Fears for wildlife ease as grasslands show vitality

Experts thought island would lack forage for animals in winter

ANTELOPE ISLAND, Utah — A lightning-caused wildfire ravaged more than half of Antelope Island in July. At the time, park managers worried the bison, antelope and mule deer that graze those lands would not have enough food heading into winter.

But the scorched grasslands are coming back to life, the Deseret News reported.

“It was extensive,” said Wendy Wilson, assistant park manager at Antelope Island State Park. “It was the biggest fire on the island that any of us could remember.”

Flames were visible from the Salt Lake Valley heading into Pioneer Day weekend as the fire blackened more than 15,000 acres on the 28,000-acre island.

“It’s a grassland, with some shrubbery as well,” Wilson said. “That’s major food for the bison, mule deer, pronghorn antelope and bighorn sheep.”

The fire was discouraging for the people who work at the park; so much of the rangeland was blackened and damaged by the fire.

“The few weeks after the fire, you’d drive down there, (and) it was just black,” Wilson said. “It kind of tugged at your heart a little bit.” Parks officials were worried. “What it mainly wiped out was the maturing grasses and shrubs that would carry the animals through the wintertime,” said Steve Bates, wildlife range manager at the park.

But as fall rains moistened the soil, the grasses returned.

“As soon as the animals moved back into the burned areas, we knew that things were probably going to be OK, Wilson said.

The fire swept through the grass quickly and didn’t burn the roots.

“The damage was not as bad as we feared it was,” Wilson said.

Park crews started churning up the land in August as part of a $270,000 rehabilitation project. A month ago, they started seeding the ground with a mix of grasses and shrubs. Later, they will reseed steeper terrain from the air.

“The fire is both a bane and a blessing,” Bates said. “What it has done is burn off that old overstory and release a lot of the other seed to germinate.”

Antelope Island is still open and remains open through the winter. Park managers consider it a great time to visit because it’s not too hot and most of the bugs are gone.

WINSTON ARMANI/THE DESERET NEWS VIA AP An image made from video Nov. 4 shows Antelope Island recovering after a wildfire scorched more than half the island in July. But as fall rains moistened the soil, the grasses returned.