Saving 8,000 deer from starving
By Alan Gathright, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published January 17, 2008 at 12:30 a.m.
Updated January 17, 2008 at 9:50 a.m.
Colorado Division of Wildlife officials leave food pellets for deer. Three hundred volunteers showed up for a meeting in Gunnison on Tuesday, Joe Lewandowski said. "But this could go on six to eight weeks, so we're going to need a lot of people."
Photo by Photos By George Kochaniec Jr. / The Rocky
Colorado Division of Wildlife officers Brent Woodward, left, and Zach Holder distribute food pellets for mule deer on Wednesday east of Gunnison. Snowdrifts forced the DOW to launch its biggest feeding operation since 1984.
Photo by George Kochaniec Jr. © The Rocky
A mule deer finds hay near a ranch in the Gunnison Basin. But wildlife officials caution people against feeding hay to deer because - unlike elk - they can't digest it. Deer are browsers that survive on shrubs and sagebrush in the winter.
Photo by John Sopinski © The Rocky
MAP: Feeding operations planned for Gunnison Basin
Wildlife officials and volunteers are launching the biggest feeding operation in 24 years to save 8,000 mule deer from starving in 4-foot snowdrifts near Gunnison.
"The snow is deep and it's heavy, so it's taking an extraordinary amount of energy for the deer to get to food," said Joe Lewandowski, a spokesman for the Colorado Division of Wildlife.
"There's also been brutally cold temperatures. It was down to 26 degrees below (Wednesday) morning," he added.
The deer are in good shape because snow didn't blanket the region until three weeks ago. But wildlife experts fear the long-term impact as the Gunnison Basin reaches 143 percent above the average snowpack.
"This time of year, it just stays cold from now through February with brutal temperatures and lots of snow," he said.
"You could lose 30 percent to 50 percent of the herd in a really bad winter," he said. "If that happens, it's a devastating loss, and it's really hard for the herd to recover."
It would also be a hard hit for the Gunnison economy, which is increasingly dependent on hunters coming to stalk the region's renowned deer herds.
Now, wildlife officials are gearing up for the biggest deer-feeding operation since 1984, Lewandowski said.
They are asking for hundreds of volunteers to help distribute the cookie-size feed wafers for deer, bighorn sheep and pronghorn. Alternately, volunteers will pitch hay to elk, which can be aggressive, to keep them away from deer-feeding sites.
"We had 300 people show up in Gunnison (Tuesday) night at a volunteer meeting," Lewandowski said. "But this could go on six to eight weeks, so we're going to need a lot of people."
DOW officials need volunteers with trailers and an army of snow-worthy vehicles, especially snowmobiles, snowcats and four-wheel-drive vehicles.
Volunteers also are sought who can travel through deep snow on cross-country skis and snowshoes.
Officials started feeding operations in recent days to get deer accustomed to humans. The plan is to crank up volunteer operations this weekend.
Since Saturday, DOW staff have been scouting about 60 potential deer-feeding sites where herds of five to 30 deer are snowbound.
They're also using snowcat tractors to tamp down snow paths, so snowmobilers pulling feed-laden sleds can access the areas.
People are cautioned against feeding hay to deer because - unlike elk - they can't digest it.
"They're browsers that survive on shrubs and sagebrush during the winter. So, people would be better off going out in their backyards and knocking snow off the sagebrush."
Wildlife managers also are monitoring weather and snow conditions in other areas of western Colorado, including the Eagle Valley, the Aspen area, the Meeker/Craig area and the lower Yampa Valley.
People driving across the Western Slope are cautioned to watch for wildlife along roads as deer and other critters strive to find snow-free areas.
gathrighta@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5486
To help
* If you're interested in volunteering, contact Jennifer Kleffner, southwest region volunteer coordinator at 970-375-6704.
* People also can donate to the feeding operation at the Division of Wildlife Web site: wildlife.state.co.us/wildlifeStore
Feeding wildlife in winter
The Gunnison Basin feeding operation is to last six to eight weeks or until weather improves.
Deer
They are the most susceptible of the big-game species to extreme winter conditions.
* What they eat: Unlike elk, deer obtain little nutrition from grasses or hay. During winter, deer in the Gunnison Basin feed primarily on sagebrush.
* What is hoped: The feeding operation is aimed primarily at deer. They will be fed a specially formulated high-energy wafer developed by DOW scientists during the 1980s.
Elk
These large animals are well-adapted to surviving winters.
* What they eat:Their digestive system allows elk to survive on a variety of food, including aspen bark, grasses and hay.
* What is hoped: The Colorado Division of Wildlife hopes to minimize feeding of elk. Because of their large size and behavior, elk would dominate feeding areas.
Bighorn sheep
Because they winter mainly in steep terrain where snow doesn't accumulate, they are not as affected by snow depth.
* What they eat: Food grows in their rocky habitat, so they are well-adapted to survive winters.
* What is hoped: Feed could be delivered to up to 250 animals that winter in accessible areas if it is determined it is necessary.
Pronghorn
About 600 of these speedy critters are in the basin.
* What they eat: The specially formulated feed will be placed in select areas in an attempt to feed the pronghorn.
* What is hoped: Feeding is difficult because they do not move easily to areas where feed is spread.
Featured
-
DNC in Denver
Complete coverage of the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
-
The Crevasse
A five-part series that examines one tragic day on Mount Rainier.
-
Deadly denial
Sick nuclear workers applied for government compensation but most haven't seen a dime.
-
Final Salute
The Rocky followed Maj. Steve Beck as he took on the most difficult duty of his career.
-
'Colorado's burning'
Coverage of the state's worst wildfires.
-
Columbine shootings
Coverage of the April 20, 1999, shootings at Littleton's Columbine High School.
-
The Crossing
Colorado's deadliest traffic accident killed 20 children on Dec. 14, 1961.
-
Osveli's journey
Osveli Sales left Guatemala for a better life. Two months later, he came home in a box.
-
Wake for an Indian warrior
Oglala Sioux bestow a tribute to the first tribal fatality in Iraq.
January 17, 2008
3:59 a.m.
Suggest removal
gwats writes:
LET THE DEER DIE. How many of these beasts would survive if there were no tree huggers around to feed them? And what happens when they move on to their next big cause? The deer die anyway. It's called 'Natural Selection' for a reason. Wolves , coyotees Lynx, bears got to eat, too.
January 17, 2008
9:20 a.m.
Suggest removal
Unicorn writes:
Tell you what gwats, lets dump your butt out there and see how you do. Geez, what a heartless putz.
January 17, 2008
12:52 p.m.
Suggest removal
slamky writes:
why is this news?
January 17, 2008
1:11 p.m.
Suggest removal
mark_senio writes:
I'm sure alot of the People going to Gunnison to help the Deer and Elk are Hunters and Outdoorsman. My wife and I are leaving in the morning to add to thier numbers. You should also attend this outing "gwats". It might make you a Better person. Why is this News? Its a format to gather the people who live in Colorado and Care about our state and the people of Gunnison. They depend on the Hunters and outdoorsman to fund thier economy. Look at the Big picture once in a while.
January 17, 2008
2:13 p.m.
Suggest removal
Retread writes:
The state of Wyoming used to have a good solution this problem. They would bail clippings from highway barditch cuttings, then feed it to the deer and elk population in the hard winters. The deer and elk populations are not what they used to be years back, a winter kill in this porportion woul decimate the local herds. It has nothing to do with being a "treehugger" or a "do gooder", it has to do with being a good caretaker. Growing weary of the "treehugger" label idiots have put on anyone who differs with their narrow little views of nature. Now if they knew anything, they would not use it.....
January 17, 2008
8:37 p.m.
Suggest removal
EastVail writes:
Let them die.
This effort to "save" them reminds me of smokey the bear. We all know where that got us - overgrown forests decimated by pine beetles, and these forests are not giant matchsticks.
When we try to play mother nature, we seem to regularly face unintended long-term consequences. We also never seem to learn our lesson.
January 17, 2008
9:32 p.m.
Suggest removal
LGB64 writes:
Let them die is the right attitude if we had never messed with any of these environments and systems to begin with. However, since so many of the places where these deer would normally have gone to feed are now covered with houses, we as humans are a bit more responsible for them. It is a never ending cycle, though - kill the predators, then you have to kill the prey. Then you feed the prey, and then you have more of them to kill.... where does it end??