Short-term effects of wildfires on fishes in the southwestern United States, 2002: management implications

Abstract

Summer 2002 was a season of markedly increased wildfire in the southwestern United States. Four fires affected landscapes that encompassed watersheds and streams containing fishes. Streams affected in three of the four fires were sampled for multiple factors, including fishes, to delineate the impact of fires on aquatic ecosystems in the -Southwest. All fishes were lost in one stream, Ponil Creek, affected by the Ponil Complex fire. In two streams, Rio Medio and West Fork of the Gila River, 60 to 80 percent reductions in fish populations occurred following combinations of ash and flood flows. In 2002, information on fires effects on fishes was dramatically increased for mostly native, non-salmonid species of fishes. Results of these short-term studies suggest that the impacts of fire on fishes in lower order montane streams are extensive and negative. Because of the listed status of many (70 percent) of southwestern fishes, land and resource managers must be vigilant of opportunities to protect these species following wildfire.

Parent Publication

• Proceedings of the 2002 fire conference: managing fire and fuels in the remaining wildlands and open spaces of the Southwestern United States

Citation

Rinne, John N.; Carter, Codey D. 2008. Short-term effects of wildfires on fishes in the southwestern United States, 2002: management implications. In: Narog, Marcia G., tech. coord. 2008. Proceedings of the 2002 Fire Conference: Managing fire and fuels in the remaining wildlands and open spaces of the Southwestern United States. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-189. Albany, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station. p. 167-174