The western states winter impact
General Topic
I live in Northern Nevada, and to say this winter has been a long, rough row to hoe is an understatement. We have surpassed all of our snow-fall records since records have been taken from my understanding. I can only imagine what it is doing to the ungulate population. Mule deer and antelope are going to have a tough go of it. We are still getting snow and I figure the deer are into their 5.5 to 6 month gestation periods by now. Some have seen younger deer but they are looking pretty lean and usually in or around the edges of suburbia. Thoughts?
Always good with the bad. Oregon is above the average all over the state. Another 2 ft coming this weekend. We need it. Should help with wildfire season too. But the critters suffer because of it.
https://cowboystatedaily.com/2023/03/29/dying-by-the-thousands-miles-of-death-as-wyoming-antelope-deer-and-elk-die-from-winter-starvation/
It’s not bad, it’s real bad. See link from Wyoming
As Brad says, it’s bad.
Snowplow Drivers Hauling Off Wildlife Carcasses All Across Wyoming As Animals Continue to Starve Published on March 30, 2023 March 30, 2023 in Wyoming Game and Fish/News/wildlife ***For All Things Wyoming, Sign-Up For Our Daily Newsletter*** By Mark Heinz, Outdoors [email protected] For two and a half weeks, Jason Fry watched with sadness and admiration as a large bull elk fought hard against extreme winter conditions on a little patch of ground he’d claimed along Interstate 80 near Evanston. In the darkness sometime late Tuesday or early Wednesday, the bull lost his fight. “We saw him late Tuesday, and he was still standing up,” Fry, who is a snowplow driver for the Wyoming Department of Transportation, told Cowboy State Daily. “The next morning, he was dead.” The bull had gained a following through social media and a previous Cowboy State Daily article about his plight, and Fry said he’s been getting a lot of questions about the animal. “A lot of people who have been following this story have been asking me for updates: ‘How is he doing? Did he make it?’” Fry said. “He might have finally starved, or he might have stepped out onto the asphalt and gotten clipped. I don’t know exactly how he died, I just know he’s dead,” Fry said, adding that somebody had apparently taken the bull’s antlers.
WYDOT snowplow driver Jason Fry watched this large bull elk struggle against starvation along Fry’s Interstate 80 plowing route near Evanston. After two and half weeks, the bull died. (Photo Courtesy Jason Fry)
Highways Of Death The bull’s story focuses a larger heart-wrenching drama that’s playing out all along the highways near Evanston, Fry said. During a recent break between plowing sessions, he joined a WYDOT crew in the grim task of collecting wildlife carcasses along a 5-mile stretch of 1-80 and an 18-mile stretch of U.S. Route 189. They recovered the carcasses of 34 deer, 14 antelope (pronghorn) and three elk. And the gruesome work has only just begun, Fry said. “In our area, we have probably another 80 miles of highway to cover (in carcass collection), just as a guesstimate,” he said, adding that “it’s a sad year for the animals in general. “It’s a combination of things. They’re starving or freezing along the roadside, or they’re getting desperate and coming out onto the roads and getting hit. Either way, it’s ultimately the hard winter that’s killing them.” Antelope in particular have taken to the asphalt looking for forage, he added. “The antelope are getting so tired of the snow, they’re just coming right out on to the interstate,” Fry said. “People are telling us that they’re seeing antelope just laying right in the middle of the interstate trying to pick up the heat from the asphalt.” Things Are Bad All Over Similar stories are playing out across Wyoming. Wildlife officials have predicted that as many as half of the antelope in the Rawlins-Red Desert area could die this winter, along with many mule deer and elk. And in the Baggs-Wamsutter-Dixon area, as many as 80% of the antelope could die, along with significant numbers of deer and elk, state Sen. Larry Hicks, R-Baggs, recently told Cowboy State Daily. Because of the massive die-off, there has been some talk of limiting hunting seasons in the hardest-hit areas. Fry said he’s skeptical about his own fall hunting plans. “My son asked me the other day, ‘Dad, are we even going to hunt elk this year?’ I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t know what kind of shape the elk that survive are going to be in. At this point, I’m worried about the health of the elk.” For now, it’s back to work, he said Thursday. “It snowed again last night,” Fry said. “So, today, we’re going to be plowing.”
And yet, here in central Colorado we have Red Flag Warnings due to dry windy conditions, and the antelope, deer and elk are all doing fine. Go figure.
Matt
North Park Colorado
North Park Colorado
some will make it and ........
some will make it and ........
a some will not! At lease there is some ground they can feed on.
a some will not! At lease there is some ground they can feed on.
States need to take a hard look at the reality of this and close or reduce seasons drastically. But the almighty dollar will rule. Hope it doesn't.
Very little,,if any, of the Nevada winter range is covered in snow. The high country for sure.
That’s so sad I was deer hunting the Baggs area last fall and seen so many goats and so many quality bucks a major reset for them for sure
Oh, they'll throw a token out to try and appease conservationists and outdoorsman. Not enough to make much of a difference in herd numbers... or their budget.??
Here in central Montana we have had some snow but the cold has hung on. We won't start seeing night temps above freezing until after April 10th and then just barely.
We are in a severe to exceptional drought and if we don't get May/June rain it's going to be tough.
Too bad some of you think Wildlife management is more about the money, than the proper management of the wildlife when conditions dictate it. Colorado and other states dealing with deep snows and cold weather, dying animals, have the wildlife as a top priority. Reduced license number in those area, will surely take effect. Closed a season, never heard of that happening? Reduce license numbers to a low number, yep.
https://www.outdoorlife.com/conservation/brutal-winter-killing-western-big-game/
"Very little,,if any, of the Nevada winter range is covered in snow. The high country for sure."
Scott, I live up right against the Rubies and we have been getting hammered. All the way along to the East Humboldts. My wife and I decided to go to Winnemucca the other day for no other reason to get out of the house to have lunch at the Martin basque house. I was amazed at the lack of snow just west of Elko all the way to WMC. Get over the hill into SC and it is a whole different story. I know the Sierras are getting brutalized. Weather has been about as crazy as I can remember it.
Those who complain about tag cuts and seasons closed r not hunters. They need to care about the animals and their recovery so down the road we may hunt. Missin one season is not catastrophic. Death is.
Is that all it’ll take to rebound is one year?
Hallelujah!
More like 5 to 10. If no more winters like this yr. What happened to global warming?
It will take a few years to recover if the deer herds do. Pronghorn have twins and triplets quite commonly so they may bounce back sooner. Meanwhile here in our part of Wyoming it is not bad. Just up the road it is.
Just received an email from my turkey hunting friend who is hunting 40 miles north of Scottsbluff. Just received 9 inch of snow last night and this morning. Has to leave his camper there. Crazy Spring for sure.
Snowing in NE Wyoming right now.
Here’s another good article.
Mother natures way of balanceing the wildlife when man can't . The land will only suppirt so many animals ,mother nature is eliminateing the excess the habitat wont/can't support, Its cruel but needed
I talked to a biologist in Green River today and got some info on the winter and the proposed seasons. There were at least 10,000 antelope (min) in antelope area 57 south of Rock Springs. At least 50% died this winter. You have to keep in mind that all the fawns died and that a good percentage of the surviving does will abort their fawns in order for themselves to live. So we have basically lost 2 years of recruitment in the antelope population. G&F will attempt to take 15% of the bucks by hunting each year. So 1/2 to 2/3 of the antelope are gone (got to take into account the aborted fawns) for this year. The buck population is WAY, WAY below objective, so what does G&F do? Issue 200 any antelope tags. !/2 what was proposed originally. In a couple of years there will be very few bucks but by golly they will have gotten the revenue from at least some tags. Everyone is screaming to close the seasons but $ trump the resource in Wy. You do not keep killing the resource when they in a desperate situation. I don't care if they all turn into Boone and Crockett goats and die of old age. We need to help the RESOURCE not our egos........Piss me off........Mike
Mike is correct. The does will have still born or fawn with low weight than won’t live long. It’s a double whammy for the animals. The legislature needs to make sure the G&F gets the funds to stay afloat, but they need to reduce the tags to near nothing for a few years.
Muleysareking, That's a massive, alarming, die off for sure. But are you sure your number of 200 tags is correct? That number doesn't sound very alarming. Would that even be noticed considering a ballpark 5000+ have died from the weather this year?
"Muleysareking, That's a massive, alarming, die off for sure. But are you sure your number of 200 tags is correct? That number doesn't sound very alarming. Would that even be noticed considering a ballpark 5000+ have died from the weather this year?"
Agreed. Based on those numbers, 200 tags is nothing to be alarmed over. A little bit of coyote culling will grow the herd much faster than reducing tags any more.
On the positive side, Pronghorns, despite being somewhat fragile as individuals, are an incredibly tough species. They have survived extreme weather and Real climate change better than all the other ungulate species in North America.
Back in 2005-2007 we had a huge winterkill on antelope here in SD. Our game department issued TRIPLE DOE TAGS the following season when everyone begged for the season to be stopped. Of course everyone went out and exterminated what was left because most hunters are too apathetic to think past their own nose. Our herd has never recovered. We went from approximately 85k antelope in SD at that time to less than 25k now. I'm very pleased to see WY doing something, we didn't, and our herd has never been the same.
Brotsky, seeing what happened to the South Dakota antelope herd was super frustrating. Not only was your herd strong, but you all had some great bucks. Sometimes hunters are our own worst enemies, and our Game and Fish dept's don't always help... Mike, I agree completely. But dealing with our game and fish is usually like beating our heads against a brick wall. I remember just a few years back our antelope herds outside of Newcastle were pretty strong. Game and fish saw that as nothing but a cash cow, and sold em down the road. Area 7 alone was a 1500 any antelope area (250 bucks now, still too many), and ya could pick up two doe tags as well. Of course, now antelope numbers there are in the toilet, and if ya go to the season setting meetings with the game and fish they give their long candy coated answer as to why, and at the end say "and maybe a little over hunting". yeah, just a little......
Our hunting group was planning on sending for deer tags in central Wyoming this year, as our family has done this since 1965. After seeing what the winter has done to that region I think it'll be at the minimum one year if not more before we send again.
I'm wondering if anyone at the WG&F has thought of or actually done any food plots/habitat management in the migration areas to help mitigate some of the starvation and loss of wintering weight.
