Winter has been mild so far, but what does that mean for the big game in our region? Idaho Fish and Game has the answers
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI)- It is the tale of two winters. Winter of 22-23 was filled with lots of snow and cold temperatures, which was a big hinderance to the big game in the Upper Snake Region in eastern Idaho. While it is still a bit early to tell, the current, milder winter is setting up for some recovery in the species of big game in the Upper Snake Region.
"It was a challenge for our mule deer herds. They took a hit as far as populations," Logan Peterson a regional wildlife biologist said. He says the further south and east in Idaho herds live the worse it got.
And while the slow start to this winter is a good thing, it's not going to be enough for the herds to really make their needed comeback.
"What we need is to string a couple of good winters together. That's when you'll see a rebound in the population. So while we're having a mild winter this year, that's good. But to see the change, we need to string a few of these kind of winters together going forward," Peterson said.
Peterson says much like what the deer and pronghorn need in Wyoming, (see here for more details), is snow in the high elevations and less snow in the valleys.
"The perfect scenario would be a lot of snow up high and less snow down low, less snow on the winter ranges. But that's not the only thing that affects them. It's also the duration of the winter. Last winter was long and very cold, though the shorter winter is, this year we didn't start seeing winter until late December. And if it could end in March, that would be ideal. We could still get the snow. The deer can handle snow, but it's the long, cold winters that go went from early November almost into mid to late April last year," Peterson said.
Peterson also says many of the deer haven't migrated down yet, as their food source hasn't been too badly covered. This allows them to be much more spread out than usual.
"With that said, it just depends on the area. Some areas tend to calendar migrate a little bit more. Some areas are more weather dependent," Peterson said.
