September 12, 1995

Governor Racicot,

I am personally opposed to the reintroduction of Grizzly Bears for the reasons stated by other Bitterroot residents but do not think the soils and vegetative history of the area have been given adequate consideration.

At the time my Dad worked there for the USFS, around 1920, plus or minus 5 years, large bands of sheep from both the Bitterroot and Idaho sides were summered in the area. These fire successional grasslands are now greatly reduced or have disappeared entirely. USFS fire suppression policy has been credited with this loss but I do not believe it is the primary cause of this loss. Following is a discussion of some of the factors from an old Bitterrooter whose family has been familiar with the area for over 100 years.

The proposed Grizzly Bear Reintroduction Area is essentially the Idaho Batholith, a 14,000 square mile granite chunk of rock. The soils covering the area are young and relatively under developed. Under a cover of conifer trees they become extremely sterile, acid and generally low in cation elements, these elements are some of the limiting essential elements required by vertebrate animals, calcium being perhaps the key element as it is required in relatively large amounts by vertebrate animals and also prinoiply determines soil PH which controls the availability of Phosphorus, the other most important limiting element. Stockmen are generally very familiar with livestock requirements for these elements. Feeds and Feeding by Frank Morrison being the bible on this subject.

The soils in this area were, for hundreds of years prior to the arrival of Europeans, maintained in their highest state of productivity by Native American Firestick Farming or Pyrocultivation. This is a more or less sophisticated system of vegetative management by burning.

The result of this pyrocultivation is obviously the rapid cycling of the essential elements in vegetation. The most important and persistent result of this pyrocultivation is the selection of plants and plant communities which are adapted to frequent fire. These are the same plants that concentrate the essential elements and have the highest (TDN) Total Digestible Nutrient1 content and are the most palatable to animals.

Grass is the primary desired result of this pyrocultivation as grass plant communities not only conserve soil but conserve essential elements, thus raising soil PH to where these elements are most available to plants.

A dominant feature of grass plant communities is elevation of the "Cation Exchange Capacity" of the soil from the organic residue, or humus, from grass roots. Conifer trees, in contrast, create a duff layer on top of the soil which is the primary cause of "podzolization" or acidification of forest soils, conifers are adapted to this acid soil and thus persist under a "no fire" condition.

This very brief summary of plant and animal ecology is necessary to understand why the area cannot support a vigorous population of Grizzly Bears, or Elk, or Blue Grouse, or frogs, or Western Tanagers, or Cutthroat Trout, or Grayling, or Steelhead, or Salmon, without Pyrocultivation as was done by Native Americans thousands of years.

Attached is a very precise summary of some of these issues by Charles E. Kay, PHD.

Sincerely yours,

Harvey J. Hackett
858 Groff Lane
Stevensville, Montana

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