Landowners offer a service for all of us who love to hunt, fish and watch wildlife by providing habitat on their properties. Many go the extra mile, enrolling their land into special programs that develop fields specifically to create cover and forage for wildlife.
“By doing these types of enhancements, we increase the potential to have more wildlife. And for sportsmen that means more opportunity,” said Fish and Game habitat biologist Andrew Mackey. “And that means a greater chance of harvest, increased harvest.”
Mackey worked with landowners Jim and Emily Fredenburg up on the fringe of the Palouse country near Troy, Idaho using the State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement or “SAFE” program. It is designed to help landowners produce and attract more wildlife to their properties by combining the efforts of federal and state resources.
“I’m passionate about habitat because honestly, that’s where it’s at,” said Mackey. “If we don’t have habitat, we’re not going to have animals.”
The Fredenburgs have been in the program since 2014 and already have seen an increase in wildlife numbers. “The deer are out here all the time. Lot’s of whitetail. Lot’s of whitetail,” said Jim Fredenburg. “The grouse and the quail, it’s got to be better cover for them.”
The cover is better, both for over-wintering game birds and for hiding from aerial predators. Moreover, there are insects jumping everywhere which provide food for upland game. Bees are buzzing about further pollinating the Fredenburg’s property and adjacent landowner’s fields.
And for sportsmen and women, it means better hunting and fishing. So watch this video and let’s give a shout out to Idaho landowners for all they do for habitat!