G&F urges respect for wintering wildlife

Wildlife managers suggest these best practices to help wintering wildlife:

Leave fence gates open wherever possible to allow unimpaired movement of animals across the landscape, especially along roadways so animals can avoid a potential vehicle collision. This can also help reduce damage to fences and prevent animals from getting entangled and dying. Many landowners have modified their fences to make them more wildlife-friendly by replacing the bottom wire with a smooth wire and lowering the top wire or adding a pole to the top. The Wyoming Game and Fish and their many partners have converted nearly 700 miles of traditional fence to wildlife-friendly fence in the Pinedale area alone.

Avoid snowmobiling or recreating on low-elevation winter ranges, but rather opt for the high country with deeper snow where animals are less likely to be disturbed.

Resist the urge to feed wildlife to “help” them through the winter, as it typically does more harm than good. Feeding can result in increased potential for disease transmission, as well as conflicts with people, pets, and traffic due to high densities of animals in developed areas.

Similarly, protect and make stored hay crops and pet feed unavailable to wildlife, especially alfalfa. While game animals will readily eat these foods, they may not be able to metabolize them, and will often end up dying with a full stomach.

As motorists, plan ahead, drive slower and pay close attention for animals along our roadways. Wildlife-vehicle collisions occur at a higher rate during the winter months and research has shown that slowing down, even just five miles-per-hour can greatly increase a driver’s reaction time to avoid a collision. This is especially important at dawn and dusk when animals are more active and harder to see.