male narrator: WHAT WE SEE TODAY IS NOT HOW IT'S ALWAYS BEEN.
- THE OKLAHOMA LANDSCAPE BEFORE SETTLEMENT
WAS WIDE-OPEN PRAIRIE IN MOST CASES.
NOW, WHERE SOILS WERE COARSE TEXTURED,
PRECIPITATION HIGH, THOSE WOULD BE FOREST.
BUT THAT LANDSCAPE, IN FACT, AT SETTLEMENT, WAS OPEN,
OPEN FOREST.
AND WE MIGHT REFER TO THAT AS AN OPEN WOODLAND
OR A SAVANNAH, EVEN.
narrator: AT ONE TIME IN OKLAHOMA,
COWBOYS DROVE CATTLE ON THE SHAWNEE TRAIL
THROUGH THESE FORESTS,
AND NATIVE AMERICANS STANDING ON THE PRAIRIES
COULD SEE FROM HORIZON TO HORIZON.
- BEFORE EUROPEANS SETTLED HERE,
THE PRAIRIES AND FOREST WERE CONTROLLED BY FIRE.
narrator: THE TREES TELL THE STORY.
FIRES BURNED THROUGH THE PRAIRIES
AND FOREST AND SHRUBLANDS EVERY FEW YEARS.
FIRE WAS PART OF OKLAHOMA.
- MOST ALL THE NATIVE PLANT COMMUNITIES IN OKLAHOMA
ARE ADAPTED TO FIRE.
narrator: NATIVE AMERICANS USED FIRE TO IMPROVE HUNTING,
MAKE TRAVELING ACROSS THE COUNTRYSIDE EASIER,
AND EVEN AS A DEFENSE AGAINST THEIR ENEMIES.
THEY MANAGED THE LAND WITH FIRE.
- HISTORIC ACCOUNTS OF OKLAHOMA
TALK ABOUT NATIVE AMERICAN USE OF FIRE
AND IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT IN THEIR DAILY LIVES.
- A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE THE MISCONCEPTION
THAT IT'S UNNATURAL IF PEOPLE BURN.
WELL, IT'S QUITE UNNATURAL IF PEOPLE DON'T BURN,
BECAUSE LIGHTNING SET VERY FEW FIRES.
narrator: BY CONTROLLING THE FREQUENCY OF FIRE
AND SEASON OF THE BURN,
LANDOWNERS CAN RETURN TO A HISTORIC OKLAHOMA
WHILE MEETING THEIR NEEDS FOR THE LAND.
- FIRE IS VERY BENEFICIAL,
WHETHER YOU'RE ONLY INTERESTED IN WILDLIFE
OR YOU'RE ONLY INTERESTED IN LIVESTOCK
OR YOU'RE JUST INTERESTED
IN THE AESTHETIC BEAUTY OF THE LAND.
FIRE GETS US BACK TO WHAT IT HISTORICALLY USE TO LOOK LIKE.
narrator: WHAT THE STATE USED TO LOOK LIKE
WAS LARGELY DETERMINED BY THE TYPE OF SOIL
THE WEATHER, AND FIRE.
- COARSE-TEXTURED SOILS LIKE SANDY SOILS,
THAT'S WHERE MOST OF YOUR WOODY PLANTS GROW.
TIGHT SOILS LIKE REAL CLAY SOILS,
THOSE ARE MOSTLY WHERE HERBACEOUS PLANTS GROW.
AND SO WOODY PLANTS HAVE A HARD TIME
COLONIZING CLAY SITES.
narrator: THE WESTERN PART OF THE STATE
THAT RECEIVES THE LEAST AMOUNT OF RAIN
IS MOSTLY SHRUBLAND
COMPOSED LARGELY OF SAND SAGEBRUSH AND SHINNERY OAK.
IN EASTERN OKLAHOMA,
FORESTS GROW BECAUSE THERE IS MORE PRECIPITATION.
AND GRASSLANDS COVER THE CENTRAL PART OF THE STATE.
THIS IS HOW IT HAS BEEN FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS.
- YOU CAN MANIPULATE THE PLANT COMMUNITY
WITH A DISTURBANCE LIKE FIRE
BUT ONLY WITHIN THE BOUNDS THAT THE CLIMATE
AND THE SOILS WILL ALLOW FOR THAT SITE.
narrator: A LANDSCAPE
THAT HAS NOT SEEN FIRE FOR MANY YEARS
WILL HAVE A BUILD-UP OF UNDERSTORY BRUSH,
WOODY PLANTS, AND LITTER.
LIKE MULCH IN A GARDEN,
THE OLD GROWTH KEEPS NEW PLANTS FROM SPROUTING.
- DEAD MATERIAL FROM PREVIOUS YEARS ACCUMULATES,
AND THAT INSULATES THE SOIL
SO THAT IN THE SPRING, GREEN-UP IS SLOWER.
narrator: GIVEN ENOUGH TIME,
WOODY PLANTS WILL EVENTUALLY DOMINATE THE LANDSCAPE,
NOT ONLY IN THE FORESTS BUT THE PRAIRIES
AND SHRUBLANDS AS WELL.
- ON THE LARGE SCALE, WITHOUT FIRE
AND OVER A PERIOD OF TIME-- LET'S SAY FIVE TO TEN YEARS--
WE WILL SEE A SUCCESSIONAL CHANGE
TO DIFFERENT GROWTH FORM OF PLANT.
- IN OKLAHOMA, WE'LL HAVE A LOT OF SHRUBS,
AND IF YOU GO LONG ENOUGH,
EASTERN RED CEDAR WILL START TO TAKE OVER,
PARTICULARLY IF YOU ARE TALKING SEVEN, TEN YEARS POST-FIRE.
- IN JUST A FEW YEARS,
WE CAN ACTUALLY SEE, WITHOUT FIRE,
A CONVERSION OF PRAIRIE TO A RED CEDAR WOODLAND.
- GRASSES REQUIRE A LOT OF SUNLIGHT,
AND IF YOU HAVE AN OVERSTORY OF WOODY PLANTS,
GRASS ABUNDANCES IS GOING TO DECLINE ON A SITE.
[indistinct speech over radio]
narrator: A FIRE USES THE LITTER AS FUEL...
[fire crackling]
AND KNOCKS DOWN TALLER WOODY PLANTS,
EXPOSING THE SOIL TO THE SUN.
- THE SUNLIGHT IS CRITICAL IN THIS EQUATION.
- THERE IS MORE SOLAR RADIATION, OR SUNLIGHT,
THAT MEETS THE SURFACE.
IN THE SHORT TERM, THAT MEANS WARMER SOIL
AND PLANTS GROW BACK VERY RAPIDLY IN THE SPRING,
WHEN THE SOIL IS WARM.
THERE SIMPLY IS NOT SUCH A THING
AS A FIRE THAT'S SO INTENSE THAT THE SOIL IS STERILIZED
OR PLANTS ARE KILLED.
THEY ARE THERE, AND THEY WILL COME BACK.
narrator: THE FIRST PLANTS TO GROW ARE ANNUAL FORBS,
A GOOD SOURCE OF FOOD FOR WILDLIFE AND EVEN CATTLE.
- IF THE LANDOWNER IS PRIMARILY INTERESTED IN CATTLE PRODUCTION,
THEN THEY WOULD WANT TO BE BURNING FAIRLY FREQUENTLY,
PROBABLY EVERY COUPLE OF YEARS.
narrator: CATTLE ARE ATTRACTED TO THE NEW GROWTH
BECAUSE IT IS HIGHLY PALATABLE.
BUT GRAZING ON RECENTLY BURNED AREAS
CAN ALSO HELP PROFITABILITY.
- USING A FIRE DOES SEVERAL THINGS
FROM A CATTLE PRODUCTION STANDPOINT.
PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT
IS YOU GET A RAPID TILLERING OF NEW GRASS FROM THE ROOT,
AND THESE GRASSES ARE VERY HIGH IN CRUDE PROTEIN.
- WELL, STOCKER CATTLE PRODUCERS
IN THE FLINT HILLS IN OSAGE COUNTY OF OKLAHOMA
HAVE KNOWN FOR YEARS AND YEARS THAT ANNUAL BURNING
IS A GREAT BOON TO THE STOCKER INDUSTRY.
YOU CAN EXPECT A 10% TO 15% INCREASE IN CATTLE GAIN
JUST FROM FIRE.
- WHAT WE HAVE SEEN HERE IN STILLWATER
IS GOING FROM SOMEWHERE-- 4% TO 6% CRUDE PROTEIN
ALL THE WAY UP TO 16% TO 18% CRUDE PROTEIN
FOLLOWING A FIRE.
- JUST BETTER QUALITY,
JUST LIKE NUTRITION FOR ANY ANIMAL.
- ALSO, WHEN YOU BURN,
YOU REMOVE A LOT OF THE OLD PLANT MATERIAL.
SO IT MAKES IT MORE EFFICIENT FOR CATTLE
TO GET AT THAT NEW GROWTH.
THERE'S NOT AS MUCH OF THE OLD GROWTH
THAT'S LESS NUTRITIOUS FOR THEM TO HAVE TO DIG THROUGH.
EVEN THOUGH THE TOPS OF THE GRASSES ARE BURNED AWAY,
THE ROOTS REMAIN INTACT,
AND THAT WILL KEEP SOIL FROM ERODING
WHEN YOU HAVE PRECIPITATION.
narrator: DURING THE FIRST YEAR,
THE GRASSES WILL RESPROUT FROM THESE ROOTS.
MOST WOODY PLANTS WILL BEGIN GROWING SHORTLY THEREAFTER.
ONE OF THE BIGGEST BENEFITS WITH FIRE
IS THAT IT IS AN INEXPENSIVE WAY TO CONTROL EASTERN RED CEDAR.
- THESE PLANTS, WHEN THEY'RE TOP-KILLED BY FIRE,
THEY RAPIDLY RESPROUT.
REALLY, THE NOTABLE EXCEPTION TO THAT RULE
IS THE EASTERN RED CEDAR,
WHICH IS A FIRE-INTOLERANT WOODY PLANT.
IF IT'S TOP-KILLED BY A FIRE,
IT HAS TO COME BACK FROM A SEED SOURCE.
narrator: AND WOODY PLANTS THAT DO RETURN
ARE GRAZEABLE BY ANIMALS,
INCLUDING LIVESTOCK, DURING THE FIRST YEAR.
- WHEN YOU START USING
PRESCRIBED FIRE ON THE LANDSCAPE,
YOU'LL SEE THAT CATTLE DIET AND WILDLIFE DIET
IS MUCH BROADER
THAN YOU TYPICALLY WOULD HAVE IMAGINED IT TO BE.
SO FIRE REALLY CHANGES WHAT PLANTS ANIMALS CONSUME,
AND IT MAKES A LOT MORE PLANTS AVAILABLE
TO WILDLIFE AND CATTLE.
narrator: AS THESE SAME WOODY PLANTS MATURE,
THEY PROVIDE HABITAT FOR DEER.
- NATIVE AMERICANS BURNED BECAUSE THEY UNDERSTOOD
WHAT WE'RE JUST BEGINNING TO LEARN,
THAT IT ATTRACTS ANIMALS TO AN AREA,
THE MOST RECENTLY BURNED AREAS.
THEY WERE ABLE TO HUNT.
- IF YOU'RE TRYING TO MANAGE FOR WHITETAIL DEER,
THEY'RE BROWSERS, SO THEY LIKE A LOT OF WOODY PLANTS AND VINES.
SO ABOUT A FOUR-YEAR FIRE FREQUENCY
IN THIS PART OF THE COUNTRY IS ABOUT APPROPRIATE;
WHEREAS, QUAIL,
YOU'D WANT TO BURN A LITTLE MORE FREQUENTLY.
narrator: IF LEFT UNBURNED,
WOODY PLANTS WILL AGAIN COVER THE LANDSCAPE,
AND THE ABUNDANCE OF GRASSES AND FORBS WILL DECLINE.
- OKAY, FIRE FREQUENCY, YOU HAVE TO THINK OF THAT
IN THE CONTEXT OF A LANDSCAPE,
KNOWING THAT ANY GIVEN ACRE THAT BURNS
WILL BENEFIT SOME SPECIES AND NOT OTHERS.
SO IT'S NOT PERFECT FOR ANY ANIMAL
AT ANY GIVEN TIME,
BUT YOU ROTATE THAT FIRE ACROSS A RANCH
OR ACROSS A LANDSCAPE,
AND SO ANIMALS SHIFT THEIR HABITAT USE
BASED ON FIRE FREQUENCY.
narrator: WHILE FREQUENCY
IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT OF USING FIRE,
SEASON OF THE BURN IS ALSO A VALUABLE TOOL.
MOST BURNS IN OKLAHOMA ARE DONE IN MARCH,
DURING THE DORMANT GROWING SEASON.
- MARCH BEING THE WINDIEST MONTH IN OKLAHOMA,
IT'S DIFFICULT TO FIND
GOOD, SAFE CONDITIONS TO BURN UNDER.
SO SPREADING OUT YOUR BURN SEASON
OVER DIFFERENT PERIODS OF THE YEAR
CAN GIVE LANDOWNERS MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO BURN,
BUT IT ALSO CAN BRING DIFFERENT BENEFITS TO THE LAND
AND TO THEIR MANAGEMENT GOALS AND OBJECTIVES.
narrator: NEW GROWTH AFTER A FIRE IS MORE NUTRITIOUS
THAN OLDER GRASSES.
SUMMER BURNS CAN PROVIDE LOW-COST FOOD PLOTS
LATER IN THE SEASON.
- A LOT OF TIMES DURING LATE SUMMER,
THE NUTRITIONAL CONTENT, A LOT OF THE GRASSES AND STUFF
ARE DECLINING RAPIDLY.
- WE'VE FOUND YOU CAN BURN IN THE SUMMERTIME,
LIKE IN JULY, AND EXTEND THAT HIGH FORAGE QUALITY
RIGHT IN THROUGH THE LATE SUMMER AND THE FALL.
- WE CAN PEAK THOSE NUTRITIONAL QUALITY OF THOSE PLANTS
BACK UP TO BE JUST LIKE IT WAS BACK IN THE SPRING,
WHEN WE BURNED IN THE SPRING MONTHS.
narrator: SUMMER BURNS ALSO HAVE THE ADVANTAGE
OF USUALLY BEING LESS INTENSE AND EASIER TO CONTROL
BECAUSE THE PLANTS ARE ACTIVELY GROWING.
- EVEN DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS,
YOU KNOW, THINGS MAY LOOK REALLY GREEN,
BUT AGAIN, IF YOU GOT ENOUGH LITTER,
YOU KNOW, OLD GROWTH VEGETATION, LEFT,
YOU KNOW, THAT AREA WILL BURN.
YOU KNOW, THAT STUFF WILL BURN.
JUST BECAUSE IT'S GREEN, DON'T THINK IT WON'T BURN.
narrator: LANDOWNERS OF FOREST AREAS
HAVE ANOTHER OPTION.
THEY ALSO CAN CONSIDER A BURN AFTER A LEAF FALL.
- RIGHT AFTER IT FALLS IN NOVEMBER, DECEMBER,
THE FUELS AREN'T COMPACTED DOWN BECAUSE OF SNOW OR RAIN.
THEY'RE STILL-- LEAVES ARE FLUFFY.
THEY'RE DRIED OUT, THERE'S A WHOLE LOT OF THEM,
AND THINGS BURN A WHOLE LOT BETTER.
narrator: THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER
IS TO BE PATIENT WITH ANY BURN.
- WE'VE SEEN NOW THROUGH MANY YEARS OF RESEARCH
IN OKLAHOMA AND ELSEWHERE,
IS, THESE RANGELANDS ARE ADAPTED TO FIRE,
ADAPTED TO FIRE IN ANY SEASON, IN ANY CONDITION.
AND SO ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS WAIT.
- WE CANNOT PREDICT WHAT THE WEATHER IS GONNA DO.
WE CANNOT PREDICT HOW MUCH RAINFALL WE'RE GOING TO GET.
AND SO WE MAY GET INTO A DRY PERIOD.
WELL, AND YOU BURN THE AREA, AND THEN IT BECOMES DRY.
AND LOOK AT IT AND THINK, "WELL, THIS AREA DOESN'T LOOK GOOD.
THAT FIRE DIDN'T DO WELL."
WELL, COME BACK NEXT YEAR.
narrator: FIRE ALLOWS OKLAHOMA LANDOWNERS
TO WORK WITH THE LAND, NOT AGAINST IT.
AND BECAUSE THE LAND IS ADAPTED TO FIRE,
IT IS A SUSTAINABLE WAY TO MANAGE THE LAND.
- ONE OF THE VALUABLE THINGS ABOUT USING PRESCRIBED FIRE
IS THAT YOU'RE NOT ELIMINATING FUTURE OPTIONS,
SHINNERY OAK BEING A GOOD EXAMPLE.
IF YOU ELIMINATE IT WITH A HERBICIDE,
IT'S OFF THAT SITE.
IT WILL NOT BE THERE AGAIN IN YOUR LIFETIME.
AND YOU CAN MANIPULATE IT WITH FIRE
AND STILL HAVE THAT,
DEPENDING ON IF YOUR OBJECTIVES CHANGE
OR IF YOU DECIDE TO SELL THAT LAND
AND THE PURCHASER WANTS IT FOR DIFFERENT REASONS.
- BECAUSE THERE IS NOTHING THAT MIMICS FIRE
THAT WE CAN DO AS A MANAGEMENT TOOL.
MOWING DOES NOT MIMIC FIRE.
MECHANICALLY CUTTING CEDAR TREES DOES NOT MIMIC FIRE.
CHEMICALS OR HERBICIDES DO NOT MIMIC FIRE.
FIRE IS PART OF THE SYSTEM,
AND NOTHING MIMICS WHAT IT DOES ON OUR LANDSCAPE.
narrator: FIRE HAS A POSITIVE EFFECT
ON THE LANDSCAPE OF OKLAHOMA.