Shifting Mosaics Consulting

08/20/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CkZBbJos3/?mibextid=wwXIfr

It's hot! We Oklahoman's are no strangers to heat and dry spells, but did you know the effects of a severe drought on your trees can last for years? It's not just about immediate wilting.

Long-Term Effects of Drought on Trees:
A major drought can weaken a tree's entire system, making it vulnerable for 2–7 years afterward (the "Drought Legacy Effect").

🛑 Hydraulic Failure: Air bubbles (embolisms) block water transport in the sapwood, permanently damaging the tree's plumbing.

🛑 Feeder Root Dieback: Essential roots that absorb water and nutrients die off quickly in dry soil.

🛑 Vulnerability to Pests & Disease: Stressed trees have depleted energy reserves and cannot defend themselves against boring insects like bark beetles or fungal diseases.

How You Can Help Your Trees Remain Resilient:
Action taken during and before a drought makes all the difference for long-term health.

✅ Proper Mulching: Maintain a 3-4 inch layer of undyed, organic mulch around the root zone (but not touching the trunk). This retains soil moisture and insulates roots.

✅ Supplemental, Deep Watering: During dry periods, water slowly and deeply around the drip line of your trees to reach critical root zones, rather than frequent shallow watering.

✅ Species Selection: Consider planting drought-tolerant species native to Oklahoma, like Caddo Maple, Oklahoma Redbud, and various resilient Oaks. They are adapted to our unique climate challenges.

Let's protect our community canopy together. 🌳

08/18/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/184oR9iV9y/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Stocking Strategies for Drought
Two Approaches for Cow/Calf Herds

1. Conservative Stocking:
Unchanged stocking rate the land can support even during drought.
Excess forage remains unused in normal & wet years.

2. Flexible stocking
Anticipate and follow annual forage production.
- Dry year (decreased stocking rate)
- Normal year (average stocking rate)
- Wet year (increased stocking rate)
Excess forage is used in normal & wet years.

Who to remove in dry years?
CALVES: Wean early to reduce forage needs of cows
OPEN COWS: Preg check early & cull unbred cows
HEIFERS: keep fewer replacement heifers

Who to add in normal and wet years?
CALVES: Retain weanlings to sell later
STOCKERS: Purchase & background yearlings
LEASE: Lease additional forage to another rancher

To see your pasture production, check out the Rangelands Analysis Platform Production Explorer https://rangelands.app/production-explorer/

08/13/2026

Wildfire Risk Reduction (WRR) has become a common term in British Columbia, Canada. While WRR is not a new concept in the management of fuels in and around commuinties and extending to the broader landscape, it has recently become a strong component of forest operations and funding. The purpose of t...

08/13/2026

We believe it is important to document the interaction between fuel treatment including thinning and mastication with fire. As we move into the second phase of our research program we invite private land owners, woodlots, licensees, and anyone who has completed fuel treatment where a fire is and has burned thru the area this fire year.

Please email [email protected] or send us a message or text us at 250.321.FIRE to become part of our program and this very important dataset and knowledge sharing system.

08/09/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1B9gYDaNfK/?mibextid=wwXIfr

07/22/2026

HEAT STRESS IS ABOUT MORE THAN TEMPERATURE.

Cattle comfort is influenced by a combination of factors, including temperature, humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation.

The Kansas Mesonet Animal Comfort Tool combines these weather conditions to help producers monitor livestock comfort and identify periods when heat stress risk may increase.

Kansas grazing reminder:
🌡️Don't just watch the thermometer.
🐮Watch animal comfort conditions.

Learn more at mesonet.k-state.edu.

07/21/2026

✅✅🔥🔥✅✅
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Update on the Prescribed Burn

Last week, after a warm drying period, a representative from the BC Wildfire Service and a Wildlife Guardian cold-trailed in our prescribed fire units and found no remaining heat. The units have officially been called “Out”.

Our post-fire effects monitoring program for these units begins this summer and concludes in 2030.

07/17/2026

Astonishing to see the prolific abundance of invasive plants including yellow and orange hawkweed, wild caraway, oxeye daisy, and tall buttercup in the Northern Rockies.

🔍 Do you have a sharp "hawk-eye" for identifying hawkweeds? 🔎

🟡 There are 12 species of invasive hawkweeds with yellow flowers in British Columbia.

🌱 Plants can grow up to 90 cm tall and the stems are typically leafless and contain a milky sap. Flowers grow in clusters of 5-25 at the end of the stems.

🔍 Hawkweeds form dense mats of leaves which outcompete edible plants in hayfields and pastures. Invasive hawkweeds will replace native vegetation in open areas such as meadows, and disturbed areas, such as roadsides, threatening biodiversity.

❗Mowing this plant can encourage further spread, as can hand pulling if pieces of the plant are left behind.

❗Yellow hawkweed can be mistaken for a variety of other plants, such as dandelions and the invasive yellow salsify and sow thistle.

🔎 IF YOU SEE THIS PLANT:
📍 Submit a report: https://ow.ly/JKE350YT2bh
📍 DO NOT COMPOST
📍 PUT ANY PLANT PIECES IN A CLEAR BAG AND TOSS small infestations for free at Bessborough, Chetwynd and North Peace Regional Landfills and attended transfer stations excluding Dawson Creek and Mile 62.5.

📲 Visit the PRRD website to learn more about invasive plants in the region: https://ow.ly/N9Ha50YT2bg

07/08/2026