FIRE EFFECTS AND USE
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Oreamnos americanus | Mountain Goat 



DIRECT FIRE EFFECTS ON ANIMALS : 
Fire suppression on mountain goat range, especially in kidding areas, in
the spring and summer may increase stress levels on mountain goats due
to human disturbance.  On the Lake Wenatchee Ranger District, in
Washington, attempts were made to decrease disturbance to mountain
goats.  Pilots flew more than 500 feet (152 m) away from the kidding
areas and did not use retardant drops on those sites until after July 31
[15].  

Information was not available in the literature regarding the direct
effects of fire on mountain goats.


HABITAT RELATED FIRE EFFECTS : 
The effects of fire on mountain goat habitat has not been well studied.
A study done on large mammal population changes following fires in dense
forests showed that mountain goats ranged mostly at higher elevations
than the fires and were affected little [20].  However, some grasslands
used by mountain goats are the result of past fires, and effective fire
suppression in recent years has resulted in the lack of new grassland
development in some areas [17].  Periodic burning keeps seral grasslands
from becoming dominated by climax coniferous tree cover [19].

Interior mountain goat winter ranges often support sparse stands of
trees or shrubs that are used for forage.  The steep slopes of these
winter ranges are often used by mountain goats for their snow-shedding
characteristics.  Removing forage by fire in these areas may affect
forage resources, shelter, or snow-shedding characteristics [3].


FIRE USE : 
Prescribed burning has been used in some areas to improve habitat for
mountain goats [6].  Fire has been used to establish and maintain
subalpine ranges in British Columbia.  According to Bentz and Woodard
[1], burning provides an economical method of converting subalpine
forests to earlier seral plant communities, which may provide forage for
mountain goats.  Although this burn was used to improve bighorn sheep
range, mountain goat range may also be improved.


REFERENCES : 
NO-ENTRY

Related categories for Wildlife Species: Oreamnos americanus | Mountain Goat