In an attempt to counter the effects of heavy snow accumulation, Colorado Parks and Wildlife is planning a baiting program to help move deer and elk away from busy U.S. Highway 50 in Gunnison.
“We have seen a spike in road-kill mortality recently,” said J Wenum, CPW’s area wildlife manager in Gunnison. “Our goals are to protect drivers and their passengers by preventing wildlife-vehicle collisions and to be ready to go into a feeding operation if necessary.”
As conditions inevitably change during the winter months, wildlife such as deer and elk will relocate to preferable areas in search of suitable forage. Snowfall in the Gunnison Basin has been significant so far in 2017. Since the first week of January, the region has been subject to about 50 inches of snow, all of which is vital wintering range for the state’s mule deer who congregate in the area each winter.
“The importance of these wintering areas cannot be overstated,” explained Wenum. “We’ve been watching the situation closely, and so far, deer and elk appear to be doing well. They are able to move through the snow and to dig down to forage.”
In utilizing the bait stations, officials are hopeful they can safely move the animals away from the highway and lower the road-kill mortality rate experienced so far in 2017. While it is strictly illegal to feed or bait big game in the state of Colorado, officials believe the baiting operation will prove to be beneficial to the overall health of the deer and elk population.
Parks and Wildlife officials are optimistic that the animals will be able to survive the remainder of the winter months without additional human-administered feed sites but are entertaining the idea of continuing a feeding effort if range conditions deteriorate.
“We know that people understand winter is a very difficult time of year for wildlife and that some winter mortality is natural and expected,” said Patt Dorsey, CPW’s southwest region manager. “We want to be flexible and nimble to changing conditions in the basin and are asking the public to support requests from CPW and local land management agencies.”