iHunter - Wildfires

[capncrunch1111]

Just came across a cool iHunter feature which must have been added only recently.

If you are scrolling through the 'map layers' select "Wildfires (2017-2022)". This will show you exactly where and when recent wildfires have occurred along with the designated fire #.

Could be handy for looking for mushrooms or newly burned areas with some good grasses.

GL All.

[Stinky Buffalo]

That's really cool!

Now that OnX has made more features available in Canada, I'll bet we'll more improvements like that in order to stay competitive.

[Prairiekid]

Is anyone using both? I’m a longtime iHunter user and like that’s it’s a Canadian company. I tried OnX briefly, I would like to try again. I’m not sure one is any better than the other. I was already familiar with iHunter, so it didn’t make using OnX a couple times during the trial worth it.

[Big Grey Wolf]

Guys you might want to check your favorite WMU. Some of the Mega fires still burning have wiped out entire WMU's that will not be good hunting for at least 50 years. Hope you chose your draws well this year.
The Ochiese fire has taken out the better part of 3 WMU,s so far and still a threat to Edson.

[Stinky Buffalo]

Is anyone using both? I’m a longtime iHunter user and like that’s it’s a Canadian company. I tried OnX briefly, I would like to try again. I’m not sure one is any better than the other. I was already familiar with iHunter, so it didn’t make using OnX a couple times during the trial worth it.

I am using both (trialing OnX for a year); I find that some of the OnX maps have better detail for the areas I'm interested in.

iHunter is superior with respect to its attention to detail for regulations etc. and from a hunting experience, it is definitely more useful for my type of use. OnX is making inroads, though.

[calgarychef]

Guys you might want to check your favorite WMU. Some of the Mega fires still burning have wiped out entire WMU's that will not be good hunting for at least 50 years. Hope you chose your draws well this year.
The Ochiese fire has taken out the better part of 3 WMU,s so far and still a threat to Edson.

50 years eh? I’ll take that bet.

[PartTimeHunter]

Guys you might want to check your favorite WMU. Some of the Mega fires still burning have wiped out entire WMU's that will not be good hunting for at least 50 years. Hope you chose your draws well this year.
The Ochiese fire has taken out the better part of 3 WMU,s so far and still a threat to Edson.

I hardly think so. I was out today thru the middle of what was that big fire that is now close to Edson. In the span of a half hour drive I saw a half dozen deer a few of which were in the trees that had burnt. Not all of the area burnt, there are large pockets of green untouched and large pockets of burnt that have already greened up on the floor. I'm sure there were losses but 50 years ......

[Big Grey Wolf]

Actually 50 years is just the start of regeneration of a mature forest. Most high quality elk/moose and deer forests have trees over 100 years old. Mother nature cycles but "Every man, women, and child alive today, 8 billion will be gone" before a mature old growth forest is replaced.

[Dubz337]

Actually 50 years is just the start of regeneration of a mature forest. Most high quality elk/moose and deer forests have trees over 100 years old. Mother nature cycles but "Every man, women, and child alive today, 8 billion will be gone" before a mature old growth forest is replaced.

This is such BS. Ungulates are often attracted to burn areas due to the quick new growth that takes up in burns, naturally fertilized by the ash. And they are easy to spot with all the trees gone. It’s not some apocalyptic wasteland that all animals avoid.

[Frank_NK28]

Actually 50 years is just the start of regeneration of a mature forest. Most high quality elk/moose and deer forests have trees over 100 years old. Mother nature cycles but "Every man, women, and child alive today, 8 billion will be gone" before a mature old growth forest is replaced.

You read that in a Farley Mowat book?

[Trochu]

Actually 50 years is just the start of regeneration of a mature forest. Most high quality elk/moose and deer forests have trees over 100 years old. Mother nature cycles but "Every man, women, and child alive today, 8 billion will be gone" before a mature old growth forest is replaced.

While that may or may not be true, most of us aren't hunting for mature, old growth trees. We're looking for deer, elk, or moose, which are attracted to grass and water. Guessing the grasses will start coming back in a matter of weeks and the ungulates won't be that far behind.

[TrapperMike]

See plenty of elk and moose east of highway 2 but can’t find any mature full growth forests.

[Big Grey Wolf]

Guys, only spent 65 years hunting moose/elk/deer/sheep and caribou in probably 30+ WMu's in Alberta. Hunting partner and I have shoot more than 90 moose, both of us have trapline so see lots of wilderness over All seasons. Never shot a single moose in recently burned forest. Just our 130 years of hunting/trapping knowledge, but we could be wrong.

[Dubz337]

Guys, only spent 65 years hunting moose/elk/deer/sheep and caribou in probably 30+ WMu's in Alberta. Hunting partner and I have shoot more than 90 moose, both of us have trapline so see lots of wilderness over All seasons. Never shot a single moose in recently burned forest. Just our 130 years of hunting/trapping knowledge, but we could be wrong.

Now we’ve gone and ****ed off the Fudd.

[foothills26]

Guys, only spent 65 years hunting moose/elk/deer/sheep and caribou in probably 30+ WMu's in Alberta. Hunting partner and I have shoot more than 90 moose, both of us have trapline so see lots of wilderness over All seasons. Never shot a single moose in recently burned forest. Just our 130 years of hunting/trapping knowledge, but we could be wrong.

Lol you can drive through the fire now and green grass is out and moose and deer and elk are all still there so….

[DiabeticKripple]

Guys, only spent 65 years hunting moose/elk/deer/sheep and caribou in probably 30+ WMu's in Alberta. Hunting partner and I have shoot more than 90 moose, both of us have trapline so see lots of wilderness over All seasons. Never shot a single moose in recently burned forest. Just our 130 years of hunting/trapping knowledge, but we could be wrong.

Just because YOU haven’t shot an animal in a burned out area, doesn’t mean they aren’t there.

The animals will be where the food is, and a burned out area will have LOTS as it regenerates.

[fishnguy]

Clearly, it depends on the fire. There can be all the grass you want, but with no cover there will be no ungulates. Also, grass is not preferred food for deer; neither it is for moose, not year round anyway; perhaps it is for elk, to an extent. Regardless, if it is all clear-burned, especially if completely naked at the surface or “mid-level” level, with no pockets of cover, animals will move on. There is plenty of feed in the bush, as well as cover; in the burned out area, both will be lacking for some time. It won’t take 50 years, obviously (or not likely, most of the time), but clear-burned areas full of grass and fireweed will be void of, at least, large animals, including ungulates, for a while. In fact, it will be almost entirely avoided until the shrub and other cover and whatnot come back (and this could be a very long time, again, depending on the intensity of fire and geography - pretty extreme example is some of the mountains naked still a decade or two after they burned). You would want to stick to the edges in cases like that, maybe even moving out further away from the burn area. What you really want to find is a good mix of food sources, as well as, and just as important, cover. Game trails will reveal what is happening. Not even sure why this is an argument.



To the op, thanks for the heads up. I will surely check it out.

[Smoky buck]

Fire is good for wildlife in moderation. In the case of some of the big fires some areas will burn hot enough to actually burn the organic material out of the soil making it take much longer to recover. Other sections that did not burn as hot will bounce back fast supplying food. But in the big forest ecosystem mature trees are valuable as they lessen the impact of winter kill during heavy snow years

There will be positive and negative impacts to wildlife from the fires this year.

Personally I have no interest in hunting a burn for quite a few years. Once it has grown into young forest with small openings that is when I like it. I will look for the area that retained small pockets of older trees within the burn. From there I will work my way through the thick young forests to set up in the pockets of large trees. Real pain to find pockets to hunt and I often get turned around because of how thick it is making for poor visibility. But when you do figure it out it’s good

By then the hunting gets really good because it is now too thick for the guys who like to glass openings. The animals really move in because they now have food and cover with very little human pressure. It becomes like a sanctuary that almost no one hunts :sHa_shakeshout:

Yeah you boys enjoy the fresh burn I will wait till it grows back into a tangled mess

[Big Grey Wolf]

Nice too see the Wisdom of FishnGuy and Smoky Buck both are obviously very senior hunters that have experienced wildfire forest and know difference between quality hunting area and burned over wasteland. Thanks guys for helping explain our Alberta hunting future from Mega fires.

[Harvest The Land]

Just came across a cool iHunter feature which must have been added only recently.

If you are scrolling through the 'map layers' select "Wildfires (2017-2022)". This will show you exactly where and when recent wildfires have occurred along with the designated fire #.

Could be handy for looking for mushrooms or newly burned areas with some good grasses.

GL All.

Thanks for the heads up on that - very cool feature that I will make good use of.

With respect to hunting burns, they're my absolute favourite. There are different degrees of burns in terms of severity, but here in southern BC and the Caribou where I hunt many burns, it is rare to find burns that are so intense that they literally singe everything (but there definitely are areas where that's the case); rather its more common that the fires always seem to leave patches of quality habitat behind in terms of shelter and food (especially where there's aspen mixed in with the conifers). The following year the new forage growing is often pretty intense (especially if there's some rain every now and then), and by year two its a full on sea of green that attracts animals from miles away. There are studies showing that in many instances, the animals don't actually travel that far from the fires at all and return within days/weeks.

[Smoky buck]

Thanks for the heads up on that - very cool feature that I will make good use of.

With respect to hunting burns, they're my absolute favourite. There are different degrees of burns in terms of severity, but here in southern BC and the Caribou where I hunt many burns, it is rare to find burns that are so intense that they literally singe everything (but there definitely are areas where that's the case); rather its more common that the fires always seem to leave patches of quality habitat behind in terms of shelter and food (especially where there's aspen mixed in with the conifers). The following year the new forage growing is often pretty intense (especially if there's some rain every now and then), and by year two its a full on sea of green that attracts animals from miles away. There are studies showing that in many instances, the animals don't actually travel that far from the fires at all and return within days/weeks.

When they burn patchy it can be decent but any big fire will have areas with negative impacts too.

Go check out south of Huston B.C. along the Nadina.

How is Barrier looking in region 3 theses days. The mule deer population didn’t boom after that one

This is just 2 areas in B.C. one recent one old that has had years to see the results. I could continue as I am an ex B.C. resident that knows that province well

Lots of fires that had a negative impact on game populations along with many that were a positive in B.C.

Wildfire is a little more complicated than yay green grass

[Harvest The Land]

When they burn patchy it can be decent but any big fire will have areas with negative impacts too.

Go check out south of Huston B.C. along the Nadina.

How is Barrier looking in region 3 theses days. The mule deer population didn’t boom after that one

This is just 2 areas in B.C. one recent one old that has had years to see the results. I could continue as I am an ex B.C. resident that knows that province well

Lots of fires that had a negative impact on game populations along with many that were a positive in B.C.

Wildfire is a little more complicated than yay green grass

I'm not sure about Barriere as I dont hunt that MU, but sis in law actually lives on the very far west corner near Francois Lake south of Houston and the amount of game they've seen on their 80 acre parcel has only increased and they have no problem harvesting a bull each year they have a tag.

Similar thing where I hunt in the Caribou between Clinton and McLeese Lake where large areas got burnt up pretty badly in 2017 and 2018, as well as up the Coq which got hammered with big fires in 2021, I'm seeing more animals than I've ever seen (and better quality) in my spots. We had a pretty cold winter that came early with very deep snow so I'm anticipating a drop off in numbers this year.

But by and large my experience tells me that on average wilfres are more beneficial than they are detrimental for both wildlife and hunters. I see and shoot more critters in burns than any other type of habitat.Your mileage may vary

[Smoky buck]

I'm not sure about Barriere as I dont hunt that MU, but sis in law actually lives on the very far west corner near Francois Lake south of Houston and the amount of game they've seen on their 80 acre parcel has only increased and they have no problem harvesting a bull each year they have a tag.

Similar thing where I hunt in the Caribou between Clinton and McLeese Lake where large areas got burnt up pretty badly in 2017 and 2018, as well as up the Coq which got hammered with big fires in 2021, I'm seeing more animals than I've ever seen (and better quality) in my spots. We had a pretty cold winter that came early with very deep snow so I'm anticipating a drop off in numbers this year.

But by and large my experience tells me that on average wilfres are more beneficial than they are detrimental for both wildlife and hunters. I see and shoot more critters in burns than any other type of habitat.Your mileage may vary

Private property a long Francois is nothing like majority of the bush country in the area. The mule deer population there is actually way down compared to the past and so are moose. I lived there in the past and family/friends still do. Moose and mule deer numbers have been declining but not just to do with fire. The Huston/burns lake area has been on the decline for a good number of years.

My family and I could take a moose every year out of the area too. But we also know the results of counts and what was there in the past. Moose season have been cut back a lot in recent years because of the declining populations

But if you know much about that area there is many factors at play

The caribou I won’t speak on without talking to those I know in the area. I know the fires that took place when I worked in Polly before it shut down were more of a patchy burn so no surprise if that area benefited. Really part of that area should benefit. But in all honesty the timber hunters I know in that area we’re taking tanks and seeing lots of deer well others figured the numbers were lower than they were before the fires

There has be quality bucks there for a long time they were just in the timber.

Lots of guys do see more game in burns because most only know how to glass open country lol. That doesn’t mean the animals were not there before but more so they have less places to hide. If you really want to see impressive put trail cameras in an old burn that has returned to young forest that is when game really moves in

Like I said there is positives and negatives to fire. It all depends on how it burns and what. Too hot and intense it’s a negative. If it comes at a cost of wintering grounds it can also be a major negative. But if it burns areas that are not sensitive habitat it can create a positive by providing food

But I am too tired as I just got off nights to explain the different factors at play that dictate the positives and negatives. It’s not a simple fire is good or fire is bad

[Bushleague]

Nice too see the Wisdom of FishnGuy and Smoky Buck both are obviously very senior hunters that have experienced wildfire forest and know difference between quality hunting area and burned over wasteland. Thanks guys for helping explain our Alberta hunting future from Mega fires.

Its because they both know how to hunt these areas before they burn, which is becoming somewhat rare. People that dont have a good grasp of bush hunting will feel that the brief creation of a clearing is an improvement.

Those that have a good grasp of what the area was producing before the burn, and keep tabs on it in the decade or so afterwards, are likely going to have a very different opinion.

[6.5 shooter]

Its because they both know how to hunt these areas before they burn, which is becoming somewhat rare. People that dont have a good grasp of bush hunting will feel that the brief creation of a clearing is an improvement.

Those that have a good grasp of what the area was producing before the burn, and keep tabs on it in the decade or so afterwards, are likely going to have a very different opinion.

SO? ungulates which are grass eaters do better in dark pine timber where the forest floor is devoid of all grasses and covered in a thick layer of pine needle and mosses and ferns, is a better place to raise ungulates? I am sure there are a few million cattlemen that would disagree.

[Smoky buck]

SO? ungulates which are grass eaters do better in dark pine timber where the forest floor is devoid of all grasses and covered in a thick layer of pine needle and mosses and ferns, is a better place to raise ungulates? I am sure there are a few million cattlemen that would disagree.

Most ungulates species are browsers not grazers but if the forest is all pine and moss it’s not good either.

But most bush country is not just pine and moss. A healthy forest is a real mix of many different plants, tree species, and shrubs. I can tell you I don’t look for grass when targeting ungulates in the bush. They are also not feeding on grass in any of my cam pics even when it is available. Elk seem to be bit of an exception but my knowledge is more limited with elk for starters. Pronghorn I have no clue

Even in farm land if you look closer most ungulates are not eating grass but others picking other plants that are mixed in. Even in the case of a burn it is not the grass but other plants

You don’t have to believe me all the information is available in numerous studies on different ungulate species. One of the first things that improved my ability to hunt timber is realizing it’s not grass the ungulates are seeking for food

[Bushleague]

SO? ungulates which are grass eaters do better in dark pine timber where the forest floor is devoid of all grasses and covered in a thick layer of pine needle and mosses and ferns, is a better place to raise ungulates? I am sure there are a few million cattlemen that would disagree.

Very little of the old growth that you are describing left in any of the areas that I hunt. The mixed 2nd growth that makes up the bulk of the mature forest has plenty of feed in it, and as long as a bush dwelling ungulate does not have to venture into the open to feed... it generally wont. Ag deer are different in that they dont have a choice, if they did I wonder if they would still feed in hay fields?

As for the dark timber that you are describing, as someone who spends a ton of time on snowshoes looking at tracks, I can tell you that it plays an important roll too. The snow accumulation in such an area is far less than in deciduous/ mixed growth, and if its available deer will start to use it heavily in late winter.

Which brings me to the last point... the snow accumulation in a clearing full of tall grass and young re-growth is WAY more than in a mature forest, and way out in a big burn you generally wont find more than a few moose tracks as the snow starts to pile up. And as the regrowth comes in thick, the fire kill starts to fall down, and while the moose population seems to rebound nicely in the absence of predation, the deer sign in such an area will typically stay patchy and more sparse than around the edges for many years. IMO about the only really good time to hunt such a feature is the first year it is made, as deer will often still be using their old trails out of habit, by the second season they have generally found new routes around the clearing or burn.

This is Canada, and any population of wild animals is governed by the quality of overwintering habitat. And in the current state of the forest that covers much of the boreal portions of Alberta, increasing the abundance of large clearings at this point will generally lower the overwintering potential of most areas. For well over a decade I've been covering hundreds of bush miles every winter, looking at tracks and learning what I can... these are my observations.

[Bushleague]

Most ungulates species are browsers not grazers but if the forest is all pine and moss it’s not good either.

But most bush country is not just pine and moss. A healthy forest is a real mix of many different plants, tree species, and shrubs. I can tell you I don’t look for grass when targeting ungulates in the bush. They are also not feeding on grass in any of my cam pics even when it is available. Elk seem to be bit of an exception but my knowledge is more limited with elk for starters. Pronghorn I have no clue

Even in farm land if you look closer most ungulates are not eating grass but others picking other plants that are mixed in. Even in the case of a burn it is not the grass but other plants

You don’t have to believe me all the information is available in numerous studies on different ungulate species. One of the first things that improved my ability to hunt timber is realizing it’s not grass the ungulates are seeking for food

One of the first things that helped me take the luck out of bush hunting was to quit treating clearings of any sort as if they were an agricultural field, positive terrain that deer wish to use. While not strictly true, treating clearings as if they are negative terrain, places that 9 out of 10 mature bucks will avoid during daylight in the hunting season, and figuring out where those bucks will be traveling instead, works significantly better.

And as far as I'm concerned, a big burn, frequented by predators when its new, choked with fallen fire kill and immature re-growth later on, is about as negative as terrain gets for quite some time.

[Smoky buck]

One of the first things that helped me take the luck out of bush hunting was to quit treating clearings of any sort as if they were an agricultural field, positive terrain that deer wish to use. While not strictly true, treating clearings as if they are negative terrain, places that 9 out of 10 mature bucks will avoid during daylight in the hunting season, and figuring out where those bucks will be traveling instead, works significantly better.

And as far as I'm concerned, a big burn, frequented by predators when its new, choked with fallen fire kill and immature re-growth later on, is about as negative as terrain gets for quite some time.

I was lucky in my late teens to mid 20’s to have some really good mentors. One was actually a biologist that is a diehard mule deer timber hunter in B.C. and his knowledge of the forage was an eye opener. I don’t remember the name of most of the plants but I still know which ones are preferred browse

Growing up in B.C. we never hunted farmland as there is lots of public land and getting permission on private land was extremely tough. Clear cuts, burns, and alpine get pressured hard because of this. Luckily I got to hunt with some great timber hunters that were family friends and a friends family. They ranged from consistently successful hunters to guides and the bio I mentioned. Most were still hunters

Another huge learning experience was the years I spent trapping where you learn to rely on sign vs physically seeing animals. Understanding what is there by sign and having faith in that knowledge played a big roll in developing my ambush style hunting. It also made it very clear there was a ton of animals that could not be hunted with the tactics many hunters use. This opened up so many areas that see basically no one

I will stop there but yeah there is a ton of knowledge I learned about the bush from others and from time spent in the bush that cause me to look at things differently than a lot of hunters

Best part it has taught me how to hunt areas most hunters think suck and are void of game :sHa_shakeshout:

[Bushleague]

I was lucky in my late teens to mid 20’s to have some really good mentors. One was actually a biologist that is a diehard mule deer timber hunter in B.C. and his knowledge of the forage was an eye opener. I don’t remember the name of most of the plants but I still know which ones are preferred browse

Growing up in B.C. we never hunted farmland as there is lots of public land and getting permission on private land was extremely tough. Clear cuts, burns, and alpine get pressured hard because of this. Luckily I got to hunt with some great timber hunters that were family friends and a friends family. They ranged from consistently successful hunters to guides and the bio I mentioned. Most were still hunters

Another huge learning experience was the years I spent trapping where you learn to rely on sign vs physically seeing animals. Understanding what is there by sign and having faith in that knowledge played a big roll in developing my ambush style hunting. It also made it very clear there was a ton of animals that could not be hunted with the tactics many hunters use. This opened up so many areas that see basically no one

I will stop there but yeah there is a ton of knowledge I learned about the bush from others and from time spent in the bush that cause me to look at things differently than a lot of hunters

Best part it has taught me how to hunt areas most hunters think suck and are void of game :sHa_shakeshout:

For sure. When I first started I knew a cagy old bugger that did little more than inform me at the end of each day of how many deer he'd seen while still hunting the timber. Not terribly helpful, but regardless of whatever methods I tried, his numbers were always way better than mine. At least it showed me it was possible and gave me something to strive for.

Later I knew another old trapper that would only ever tell me "Its all about the ridges." Which in hindsight was all the advice I really should have needed if I'd been paying attention properly.

[58thecat]

Pay attention to areas, all areas, big ol’cagey critters hide in plain site....while sitting and waiting it out then fart around with iHunter etc:)

I use these tools now for advance scouting from my den....then boots hit the ground.

[Stinky Buffalo]

One of the first things that helped me take the luck out of bush hunting was to quit treating clearings of any sort as if they were an agricultural field, positive terrain that deer wish to use. While not strictly true, treating clearings as if they are negative terrain, places that 9 out of 10 mature bucks will avoid during daylight in the hunting season, and figuring out where those bucks will be traveling instead, works significantly better.

Took me a while to figure that one out!

I am definitely am getting more critters in view during daylight hours now that I'm getting away from the openings and fields.