Time to Feed Deer and Elk?

Recent reminders of a "real" Idaho winter have many asking how deer and elk are doing. Across most of Idaho, travelers have not seen wild game animals up to their bellies in snow for several years. But snows that arrived with the new year showed the chillier side of Mother Nature. When weather is wild enough to make our own well-insulated lives less than comfortable, it seems to be a common instinct to want to make life a little better for elk and deer. Why not give them something to eat when snows cover the hills? Herds in a few areas of Idaho are already being fed this winter. Whether more will be fed depends on decisions by citizen winter feeding advisory committees in the five southern regions working with regional Fish and Game staff as well as weather patterns. It is a system that works but not as simply as throwing a fork full of hay once in a while. Winter feeding advisory committees have developed criteria unique to each area where emergency winter feeding is most likely to occur. In the Southwest Region, for example, the committee considers the likelihood of feeding by looking at the condition of natural forage on winter range, deer and elk body condition (fat resources) as measured at hunter check stations and from road-killed animals and long range weather forecasting. As winter begins, the committee reviews criteria beginning with the number of animals migrating below an elevation of 4,000 feet. Other criteria are snow depth reaching a minimum of 18 inches on south facing slopes for at least five consecutive days, snow crusting or daytime high temperatures not exceeding 0 degrees Fahrenheit for five consecutive days. No single factor triggers emergency feeding. Because big game winter feeding is a Fish and Game-funded and administered program, and because the department is obligated to consider broader impacts to overall herd status and health and operate within the intent of Commission and state policy, the actual decision and authorization to begin feeding lies solely with the department. The department director has delegated authority to regional supervisors who must consider factors including some of the problems with winter feeding. A variety of potentially lethal diseases are present in free-ranging deer and elk herds, yet large-scale outbreaks of any one of these diseases are rare because animals are distributed over a large area. However, artificially concentrating animals at a feed site has the potential to trigger an outbreak of one or more of these diseases. Brucellosis, a disease that causes spontaneous abortion in cattle and elk, is a big concern in eastern Idaho. One of Fish and Game's concerns is the potential for spread of diseases like Brucellosis to livestock. No one wants to take a chance with Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), an always-fatal brain disease. Respiratory diseases like tuberculosis spread easily and can kill the youngest animals. Emergency feeding is paid for by hunters and anyone else who might purchase a deer, elk or antelope tag. At least 75 cents and up to $1.50 from each tag sold is placed in the emergency big game winter feeding set-aside account. This account, and the manner in which account funds may be spent, was established by Idaho Code (state law) in 1984. Account funds can be used only for the purpose of winter feeding until the account balance reaches $400,000. Once this threshold is attained, additional funds over and above the $400,000 level can be used for big game habitat projects. Feeding account receipts average about $200,000 per year. In a typical year, statewide feeding expenses average about $100,000. In peak winter feeding years, like the winters of 1988-1989, 1992-1993, and 2001-2002, hefty sums have been extracted from the account ($330,000, $450,000, and $300,000 respectively). Despite the expenditure of hunters' dollars and time and effort on the part of Fish and Game staff and volunteers-not to mention years of emotional debate about winter feeding- logistically and practically, only a small proportion of Idaho's deer and elk can be fed, plus it is rare that emergency feeding conditions exist statewide at the same time.