears to observe their habitat preferences in regions that had undergone different recovery phases following wildfire, prescribed burns, or thinning treatments. Additional factors, such as the landscape’s topography, were also considered.
The study revealed that forests exhibiting “pyro diversity,” which have variously-aged burn patches, are beneficial for bears.
During spring and summer, bears tend to steer clear of forests that have been recently thinned or subjected to severe fires, opting instead for areas recently burned at low to moderate intensity. These areas, with their open canopies and nutrient-rich ground, encourage the growth of grasses, forbs, and shrubs, providing both cover and food sources like wild raspberries and thimbleberries that bears favor.
In the fall, when bears enter “hyperphagia,” their feeding frenzy in preparation for hibernation, they shift to forests impacted by older fires. These environments, particularly those with oak trees providing acorns and berry-bearing shrubs, are ideal for bears seeking to increase their weight.
Throughout the year, bears consistently avoid newly thinned areas that lack sufficient cover, showing a marked preference for the rejuvenating effects of fire on their habitats.
The ability to find secluded spots for feeding and resting appears to be a crucial aspect of bear habitat preference.
This research was led by James Cain from the U.S.G.S. New Mexico Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and Matthew Keeling, a graduate student in the Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Ecology at New Mexico State University, who contributed the findings for this report.
This Earth Note was written by Diane Hope and produced by KNAU and the Sustainable Communities Program at Northern Arizona University.
—
Read More Arizona News
