A cedar wasteland rebirth?

     The Anderson Creek Fire started on March 22 and burned unfettered for days regardless of valiant efforts by hundreds of firefighters and at least 130 various fire units. In its wake were 400,000 scorched acres of rangeland and cedar stands. Although some homes and many miles of fences were destroyed, amazingly no people were killed. We are all so very thankful! We have enjoyed a few weeks of recovery thanks to some very strategic precipitation events. It's not surprising to see the rangeland bounce back so nicely since prairies depend not only on rain but also periodic burns for replenishment. This keeps invasives such as eastern redcedar from the uplands as well. What will be very interesting will be how the grasslands within cedar forests respond. This particular set of photopoints depicts the slow greening of the soil beneath such a cedar forest. Where soil chemistry has been changed from the cedars, it will be a slow and difficult recovery, but some greening is happening in this once quite sterile environment. Ideally, all these old dead skeletons can be removed if soil disturbance can be kept to a minimum. Erosion is going to be a serious issue so it is very important to see some plants establish as soon as possible. Although frustratingly slow in the cedar forest wasteland, it is happening. 

The prairie is responding spectacularly to
the burn and the precipitation
in just four weeks. The cedar forest areas
are going to take a lot longer!

April 7 about two weeks after this area burned

April 23, about a month after the burn

May 15, about six weeks after the burn

     Six weeks from the initiation of the Anderson Creek Fire, some resprouting of some plants is occurring in the spaces between the cedar skeletons. Little is germinating immediately beneath the dead trees but hopefully at least something will eventually establish in order to help hold the soil in place. Even though these cedars are dead and no longer suck valuable water from the subsurface, they take up space and prevent cattle and deer from foraging in and moving through these areas. 

Next in the fire series--the immaculate restoration. 

A Herping Weekend in the Red Hills

     The spring field trip of the Kansas Herpetological Society was centered this year at Clark State Fishing Lake in Clark County. This area is in the western portion of the Red Hills. While red dirt is seen in areas south of the lake, the country in this more northern part of the county is among the most attractive landscapes in the state. And this was a very fitting place for dozens of herpers to go looking for amphibians and reptiles. The weather was less than desirable for trying to find cold-blooded animals but these herpers were up to the challenge. On a wet and cold first night, many toads, frogs and salamanders were enjoying the rains. For the rest of the weekend, the herpetologists looked under the ample number of rocks in the area and found many interesting critters--snakes of all sizes, scorpions, giant desert centipedes and lizards. These are the best of times for so many young and old alike who enjoy discovering natural Kansas. Many thanks to Travis Taggart and the Kansas Herpetological Society for making arrangements and sponsoring this event.

Clark State Fishing Lake and the area around it is
among the most picturesque in Kansas-a true gem!

Dozens of herpers, including many youth,
 enjoy the day's "catch." Most all the specimens
were released after sufficient study and
entertainment was had by all.

The Eastern Collared Lizard was one of the
most common inhabitants hiding under rocks.

A North American Racer
(formerly Blue Racer) was a
first catch for the weekend.

Western Tiger Salamanders were a hit!

Kids gather around a Great Plains
Rat Snake to get good pics.

The rat snake demonstrated
good climbing ability even in
the cold weather.

Girls don't like snakes?
Are you kiddin me?!

A big part of the allure of the Clark
State Fishing Lake area is the beautiful
country including the charming wildflowers.

A beautiful sunset at the lake capped off
a fun-filled and educational Saturday for
the 2016 spring field trip.

Night Fire

     Wildfire is still on the minds of Red Hills residents. However, prescribed burns are still much needed in grasslands to maintain healthy rangeland. This is not an attempt to highlight any issues, effects, or opinions related to fire on the landscape. This is simply a presentation of the artful beauty of nighttime prescribed burning in the Flint Hills, the sister prairie landscape to the Red Hills. A recent trip to the larger sister landscape offered ample opportunity to observe some pyric beauty.

A recent nighttime prescribed burn in the Flint Hills imparts an analogy of a
lighted prairie city with trails of car and streetlights on busy freeways.

Look carefully in the foreground and you can see the pile of rocks burning.
(There were actually some dried plants and duff that caught fire there.)  

A lone elm tree silhouettes against the backdrop of dusk and a headfire across the grassland.

Fire zig zags across the prairie.

The lead igniter throws a headfire into the heavy fuel (tall dead grass).
A mixture of diesel and gasoline is used. The following UTVs spray water
to keep the flames from backing into a field not intended for burning as
                              part of patch-burn-grazing practices.                                     

This old gate and corral is protected from the burn.

Much headfire is being laid down by the igniter. Careful planning is performed
to manage this fire appropriately.

                                 

"Engine" crews bring plenty of water to manage backburning
and any "breakouts" that might happen. Here, they appear
surrounded by fire but are quite safe.

The igniter lays down a mixture of diesel fuel and
gasoline to create a consistent line of headfire with the
 headwind. A UTV with water, sprays to keep this fire
from going backwards into a field where it is not wanted.

Hot Action at the Booming Ground

     In spite of wildfires, winds, and a bazaar political climate, the Lesser Prairie-chickens still have their ancient mating traditions to perform. Once again, my spring spirits are revived by joining the booming ground party. It is peak breeding time for these birds and they didn't dissappoint. In addition to their antics on the lek this morning, there were other visitors. A coyote came by. I've seen coyotes at this lek before and it's surprising how little effect they have on the behavior of the birds who hardly notice their presence! They may become quiet for a while but few, if any, ever flush. However, when two Northern Harriers swooped by, several birds flushed from the lek. I've never seen a harrier successfully take a prairie chicken but I've observed them diving on the chickens. Later, the coyote followed the two harriers as they hunted near the lek in the same pasture. I think since he knew he couldn't catch a chicken, perhaps he might steal a rabbit that the hawks catch. There's always interesting things to see on the prairie chicken lek besides the chickens!

A cock and hen get to know each other.

Several hens (6 total) visited the lek this morning 

and one, in particular, demostrated a defense of

her particular territory as a dominate hen. 

Watch towards the top.

A handsome coyote poses at the edge of the lek.
None of the birds flushed when he appeared.
They know he can't catch them.

It is approaching peak booming ground activity. 

The cocks face off at their respective territory

borders and chase other competitors away.

The males defend their territories  and often 
perform daring aerials in the process.

This hopeful suitor gets so pumped

that he even kicks up some dirt.

Two Northern Harriers came by and some of the birds flushed.
We watched the raptors work the field next to the lek
while the coyote followed them, hoping to steal any
kill they may have made. They certainly didn't have any
luck with the prairie chickens.

After the Fire

  

   The largest wildfire known to occur in Kansas in recorded history can be considered over except for some minor mopping up activities. After a week of burning over 600 square miles of land in Oklahoma and Kansas, the monster is quieted. Over 130 different fire units from across the state and some in Oklahoma responded. While 16 residences and probably twice that many other structures were destroyed, no one lost their life! This is amazing considering the intensity and speed of this raging firestorm and the ruggedness of the country. While there will be many months to talk about things to come and the lands and ranchers' recoveries, it would be good to look on a bright side. That is the purpose of this post--looking at some of the positive and the beauty of the landscape in the face of such disaster. 

A scorched, lone cedar tree on top of the iconic Flower Pot Mountain of the Red Hills signifies the intensity of this fire. It took a lot of wind and raging fire to reach that. A few remaining cedars on the downslope were screened from the flames.

  A white-tailed deer refreshes in the Salt Fork of the
Arkansas River near Aetna after
 some exciting times.

With the bark of stands of Soapberry tree
exploding off their trunks from the hot fire,
 they stand nearly naked in the ash as if their
pants were ripped off of them.

An interesting and observable landscape is revealed
with the green cedar blanket removed.

On Easter Sunday, the land was favored with over
three inches of snow. Cattle appreciated the
handouts of hay since there's nothing else
to eat.

Hundreds of hay bales were donated from many places
to help ranchers feed their remaining livestock.

The "Black Forest" was formerly green. But it
was essentially a green wasteland. It is now a
blackened wasteland with hopes of major
cedar skeleton removal efforts and a rebirth
of a healthy prairie. 

                         

This is the same "Black Forest" which was
whitened the next day, Easter Sunday.

A normal Red Hills landscape imparts beauty.
Right now, there is black added to the pallet. Soon,
there will be much more green and an
impressive stand of wildflowers.

A herd of Red Angus munching on wheat in the
middle of burned country supplies a
contrasting picture of color to a blackened landscape.

                                 

Countless loads of hay were brought in from many
places to help "neighbor" ranchers and their
remaining cattle herds survive the next couple
of months while natural forage emerges.

In just one week since the fire, the prairie grasses
are evident. In a couple more weeks, this landscape
will be mostly green and a beautiful sight.

A walk through a scorched stand of Soapberry (Chinaberry) trees
imparts an eerie sense of a woody graveyard. This is not a bad thing
as Soapberry Trees have become an invasive issue on the prairie
but not as severe as Eastern Redcedar.

 

Going Undergound

     Some of the most fascinating features of the Red Hills, and Kansas, are underground. While Kansas is not famous for its caves, it does harbor over 700 with most of these occurring in the Red Hills. They are here because of a gypsum layer which dissolves over time to create the underground caverns and crevices. A number of interesting creatures live in these caves including several species of bats, porcupines, skunks, armadillos, insects, salamanders, frogs and an occasional snake. These caves are all on private land and that is one big reason that they remain relatively pristine. They are very fragile and simply could not withstand a lot of human use. However, an occasional visit by students interested in conservation is a very worthwhile intrusion. A recent visit to two special caves was enjoyed by some very sharp high schoolers and a couple of younger students as well. These amateur spelunkers learned about Triple Arches and Dancer's caves and their special features and wildlife.

The journey begins at Triple Arches Cave. 

A special feature of Triple Arches is  the "Kitchen Table."

    No one knows more about caves and bats in Kansas than Stan Roth. Stan has taught students of all ages for a half century. Here Stan crawls through the "Dinosaur Backbone" throat of Dancer's Cave a few year's ago.

                      

The students made the long crawl through 

the "Dinosaur's Backbone" to get to the

 "Ledge of No Return" in Dancer's Cave.

Wildlife--Fifth in a series of the 8 Natural Wonders of the Red Hills

     There are so many iconic wildlife species from which to choose to represent this category. But, we would be completely remiss if wildlife of the Red Hills was not recognized as something very special and deserving of being on this list. While recognizing so many possibilities, this is a selection of some of the most beautiful, interesting, popular, creepy and fascinating animals that call the Red Hills home. There are very few, if any, places in the state where all of these particular animals can be found. A trip through the "hills" at the right time of year could yield any number of these incredible creatures. 

Painted Buntings are a fairly common summer 
resident in the Red Hills.

Big-eared Bats are fairly common in various
caves and old buildings in the Red Hills.

Bison are found at several ranches in the Red Hills. 

One of the largest herds is on the Z-bar Ranch in 

Southwest Barber County.

Watch out for Prairie Rattlesnakes.
They add to the wildness of the Red Hills.

Watch for Eastern Collared Lizards.
They can bite pretty hard!

The list would not be complete without the
Greater Roadrunner, very commonly seen here.

                         

There are some small herds of Pronghorn
 in the Red Hills region.

The Texas Brown Tarantula is common
and often seen during migrations in the
spring and fall. Otherwise, look under rocks.

And of course, White-tailed Deer--lots of em.

A very intersting and creepy resident is
the Giant Desert Centipede.

A Coachwhip lurks among paperflower. 

And last in this presentation has to be the Nine-banded Armadillo--a menace to yards but fun to watch. It is a very common resident of the Red Hills.