VALE – The catastrophic Cow Valley Fire scorched more than 200 square miles of Malheur County, burning over private and public land essential to feed thousands of cows that drive the area’s biggest, most profitable industry.
As ranchers impacted by the fire regroup, questions about the condition of the rangeland – and when or if cattle will be able to use it – linger.
According to Chris Christensen, president of the Malheur County Cattlemen’s Association, it could years before the Bureau of Land Management could issue a grazing permit in the burn area.
The loss of grazing will undoubtedly impact cattle feeding this year and for years to come, said Christensen.
Larisa Bogardus, a public information officer with the Vale District BLM, said it’s not evident when ranchers can return to using scorched range land.
“It depends on the specifics of over-arching land use planning documents, the treatments applied, as well as ecological conditions,” said Bogardus.
The BLM land management plan states that areas burned by wildfire must be “rested” from grazing for at least two years at a minimum or until the “monitoring data or professional judgement” shows the area has recovered to allow for grazing. She said the agency also must adhere to sage grouse protections that call for a minimum of two growing seasons before livestock can graze an area.
Bogardus said nearly 60,000 acres of BLM-administered land was burned, representing 16 livestock grazing allotments. That rangeland has been used for grazing for the better part of a century.
She said in the mid-1970s the BLM shifted from managing grazing in general to managing specific rangeland resources such as riparian areas, threatened and endangered species, sensitive plan species and cultural or historical objects.
She said the rangelands in Malheur County provide feed from April through October. Bogardus said the blaze could impact 3,000 head of cattle that were permitted on the grazing allotments. That number depends on the number of cows a rancher was authorized to have on an allotment.
The cattle industry is the economic king in Malheur County where there are more than 200,000 head of cattle with an annual value of $300 million, said Dave Losh, a statistician with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
At least a dozen ranchers in the county suffered significant damage from the fire.
“It burned me completely out,” said Tommy McElroy, who ranches north of Vale.
McElroy said the Cow Valley Fire charred 27,000 acres of his range.
“Only one field didn’t burn,” he said.
The fire seared range with perennial munch grass. It is a type of ryegrass that is seen as perfect for dairy and beef cattle and sheep and contains protein and carbohydrates. Also seared was sagebrush and shrublands dominated by bluebunch wheatgrass, Idaho fescue and crested wheatgrass.
“The question is, what are the costs, and where can I get these cattle to feed now that we’ve had to move them from these pastures that were destroyed?’” said Sergio Arispe, associate professorof animal and rangeland services at the OSU Extension Office outside Ontario. “That’s going to be stressful for these producers.”
How long the recovery will be for grass on the range isn’t known. What is clear is ranchers impacted by the blaze must now find other feed for their cows.
“I have a lot of cows that need range,” said McElroy.
Matt Whitaker, with High Desert Hay and Forage in Vale, said producers are faced with buying hay or taking their cattle to another pasture. He said usually the ranchers have friends who have rangeland that are not being fully used and can blend cattle with another herd. But, he said, that depends on how many cows they had that were caught in the fires.
Whitaker set up a Gofundme fundraiser to help ranchers with feed. He is offering to deliver feed to ranchers if donors pay for the supply.
Arispe said along with the economic impact from the fire, there is a “psychological blow” to livestock producers from the blaze. Especially when they lose their animals.
“It’s part of their operation,” Arispe said. “It’s part of who they are.”
Yet it isn’t just ranchers who are impacted by the Cow Valley Fire. The industry drives other segments of the economy, including small hometown businesses like Dentinger Feed and Seed in Vale.
Own Rick Dentinger said a blaze like the Cow Valley Fire impacts his business “both ways.”
“From the feed part and the lumber part and the hardware part,” he said.
Dentinger said sales to ranchers and farmers accounts for more than half his business.
He said he isn’t sure what the ultimate impact will be to his business.
“You can look at all of the county and when farmers and ranchers are doing well everyone else does well. When they suffer, the rest of us suffer,” he said.
The fire also will impact the health of cattle.
“Anytime cattle are stressed this hard it takes years off of their life,” said Jeff Burkhardt, a Vale-area rancher.
Burkhardt said “every stitch” of his rangeland is gone and he and his family are now in the “take care of cattle mode.”
Joseph Klopfenstein, an associate professor of rural veterinary practice at Oregon State University Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine, said cows can be especially vulnerable to lung damage from a wildfire.
He said cows have a small lung capacity and they are prone to respiratory diseases such as pneumonia. The particulates from a wildfire can make a case of pneumonia much worse and fatal.
Klopfenstein said the calves on the range that were born earlier in the year, around February and March, are likely not to feed as much as they would have if not for the wildfires.
By the fall, he said, a calf should be about half of the weight of a fully grown cow. If they don’t grow as well because of a lack of feeding or any other reason, a rancher will feel that in their wallets.
Klopfenstein said that if a cow is not feeding well and losing body weight, it could impact its fertility.
Ranchers will also face other costs such fence and equipment repair along with fuel costs as cows are moved away from the fire or transported to other areas with available range.
Burkhardt said an estimate just to repair his fences stood at $250,000.
Last week ranchers impacted by the fire were in the beginning stages of evaluating the damage.
Gary McElroy said he had already been out on horseback searching for cows.
“So far we’re OK but we’ve just started riding,” he said.
The blaze also damaged wildlife habitat, including ground favored by sage grouse. The sage grouse is listed as a “sensitive species” for conservation efforts by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.
The Cow Creek blaze took advantage of nearly perfect conditions for a wildfire. Hot temperatures, low humidity, winds and a bone-dry landscape all conspired to accelerate the fire.
A key factor in the ferocity of the fire was the relatively tame previous fire seasons, said Sara Bush, a BLM fire behavior analyst. Bush spoke during a community meeting on Wednesday, July 17, at the Vale Senior Center.
“The fire season the past couple of years has been really mild, about 1,800 acres burned last year. Lack of fire allowed multiple years of increased grass component,” said Bush.
According to the USDA, invasive annual grasses – such as cheatgrass or medusahead – play a major role in the intensity of wildfire. The weeds grow fast in the spring and fill in space between native plants and grasses, creating a layer of fine fuel that easily burns.
“We are seeing more frequent fires and seeing it get more intense with factors such as invasive annual grasses that fan the flames,” said Tucker Freeman, a district wildlife biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The cheatgrass and medusahead “roasts” all the sagebrush, said Freeman, and gets the soil too hot. That means it “takes longer for native vegetation to fill in,’’ he said.
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