Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire The high fencing of the Western USA

Good points but in reality the fencing along busy highways prevents many animal/autos accidents and in the long run protects the big game population. Does it create separate populations and prevent migration and diversification of the gene pool??? Not sure.


High fens hunting ranches are a completely different animal. Any of us who are ethical hunters should avoid these "Game Farms" and avoid all of the dumb a$s shows that are not "Free Range" ethical hunts. Sorry Texas! If you want a Bushbuck then go to Africa!

Good topic.

Nevada put two overpasses in on hwy 93 between Wells and Twin Falls.

7,000 mule deer per year seem to use it. Given there are 2.4 million vehicle-deer collisions per year in the US, spending a little money to save lives and collision damage seems prudent.

https://www.nevadadot.com/safety/improvements/overpass.aspx

Respectfully, Not even close.


I hunt Big Game in America.

I shoot Big Game in Africa.

Years ago when they built I-84 from Burley, ID to Salt Lake, they ran it through the deer migration route on the Idaho side. The deer used to migrate to a low mountain range to the west for the winter. It blocked them and now they migrate to northern UT where they've caused all kinds of problems.
In reality, routing the highway west of the winter range would have no only protected the deer but also put it in a much lower wind area. As it is, the highway is closed repeatedly every winter for high winds.

I drive that road 10-15 times a year from Walla Walla to Sandy Utah

They have designed in some clever earthen ramps that corral the animals into a funnel to jump back into the fenced area away from the highway

I would disagree with that and say that it depends on whether the fence ever comes into play to either restrict movement or manage genetics.

I will drive out I-70 (CO) in a few hours to get to a bear hunting spot. It has high fences along some sections, including an area about 30 miles from where I plan to hunt. The fence will never come into play. A few bears from my hunting area may migrate down to the highway at one time or another but the vast majority will never come near the fence; there's no reason for them to.

The same could be said for most of the fences along major highways in western states. Yes, if you hunt right up against the fence or near it, it may come into play but the vast majority of hunting takes place far enough away from the high-fenced roads so that the fences don't matter. When you're pulling a trailer along the highway, you see a lot of high fence. When you get off the interstate, you don't.

To say that elk hunters in Montana are not hunting free range game because of fences along the interstate is ridiculous in my opinion.

Also as I said earlier, when these fences are built in areas where big game animals are known to migrate, passages are built to allow the animals to cross. Do they construct them the same in RSA?

We can either fence the deer off the road, or run over them. Which is the smarter choice?

Exactly.

Alternate hwy 97 out of Wenatchee has been getting high fenced on it's northern side to reduce the carnage that occurs there constantly. The area is subject to massive mule deer migration and big horns, both of which cross the highway to get a drink from the Columbia river. Every winter there's a tremendous number of collisions. To say that those are no longer free range animals because there's a fence stopping them from getting to the hiway is ludicrous. The Columbia is a natural barrier (yes I know deer can swim) so that fence ultimately prevents them from "free ranging" the additional 200 yards to the river. They do have thousands or tens of thousands of square miles north, east and west of the protective barrier.

Freeways, cities, and other obstacles also act to fence in or aid in the congregation of animals. A high fence needs to completely encircle a given area before they're no longer free range. I'd prefer that animals and people not get killed in collisions and those collisions are greatly reduced by a fence. Hundreds in that one little stretch of road alone every year.

I suppose by our very existence we are fencing the animals out, or in if you prefer, the solution to that is unacceptable.

Agreed the fence is 100% needed to stop or greatly reduce collisions.

The purpose of these fences are identical in both South Africa and the USA.