Sun Valley Happenings

People asked to give valley wildlife a break


Sun Valley's Elk and Deer winter range
Posted: February 01, 2017 by Coldwell Banker Distinctive Properties Sun Valley

The Blaine County Sheriff’s Office and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game are asking people to stay out of areas where wildlife are wintering, particularly in the east Hailey and Quigley Canyon areas.

    “We realize that these are very popular areas for recreation, but we are asking the public’s assistance and cooperation for the sake of the animals. If you encounter wildlife, please be respectful, turn around and go elsewhere,” Sheriff Steve Harkins stated on the Sheriff’s Office’s website.

    Harkins also stressed the importance of keeping dogs on a leash. “Unfortunately, even well-trained dogs find chasing wildlife hard to resist,” he said.

    Both Blaine County and state code have provisions for charging people with dogs that harass wildlife. Depending on the circumstances, people can be cited for a state infraction or county misdemeanor, the Sheriff’s Office stated. Idaho infractions are subject to a $72 fine. Blaine County provides for a misdemeanor charge for dogs at large, with a fine of up to $257 and six months in jail.

    “It is not our intent to start writing a lot of citations,” Harkins said. “We are hoping that the public will use good judgment by not disturbing wintering animals who are struggling for the sake of recreation. We hope everyone will cooperate for the sake of our wildlife.”

    When the proposed Old Cutters subdivision was under consideration by the city of Hailey in 2008, the Department of Fish and Game recommended closure of the hillsides to the east to all human use during winter to protect elk and deer. That same year, during the city’s consideration of an annexation request for a proposed development in Quigley Canyon, the department reported counting 400 mule deer and about 40 elk—fewer elk than usual, it said—in the canyon.

In January 2014, a large sign funded by the city, the county, the BLM and the Department of Fish and Game was erected at the Old Cutters trailhead. However, the sign is only informational, urging people not to use those areas during winter. The project was led by Hailey-area resident Lili Simpson, who said in an interview Wednesday that the suggestions are not being heeded.

    “In some places, [the trail] is mere yards from where those animals are bedded down,” she said.

    The hillsides on both sides of Hailey are primarily BLM land. Kelton Hatch, a spokesman for the Department of Fish and Game, said the department has been in discussions with the BLM about how to best manage areas that receive frequent recreational use, including Quigley Canyon.

    Heather Tiel-Nelson, a spokeswoman for the BLM’s Twin Falls District, said a permanent winter recreation closure of the area could be imposed as part of an updated travel-management plan for the Shoshone Field Office. She said the agency hopes to begin the updating process this spring.

    Such a closure is in place every winter on Sawtooth National Forest land on south-facing slopes above Warm Springs Road near Ketchum.

    Late last week, the Department of Fish and Game began emergency winter feeding of elk and mule deer in southern Blaine County, both to help the animals survive the heavy winter and to keep them away from farms and highways.

    Hatch said the department began plowing an area at Peregrine Ranch, north of Hailey between state Highway 75 and Buttercup Road, on Wednesday, and planned to start feeding elk there Thursday or Friday.

    The department discourages feeding by individuals, who may inadvertently do more harm than good by drawing the animals to dangerous places and by providing the wrong food. Hatch said the latter applies particularly to deer, whose digestive microbes can only handle a narrow range of food at one time. He said the department feeds them high-protein pellets specifically intended for deer. He noted that those are not the same as alfalfa pellets.

    “The rumen in their stomachs can’t break down the alfalfa, and so they don’t get the nutrients they need,” he said.

    Hatch said elk are hardier and able to eat a wider variety of food.

    “If the elk have something to browse on and they’re not being pushed, they should be fine,” he said. “But we need to limit human [-caused] stress as much as we can.

    “Hopefully, we can get some sun and get some south slopes melted down a little bit.”

    Anyone who would like to contribute to the department’s feeding operation can do so by sending a check made out to Idaho Fish and Game Winterfeed, and mail it to Idaho Fish and Game, attn: Administration, 600 S. Walnut, Box 25, Boise, ID 83707.

Email the writer: gmoore@mtexpress.com

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