The Role of Fire in Nongame Wildlife Management and Community Restoration: Traditional Uses and New Directions

—Fire has been an imperative ecological force that has shaped the natural history andculture of the Southeastern Coastal Plain. In the past, humans have influenced the “ natural” roleof fire in the southeast, first by Native Americans, then by Spanish and other European settlement,and finally by modern culture. As human culture developed, fire, and how it influenced wildlifepopulations on both the landscape and local scales, became more and more removed from the setof environmental conditions that originally allowed it to shaped the biota of the southeasternlandscape. Presently, broad scale habitat fragmentation from urbanization, agriculture, andintensive forestry, has eliminated fire from much of the southeast. Also, at the present time,virtually all of the vertebrates in the southeast that are declining, threatened, or endangered requireopen forest conditions maintained by frequent fire. In the future, most fire in the southeast willprobably be relegated to isolated fragments of public lands, ecological preserves, and privatehunting plantations. However, there are some developments that have emerged from research, aswell as management experience and common sense, that have promise. For example, fire ecologistsand managers have learned to pay respect to the use of fire is emerging. Such an approachtranscends traditional single species, game management objectives, and incorporated considerationof how keystone native plants, arthropods, and other nongame vertebrates, respond to variation inseasonal fire applications, as well as to variation in fire return intervals. Tall Timbers Research Station, Tallahassee, FL 32312 The Role of Fire in Riparian Zones of the Northern Rocky Mountains Elaine K. Sutherland and Kevin McKelvey Abstract.—While the importance of riparian systems in the northern Rocky Mountains as sources ofproductivity and diversity is recognized, there is little information about the interaction betweenpattern and process. To sustain these areas, we need to understand the characteristics of disturbanceprocesses and how they result in patterns in these systems. There is mounting evidence that simplyprotecting riparian areas from fire and other disturbances results in unsustainable riparianconditions and deterioration of habitat for wildlife. Recent high-intensity fires, which in the pastwere probably uncharacteristic of the upland vegetation surrounding riparian zones, can result insoil erosion and sediment loading that can damage aquatic systems. However, low-intensity firesplay an important role in determining composition and structure in upland and streamsidevegetation, and consequently in contribution of vegetation debris to the aquatic system. Withoutlow-intensity fire, uplands and streamsides succeed to shade-tolerant coniferous species, withconsequently reduced dominance or loss of early-successional deciduous trees and shrubs. Thesealtered conditions can have important consequences for habitats of terrestrial and aquatic fauna.—While the importance of riparian systems in the northern Rocky Mountains as sources ofproductivity and diversity is recognized, there is little information about the interaction betweenpattern and process. To sustain these areas, we need to understand the characteristics of disturbanceprocesses and how they result in patterns in these systems. There is mounting evidence that simplyprotecting riparian areas from fire and other disturbances results in unsustainable riparianconditions and deterioration of habitat for wildlife. Recent high-intensity fires, which in the pastwere probably uncharacteristic of the upland vegetation surrounding riparian zones, can result insoil erosion and sediment loading that can damage aquatic systems. However, low-intensity firesplay an important role in determining composition and structure in upland and streamsidevegetation, and consequently in contribution of vegetation debris to the aquatic system. Withoutlow-intensity fire, uplands and streamsides succeed to shade-tolerant coniferous species, withconsequently reduced dominance or loss of early-successional deciduous trees and shrubs. Thesealtered conditions can have important consequences for habitats of terrestrial and aquatic fauna. 1Rocky Mountain Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Missoula, MT 59807