Volunteer Opportunity- July 13th Fence Removal Project-Wood River Chapter-MDF

[Hunthigh1]

What: Fence Removal at Rock Creek Ranch. SW of Hailey Idaho - Conducted by the new Wood River Chapter of MDF
When: Saturday July 13th-8AM
Where: Meet at the Rest Stop at Highway 20 and Highway 75 junction located South of Hailey, west of Picabo.
Why: Removing fence that obstructs ungulate migration in the Wood River valley. Fence location was Identified by IDFG as priority.
What to bring: Leather Gloves, Hat, Water, lunch, Sunglasses, rugged clothing, boots, fence pliers/wire cutters if you have them. We will have some extra gloves, and fencing pliers for volunteers if needed.

For questions PM me here on Rokslide, ANY help spreading the word is appreciated.

 

[robby denning]

you guys are FREAKING awesome!

Sticky Status awarded.

Just sent you a PM for podcast invite.

Thanks for serving Mule Deer! Hats off to you all

 

[Hunthigh1]

Thank you Robby! Post edited to add specific meetup details.

 

[Geewhiz]

I don't mean this to downplay what you guys are doing in any way but as an honest question, with probably literally millions of miles of fences in idaho that mule deer jump on a regular basis, why is this seen as a priority? I've never really observed regular fences obstructing mule deer migrations, or is it a high fence?

Also, regardless of your answer I appreciate all involved that are making an effort to be productive.

 

[Hunthigh1]

The short answer: Migration corridors. With the increase in use of GPS collars, biologists are able to narrow down the most commonly used migration routes. If you hunt any of these big migrations, you may know them relatively well without the need for collar data. When fence removal efforts are focused on specific locations that are known to have hundreds or thousands of animals crossing them each spring and fall I think the efforts can make a difference. I have personally seen deer, antelope, and sage grouse killed by becoming entangled in fence. This doesn't include the extra energy they burn dealing with fences from a calorie expenditure, predator avoidance, and habitat fragmentation standpoint. Pronghorn have a really hard time with fences and this project may benefit them more than any other species.

Similar thinking is being used when these "wildlife overpasses" are being built. They only build them in spots that are know for heavy wildlife crossing due to collar data and road kill data.

If you check out these papers:

USGS Publications Warehouse

Broadly distributed across the Western United States, ungulates (hooved mammals) play an important role in ecosystem function by affecting vegetation communities and forming the prey base for large carnivores. Additionally, ungulates provide economic benefits to regional communities through...

pubs.usgs.gov

USGS Publications Warehouse

Migration is widespread across taxonomic groups and increasingly recognized as fundamental to maintaining abundant wildlife populations and communities. Many ungulate herds migrate across the western United States to access food and avoid harsh environmental conditions. With the advent of global...

pubs.usgs.gov

USGS Publications Warehouse

Across the western United States, many ungulate herds must migrate seasonally to access resources and avoid harsh winter conditions. Because these migration paths cover vast landscapes (in other words migration distances up to 150 miles [241 kilometers]), they are increasingly threatened by...

pubs.usgs.gov

...you will see a general overview of many migrations throughout the western us. They provide a very zoomed-out look at it. BUT, when you use that data to zoom in a bit I think identifying specific areas to improve mule deer habitat becomes doable. Our chapter's fence removal projects will always be focused on key migration corridors or significant winter range and should never be a random fence out on a rarely used hillside.

Since we have just started this chapter, we don't own any sage or bitterbrush seedling to plant this year. So, planting efforts are ruled out for now. We will be collecting seed this fall for planting efforts in 2025 and beyond. We are awaiting word on some possible leftover IDFG plants that we may luck out on and be able to plant a little bit this year in a burnt portion of winter range.

 

[Geewhiz]

Thanks for taking the time to respond.

 

[Customweld]

Good to see some work being done for the muleys! Hope you guys get a good turnout.