Colorado Division of Wildlife officials announced Thursday that they have as many volunteers as they need for the emergency feeding of the endangered Gunnison Basin mule-deer herd.
As of 2 p.m, 250 people had volunteered to help DOW officers feed the herd of 21,000 that has been hard hit by snow up to 4 feet deep and temperatures that have plunged to minus-35 degrees.
Joe Lewandowski, spokesman for the division, said his agency is currently assigning the 250 and that they will go into the field for the first time today. Lewandowski added, however, that the division still needs to pay for the thousands of bags of specialized feed for the deer.
One bag of feed costs the DOW $8 and will feed 16 deer, Lewandowski said. He said one deer consumes 3 pounds of feed per day. The DOW hopes to feed 8,000 of the mule deer.
To donate to the emergency feeding operation in the Gunnison Basin, go to the and click on the donation button. All donations will go to buy feed for the deer and antelope endangered by the brutal winter.
