EAGLE, Colo.—Because of a heavy snow season that will go into the record books in some areas, wildlife staff soon will begin feeding famished deer near Eagle and Wolcott.
Although feeding has been required more frequently in the Gunnison Valley, which not only experiences heavy snow but is much colder, this is only the third time in 25 years it has happened in the Vail Valley.
“Some animals will always die during winter, typically the very young, the very old, and the ones that may be sick,” Randy Hampton of the Division of Wildlife said. “Some people are upset by it, and others understand it, but at that point, there’s not much we can do about it.”
For the past 12 years, many of these deer haven’t experienced a truly tough Colorado winter. When deer seek out mountain valleys where they’ve found winter food in the past, they’ve found almost nothing this year and are often isolated by towering snow drifts. Some end up dead on highways.
The deer are so desperate they have begun ravenously munching on juniper trees, which have little nutrition, said Hampton.
Sage brush, and other small plants that might help them get through, are buried under mini-mountains of snow. Deer cannot store as much fat as elk, which is why the latter has continued to expand its population.
Wildlife officials only consider feeding populations where there’s a possibility that more than 30 percent of does will die as in the winters of 1983-1984 and 1996-1997. The normal mortality rate is 12 to 18 percent.
“The most susceptible in winter to mortality are fawns and older age bucks,” said Joe Lewandowski of the Division of Wildlife. The latter are the most prized by hunters.
Feeding animals makes them more comfortable being around humans, which is the last thing the department wants to see happen. But without the feeding program, the death rate could reach 50 percent.
The wildlife division will feed deer at 20 locations around Eagle and Wolcott, 29 and 39 miles west of Vail respectively. The Division of Wildlife will need volunteers and money to do it. The feed alone will cost around $120,000.
Elk are tougher but also are having problems. The Division of Wildlife has been giving ranchers hay to stack in strategic locations to keep the animals away from supplies meant for cattle and horses.
“We’ll put out some additional hay to make sure the horses and cows get what they need and so the elk won’t be fighting with these animals,” said Craig Wescoatt, the district wildlife manager.
