Wildlife in the winter and farmers

The winter season is tough on all of us, including our wildlife. The weather is frigid and food is limited in the mountains. Elk, deer and even antelope will often come down and feed on farmer’s crops and haystacks. This causes a lot of issues for farmers and even the wildlife themselves.

It can be extremely frustrating for farmers to see their haystack being eaten away by elk and deer. They’re not only a nuisance to farmers but it can also be extremely costly for them as well.

Fish and Game has been dealing with this for years and they will occasionally give out kill permits, but that’s their very last resort.

“They really go after that stored hay that they can smell and see to try to get to it. That’s what causes these depredations. These animals, they’re desperate for food.” Merritt Horsmon, Landowner Sportsman Coordinator for Fish and Game said.

Depredation is when big game animals destroy crops. Fish and Game responds to farmers by using “hazing” techniques. This is usually a combination of fencing, firecrackers, and pellet baiting animals away from crops.

“If we get there before animals become habituated to whatever they are eating that can sometimes be successful and run them off. If not after non-lethal hazing is lethal control.”

However, Fish and Game say it’s their last resort, and permits are given out sparingly.

Jennifer Jackson, Regional Communications Manager for Fish and Game says, “It’s usually issued for one of a few animals and not necessarily for a whole herd… In fact, every time we have to do a kill permit or a depredation hunt is because we have exceeded our objectives for a particular species in that area. So, this is a method to try and reduce those conflicts.”

However, the conflict doesn’t end there. Hunters pay a depredation fee to get their license.

Some hunters believe that farmers should be responsible for their own land, without having to pay into a depredation fee. The half of that depredation fee goes towards farmers land that hunters usually don’t have access to. Secondly, some hunters believe elk shouldn’t be killed for feeding on crops.

“So sometimes when there are problems or conflicts our job is to try to step in and mitigate and try to manage those. So we can still manage the wildlife values we love while also helping farmers protect their property,” Jackson said.