Winter Range Fencing

G-Hought3

Active Member
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138
For the past several months I have been commuting for work between Nephi and Ephraim. That whole drive is prime winter range habitat for a lot of animals. It has been MIND BLOWING to me the amount of deer I see dead daily on the side of the road now that I drive it every single day, I am talking several new deer that get hit per week! Often times I’ll see a herd of deer on my way to work in the morning then one or two of them dead on my way home.
I hunt Wyoming often and I am constantly seeing the fencing and overpass projects they are working on. Why does this not seem to be a focus at least that I have heard of in Utah? I am sure plenty of people would be willing to donate to a project like this that would immediately save hundreds of deer on one or two mountain ranges.
This isn’t to argue about the morality of the conservation groups and where the money goes. I know there are always projects going on throughout the state, I just don’t ever hear of those projects being wildlife fencing in critical travel areas.
 
Colorado is progressing with hwy 13, Rifle to state line south of Baggs too. Primary migration area for all game.
 
For the past several months I have been commuting for work between Nephi and Ephraim. That whole drive is prime winter range habitat for a lot of animals. It has been MIND BLOWING to me the amount of deer I see dead daily on the side of the road now that I drive it every single day, I am talking several new deer that get hit per week! Often times I’ll see a herd of deer on my way to work in the morning then one or two of them dead on my way home.
I hunt Wyoming often and I am constantly seeing the fencing and overpass projects they are working on. Why does this not seem to be a focus at least that I have heard of in Utah? I am sure plenty of people would be willing to donate to a project like this that would immediately save hundreds of deer on one or two mountain ranges.
This isn’t to argue about the morality of the conservation groups and where the money goes. I know there are always projects going on throughout the state, I just don’t ever hear of those projects being wildlife fencing in critical travel areas.
I make that same drive everyday (nephi to Fairview). I can attest to just how many animals get hit on that road. And we think hunting hurts our deer numbers…
 
Spanish fork canyon has em.
Up around Strawberry res as well. Seen some down South as well. They’re starting to spring up around Utah.
 
You would think will all the auction tags and millions of dollars a year, we could pay for fencing along all of the above mentioned areas and then some. Maybe its something we need to push for at the WB or RAC's.

I know I take a trip to the Basin several times a year in winter to go waterfowl hunting. From Orem to Duchesne, I see 20+ dead deer each time. And one time saw 35 one afternoon on my way back.
 
I have been preaching this forever, especially since the rampage on trail cameras and technology has taken center stage. We spend a lot of energy and time worrying about things that are distractions and have little overall impact (trail cams, variable scopes on muzzys) all while piles of deer are dying on roads every day throughout this state. We can't necessarily save deer from drought and other weather extremes, but we could save a bunch from collisions with vehicles.

Let's focus on controlling the things we can control like building fencing in key migration or high activity areas for game where vehicle collisions are very common. We have plenty of auction tag and expo money - let's use it on things that will make a difference and that we have some control over.
 
I have been preaching this forever, especially since the rampage on trail cameras and technology has taken center stage. We spend a lot of energy and time worrying about things that are distractions and have little overall impact (trail cams, variable scopes on muzzys) all while piles of deer are dying on roads every day throughout this state. We can't necessarily save deer from drought and other weather extremes, but we could save a bunch from collisions with vehicles.

Let's focus on controlling the things we can control like building fencing in key migration or high activity areas for game where vehicle collisions are very common. We have plenty of auction tag and expo money - let's use it on things that will make a difference and that we have some control over.
While you call them distractions with little overall impact......Every bit of impact, little or small will help. But I think a lot of that complaint goes down to definition for "Fair chase".
 
I think it’s a great idea. Also, I’ve probably driven over 1,000,000 miles in Montana, Wyoming, and Utah over the past 12-14 years. I’ve hit one deer—-and half of the driving I do is at night. I get that sometimes they come out of nowhere—but most are avoidable if you are looking around. I believe the vast majority of deer/elk vehicle fatalities are because people just aren’t paying attention and are unaware of their surroundings as they drive.

Build the fences!!!
 
I hate seeing dead deer on the side of the road like everyone else, but there are lots of things to consider besides just throwing up a fence for deer.

The link below is a 10 year old review on the topic that is worth reading if you have a deeper interest:

My quick search also revealed the cost for not only fencing but gates, etc. is now estimated at 40-50 thousand dollars per mile. (needs to be sturdy enough for all animals, including elk, and at least 7' tall to be effective). That's only one side of the road. Then under/overpasses have to be built to allow the deer to pass to migration/rutting/winter grounds. Those structures can be millions depending on what is built. (maintenance?)

Multiply that by the thousands of miles of roads that could benefit from fencing and...

From my perspective, it's easy to see a simple solution but in my experience, it's rarely as easy as it seems.
 
I'm sure they will share the data at least.

The official version...
 
Sanpete County is always bad this time of year. I have lived here for 20 years. Most in Manti some in Mt Pleasant. I've luckily only hit 2 deer. one was when I first moved here just north of Fairview when I drove to Provo every day for work. The other was last week, middle of the day between Manti and Ephraim. Jumped right out in front of me no chance to do anything.
 
I was watching Robby Layton Nation on Youtube. Seen him picking up a lot of deer strikes in that area with his tow truck. Funny seeing you talking about here. Looks like more snow this year then in the past few years. Had a hard time getting around on the mountain near our cabin in October . In the past we could drive up in December and January. We need the snow !
 
Yesterday morning a guy hit a cow elk on highway 89 just south of Sterling as you go around 9 mile, after hitting the elk he swerved into on coming traffic and had a head on with another vehicle. Four people with Injuries two serious enough was transported from Gunnison hospital to Wasatch front hospital's.
There has been several deaths caused by vehicle wildlife collisions over the ladt few years between Gunnison and Sterling a 9 mile stretch of highway 89
 
Just made my drive home from work after that first message. 5 deer TODAY!
I counted 20 hit deer yesterday between nephi and ephraim, yes you heard that right, TWENTY! Bout half or more of them were fresh within a day or two it seemed, awful, I’m starting to believe the guys who say cars kill way more deer than hunters.
 
The amount of deer and elk that are getting hit by vehicles on 89 is a travesty. You got commuters going to the Wasatch front, and over 1000 employees a large percent commuting down 89 from Manti, Ephraim, Mt Pleasent, and other communities from Sanpete to Gunnison to work at CUCF, Gunnison Valley Hospital, Christensen Arms and the Applied Composite Technology companies
Most of this commuting is done in the morning hours, and the evening hours when deer and elk are most active.
 
A Couple of weeks Back We Had Some SLICK/SNOW PACKED Roads!

I Seen A Car off The Side of The Road!

The Car Was Totaled,I Mean F'N Totaled!

You Couldn't Even Tell What it Was!

When I Got Closer You Could See Blood & Burger Scattered!

There Was Already A Couple of Other Vehicles There Helping!

Talked To A Guy a Week Ago That Knew The Guy That Hit The Deer!

I Guess He Admitted He Was Doing 78 MPH On Slick Ass Roads When He Hit The Deer!

I Wonder How The Brakes Were Working at 78 On Glare Ice?:D

I've Never Seen A Deer Do That Much Damage to a Vehicle!
 
Where I’m from the truckers like to play a game and see how many deer they can get. When the deer are on the side of the road they purposefully whip their trailers and hit ‘em with the back. They laugh about it on the CB with each other. They are easy pickings when they are lined up on the edge of the road licking salt.

The zone I used to live in CA had about 100 bucks taken by hunters each year. In the winter and spring I’d see three times as many deer as that hit on the side of the of the road. People wouldn’t believe that more deer are killed by vehicles than hunters. And most of the deer killed by vehicles appeared to be does and fawns. It’s a major problem and finally there’s a project to erected fencing and a wildlife crossing. Will be 10+ years before it’s completed though.

I’ve driven some of those highways around Duchesne in the winter time and seen so many dead deer. I was surprised that there wasn’t any wildlife fencing in some of the locations.

I know fencing alone isn’t the solution. They have to have a way to cross safely at some point as well. I used to think that the wildlife crossing and overpasses were a dumb idea. But there’s a few of them over I-80 in NE Nevada. They seem to work pretty well and reduce the amount of collisions.
 
They purposefully whip their trailers and hit ‘em with the back of the trailer is this a new thing because I drove truck for a few years and never heard of this or saw it.
I still Traveled alot of highways in the winter time and HAVE NEVER seen that happen.
A little ice and they wouldn't be able to control that big trailer.
 
I wouldn’t have thought it was a thing until I heard several trucks jabbering about it on the CB. My dad watched one guy do it right in front of him. Not usually ice on the roads I hear them talking about it on.
 
There’s certainly lots of places that could use stretches of wildlife fencing. The stretch between Sigurd and Koosharem reservoir comes to mind as one of the worst areas I frequent. I doubt this would happen, but beyond over and under passes I’ve often thought of deer/wildlife crossing stretches with fencing elsewhere. Such as high fencing for large stretches of areas like you’re talking and having something like a half mile to mile stretch of openings in the fencing with lower speed limits and plenty of signage indicating the reasoning for it. You’d have to hope people would obey those lower speed limits. You’d have to coordinate with UDOT and the logistics of it would be difficult to pin down, but would be less expensive than over or under passes in areas where they aren’t feasible. You could even make the limits seasonal for winter. Glad to see the app. It helps give data to incentivize UDOT, insurance companies, and the DWR to tackle the worst of the areas. Deer hit by vehicles is a big deal though for sure, especially in certain areas during the winter.
 
There’s certainly lots of places that could use stretches of wildlife fencing. The stretch between Sigurd and Koosharem reservoir comes to mind as one of the worst areas I frequent. I doubt this would happen, but beyond over and under passes I’ve often thought of deer/wildlife crossing stretches with fencing elsewhere. Such as high fencing for large stretches of areas like you’re talking and having something like a half mile to mile stretch of openings in the fencing with lower speed limits and plenty of signage indicating the reasoning for it. You’d have to hope people would obey those lower speed limits. You’d have to coordinate with UDOT and the logistics of it would be difficult to pin down, but would be less expensive than over or under passes in areas where they aren’t feasible. You could even make the limits seasonal for winter. Glad to see the app. It helps give data to incentivize UDOT, insurance companies, and the DWR to tackle the worst of the areas. Deer hit by vehicles is a big deal though for sure, especially in certain areas during the winter.
I have seen stretches lije that in Colorado and New Mexico.
 
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