DeerTexas.com

The U.S. Forest Service has reported 8,000 fires in Texas this year. At least 20 fires remained active last week.  Only 2 of the 254 counties in Texas have escaped wildfires so far this year and the state is in serious drought conditions.  Experts fear that wildlife has taken a big hit.  Even if game animals and game birds escaped the fires, the charred land left behind may not support the game that is left.  As with cattle, the rangeland can only support a certain amount of animals.

High winds fanned the flames of most wildfires making it difficult for firefighters.  Most deer and other large game can outflank wildfires on large properties, but many of those behind high fences on smaller parcels have been doomed as wildfires consumed the smaller enclosures. 

The fires come at a crucial time for turkeys.  Turkeys can avoid the fires pretty easily, but their nests and eggs will be fried.  There will be fewer young birds this season.  Scorched rangeland leaves little forage for deer at a time when the mothers need nourishment for fawns dropped in June.  Bucks also need the extra nutrition in late spring for strong antler development.  The prospects for trophy bucks will therefore be slim in many areas of the state.  There have also been reports of pronghorn being killed by the fires in the west Texas areas around Alpine and Marfa.

Prescribed burns and small accidental fires produce beneficial results to plants by removing weeds, providing sunlight-dependent vegetation with more sun and removing parasites, such as ticks, fleas and flies. Large wildfires, like the one that continues in Palo Pinto County, can have long-lasting negative impacts.  The wildfires around Possum Kingdom Lake reportedly have burned more than 150,000 acres and remain uncontained. Livestock as well as wildlife have been killed or displaced.

The loss of shelter to wildlife by a wildfire also is critical. Shelter not only provides places for animals to avoid predators but also helps conserve energy. When supplies are low, animals spend more time searching for food and water to maintain their body conditions. Thus, wildfires put animals in great stress.

Wildlife experts say it may take months or a few years for many burned-out areas to recover adequately to support wildlife. Plants and animals will recover, but there is little that can be done to speed the recovery.