Winter Feeding is No Simple Solution

Few wildlife issues are as complex or as emotionally charged as feeding big game during the winter. As soon as the snow begins to fly, questions about feeding big game animals start. People feed birds in the winter; so why not deer? But the decision to feed big game animals during winter is anything but arbitrary. Several players are involved in the process, including the Idaho Legislature, the Fish and Game Commission, the Fish and Game Department and regional winter feeding advisory committees. The winter feeding advisory committees, established in 1994 by the Legislature, set criteria for feeding and help Fish and Game decide when to start operations. Local conditions vary widely across the state, and local residents are best at deciding the details of feeding operations. The committees, made up of local residents, have been established in each of Fish and Game's seven regions. These five-member committees act as liaisons between Fish and Game and the public, further define local criteria for designating a feeding emergency, assess information on animal condition along with Fish and Game, and make recommendations about the need for emergency feeding. The committees monitor animal condition reports and comments from local residents through the winter determine whether there is a need or when it's time to recommend to Fish and Game that a feeding emergency exists. Fish and Game regional supervisors make the final decision on emergency winter feeding. Primary criteria include animal weight and condition (stored fat reserves) going into winter, snow depth, temperatures and quality of forage on the winter range. The criteria are assessed together, with no single criteria necessarily triggering the need for emergency feeding. Temperature criteria include five consecutive daytime highs that do not go above zero degrees. Winter feeding snow criteria include snow depths of more than 18 inches on south facing slopes. But an 18-inch snowfall combined with balmy temperatures in December may not constitute a feeding need. Heavy snow crusting - a condition that can occur when heavy snow showers are interspersed with warm weather - as well as the number of deer and elk that have migrated to below 4,000 feet elevation by January 15 also are monitored. Other criteria include animal condition going into winter, as measured from road-killed animals and harvested animals at check stations. This is generally a reflection of the quality of summer range forage. Winter range forage quality continues to be of major concern to the committee and Fish and Game. But there are other considerations as well. Winter feeding presents some challenges, including the possibilities of increased disease transmission, short-stopping of migrations, concentration of predators and damage to local habitats from concentrated browsing. Nor does winter feeding always prevent some mortality, particularly among young animals, but can raise survival rates of adult animals. The biggest factor in winter survival of big game animals is the body condition they carry into the season. Native wildlife, such as deer and elk, have endured Idaho's rugged climate for thousands of years, so it's evident that they are capable of surviving if left on their own. The tricky part of the equation is that human society has affected their population numbers and habitat. For example, where critical historic winter ranges have been replaced by homes and where construction of the Interstate highway blocked the annual deer migration, winter feeding was chosen over the potential loss of important herds, and those areas are exceptions to the rule. But numerous factors must be considered when discussing winter feeding, with money and manpower being among the most significant. In the Upper Snake Region during the winter of 2008, for example, Fish and Game, with the help of volunteers, 47 tons of hay to about 250 elk in Swan Valley and Teton Valley, and 65 tons of deer pellets to about 1,500 deer elsewhere in the region. In the Arco area, hay was provided to about 350 pronghorn. The cost of feeding hay and pellets was about $32,000; the manpower and materials expenses added another $44,000; volunteers donated time worth more than $7,000. The total cost of feeding was about $76,000. What did all of this money and time buy? The exact answer will never be known because of all the variables involved. Fawn survival was equally dismal on the Sand Creek Desert where feeding occurred, as it was in the Teton Canyon where no feeding was conducted because of logistical problems. Starvation happens primarily to animals that enter the winter in poor body condition, according to careful biological studies. Deer research has shown that animals in good condition can survive the winter with very little feed. Supplemental feeding is virtually irrelevant to survival. By far, improving winter range is the most cost efficient and effective way to help wild animals survive winter. Funding for feeding comes from a dedicated account created by the Legislature using a portion of big game tag fees. It takes 75 cents from each deer, elk and pronghorn tag sold and puts it into the account to buy feed and materials to help prevent wildlife damage to agricultural interests. More information about winter big game feeding can be found at: http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/hunt/biggame/feed.cfm.