West Texas burns a ‘severe disaster'

Steve Nelle, a biologist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in San Angelo, recently inspected an 8,000-acre ranch north of the city charred by the Wildcat Fire last month. The experience left him with the conclusion that West Texas burns can be described as a "severe disaster" for ranchers and hunters alike. "This ranch was nearly 100 percent burned and had a combination of shallow rocky hills and deep soils," he said. "This land is typical of the sites burned across West Texas. There has been very little or no rain since the fire. Less than 1 percent of grass has sprouted any new leaf. On the shallow soils, hardly any grass has green." While some say the fires that burned about 160,000 acres north of San Angelo will have some beneficial effects, Nelle disagrees. "I've heard some say that burns are a natural thing that happens from time to time and it's good, but this one is different. West Texas ranchland was in bad shape before the fires. Hardly any rain has fallen since September, causing turkey and quail to delay nesting. Now that cover is gone they can't resume the process," Nelle said. "Some landowners are facing a tough period, and the situation could continue for as many as three years. Wildcat and other fires across Texas have rendered much land not suitable for grazing," he added...more