- Keep yourself, your pets, and your snow machines away from wildlife or areas known to be critical refuges for wintering wildlife.
- Conduct your antler hunting as late in the spring as possible, waiting at least until mid-April .
- Respect road and area closures. Remember your movement causes animal movement.
- Be especially wary of wildlife on the roadways during the night, particularly at dawn and dusk. Slow down during these times.
- Slow down on stretches of road known to be hot spots for wildlife crossings-especially in the fall and spring when wildlife are on the move.
- Pay attention to wildlife crossing signs along the roads, and please leave them in place. Several signs purchased by Fish and Game and ITD have been stolen. This is a waste of hunting license and tax dollars, and creates a dangerous situation for motorists and wildlife.
- Report any illegal or questionable activities involving wildlife to local Fish and Game offices; in Pocatello call 208-232-4703, or to the Citizens Against Poaching hotline 1-800-632-5999. Callers to the CAP hotline can remain anonymous.
Deer Vulnerable in Spring Time
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By Jennifer Jackson, Idaho Department of Fish and Game
Spring is here - at least according to the calendar, and in some areas of southeast Idaho the hillsides are baring and shoots of grass pushing through the dirt.
One might think that wildlife, especially mule deer, have made it through another Idaho winter, but in fact spring holds its own set of challenges.
Right now mule deer are carrying the last of their fat reserves on their bodies. Those fat reserves have been critical to helping wildlife get through the winter months - providing insulation and energy for battling cold weather and deep snows.
Some areas of the region still have significant snow on the ground with winter-like conditions. So animals are still burning considerable energy to get themselves through these final weeks before real spring weather and abundant vegetation arrive. This scenario is especially hard on the fawns, and it is common to see a sharp drop in fawn survival in the spring.
There are many situations that contribute to how mule deer use their last of the fat reserves this time of year, which ultimately affects survival.
Of course, weather plays a role. Spring snow storms and prolonged cold weather can sometimes have deadly consequences for animals, but there are other factors.
People getting out to hunt antlers or do some late season snowmobiling can cause wintering wildlife to move at a time when animals need to conserve their energy. Even those who want to snap that perfect picture of a feeding mule deer can cause unintentional harm.
"People are continuously pulling over near Lava Hot Springs and Red Rock Pass to get pictures of mule deer eating the new green grass alongside the highways," said Tyler Peterson, Fish and Game conservation officer in Lava Hot Springs. "The simple action of pulling over and taking pictures is enough to cause the deer to retreat, sometimes even bouncing back and forth across the highway. This not only causes the deer to use valuable energy as they move, but the animals put themselves and motorists in danger."
People's unleashed dogs will also chase deer, again causing unnecessary expenditure of a mule deer's energy. And, in some cases, dogs will even directly cause an animal's death by running it down and attacking it. Any harassment of mule deer or other big game by dogs is unlawful and can result in citations issued to dog owners. In extreme circumstances, conservation officers and other law enforcement have had to kill dogs when the animals could not be called off of a chase.
There are a lot of hard aspects of a conservation officer's job, but Peterson says that coming across a fatally injured mule deer this time of year is particularly tough.
"It is disappointing to see dead deer this time of year, especially those that did not die of natural causes," Peterson said. "When a deer has made it this long, surviving all the challenges of a southeast Idaho winter, it is disheartening to think that spring weather was just around the corner and they couldn't make it."
On one particular day a few weeks ago, Peterson and Idaho Transportation Department employees picked up seven road-killed mule deer on Highway 30, only to have several more suffer the same fate about a week later.
The formula is simple. In spring, mule deer on their last fat reserves are on the move, seeking out greener forage, crossing roads, and trying to avoid increasing human activity. Every unnecessary movement mule deer are forced to take to avoid people or dogs this time of year is one more step taken toward a potentially dead end.
What you can do to help wildlife this spring: