Saving A Deer

By Ed Bottum, Wildlife Biologist, IDFG - Southwest Region The scene is repeated hundreds of times each year in Idaho and more than a million times across the country, especially during winter. Skid marks (sometimes), blood spots streaked across the highway - and fragments: pieces of colored glass, shiny plastic, logos, unidentifiable parts. Fragments of deer too - you will have to use your imagination for this as I don't wish to describe it here. Seeing it is enough; enough to make one's heart sick. Another "road kill," another "deer hit" - euphemisms we use to disguise the horror of death by vehicle. It is a scene that stands to be repeated more than 200 times this winter along Warm Springs Road and Highway 21 if history is any gauge. We, the people working for the agencies that manage deer and highways, have tried dozens of ways over the years to get the attention of the primary (some say only) cause of deer death by vehicle - the drivers. It is more difficult than you might think. Yes, there are deer crossing signs, sometimes with flashing lights, sometimes with bright orange flags flapping in the wind. Yet drivers nearly always seem surprised by a deer-vehicle collision - even though it really shouldn't come as such a surprise. As the Treasure Valley's human population continues to grow, more and more people make their daily commute through, around and over the Boise Foothills. Vehicle traffic in the Foothills has steadily increased, with no end in sight. The number of deer struck down by vehicles has grown right along with this increase in vehicle traffic. Ultimately, each person driving a vehicle must decide whether they are going to do everything within their ability not to kill or injure a deer with their vehicle. At the very least, a driver must consider the expense of repairing a damaged vehicle. Every driver must decide what they will do to prevent a collision. Every driver must make not hitting a deer important. The surest way to begin learning how not to hit a deer is to slow down, giving yourself and the deer more time to avoid a collision. The travel time difference between driving at 45 miles per hour versus 35 miles per hour over a five-mile stretch of road is two minutes. Most of us can include a few extra minutes of commute time in our daily routine if we make up our minds to do so. If we make up our minds NOT to hit a deer. Foothills Habitat The Boise Foothills provide some of the most important big game winter habitat in Idaho. Deer migrate from summer ranges as far away as the Sawtooth Mountains back to Boise's foothills to spend their winters. The Boise River Wildlife Management Area (WMA), one of the largest wildlife management areas in Idaho, is managed by Fish and Game to provide a winter home for big game animals. Although it may seem large at nearly 35,000 acres, the WMA represents less than ten percent of the critical winter habitat used by deer and elk in the Boise Foothills. Most of the critical winter wildlife habitat in the Boise Foothills is held in private ownership. As development in this important wildlife area continues, it is crucial for the people who live here to be involved in the growth planning process. Find out about what is planned and let your elected officials know how you feel about development in these areas that are so important to both people and wildlife. Carcasses Collected Since September 1, 46 mule deer carcasses have been collected along Warm Springs Road and Highway 21 by Ed Bottum and his staff. This number does not include those mortally wounded animals that manage to drag themselves from the roadway, nor does it include those animals picked up by passing motorists. Bottum indicated that this figure is ahead of last year's count.