WT Does. Shoot and eat, or not?

[J_T]

JT, (I’m a JT as well) was the 240 highway kills just in your highways district, (where are you in the EK?) or a provincial total? I have had 3 white tail and a young bear killed on Hwy 3 within 100 yards of my property between Grand Forks and Castlegar in the past 2 months. People need to slow down and open their eyes. It’s no fun finding dead fawns on your property by the smell…

The 240 road kills were from a small area only of this East Kootenay. It does not represent a regional talley, or provincial talley of road kill.

[KootenayKiller]

Regarding road kill and wildlife fencing in the EK...

-Are there any local non-profits currently involved in, or interested in, addressing this issue?
-Do you know the approximate cost of wildlife fencing? I’ve heard it's around $12K per kilometer for the type of fencing ranchers use (one side).
-Is there any public funding available to support fencing projects?
-Are there specific high-risk areas where wildlife collisions are particularly frequent and fencing could have the greatest impact?

I’d be interested in contributing time toward such efforts - PM me if there are opportunities to do so. I'm sure that, as a collective, the hunting community would be willing to donate or fundraise towards this goal as well. It seems the government’s focus is mostly on restricting hunting rather than addressing road kill. My thought is to explore whether this is a goal we could tackle through private efforts, even starting with priority areas if need be. Maybe I am wrong, but I bet the local RPBIOs would be in support of some such effort if it were spearheaded by the right group.

The EKHA has something on their website about signage to address this issue(https://www.keha.ca/projects), but I personally feel like this is woefully inadequate. I'm not a part of that group, as they charge $50 annually which is quite steep, and its not clear where that money goes on their website.

Thanks for your thoughts.

[Redthies]

We got a bunch of fencing done in the Grand Forks area to protect the recovering sheep herd. I believe Marty at Alpine Taxidermy in GF was involved, and would likely have info on if they had any funding from Govt sources.

There is also a giant billboard telling people to “slow down and actively watch for wildlife”. Despite this,I have actually been run off the road more than once by idiots passing in corners.

[MRP]

There isn't a lot of meat on a WT doe...hardly worth the gas or time....we killed 8 in one day back when the kootnays had a 2 doe limit...was a lot of cutting for not much meat....if I did it again, Id keep the legs whole and cook them one at a time when we had company.

After getting dozens of moose I got a deer. It's laying there on the cutting table and my brother-in-law says "9 prices like a chicken right?"

[Redthies]

The 240 road kills were from a small area only of this East Kootenay. It does not represent a regional talley, or provincial talley of road kill.

That’s an unacceptable number.

[KootenayKiller]

We got a bunch of fencing done in the Grand Forks area to protect the recovering sheep herd. I believe Marty at Alpine Taxidermy in GF was involved, and would likely have info on if they had any funding from Govt sources.

There is also a giant billboard telling people to “slow down and actively watch for wildlife”. Despite this,I have actually been run off the road more than once by idiots passing in corners.

Especially with the high volume of traffick from Calgary... not to mention TRAINS... signage is going to have a limited effect at best. Most people don't give a crap about the speed limit, let alone a deer/elk sign.

You can hit the elk even going the speed limit and paying attention. I've had a few close calls, and this season hit a cow - although I was going 10 under the limit and think I slowed enough that she probably was just badly bruised and lived. She was nowhere to be found after.

[KootenayKiller]

That’s an unacceptable number.

Our senior wilflife biologist said that 10% of our elk die annually from vehicle collisions. Obviously, a majority of those are female.

[LBM]

Well, I'll do what I can. I think at some point, in response to threads like this, we're not citing a single event or study, but rather reflecting more conversationally, a summary of our personal findings. But, here goes.
My comment about 1940' game count comes from a small book, put out by the University of BC in the 40's. I looked for the book in my book cabinet, but I may have lent it out. I'm sure a copy can be found, or I'll find mine.
My numbers presentation about the rise and fall of a Whitetail population comes from a conversation (many conversations) I had with the local (now retired) game biologist in this region. I'm sure you know him but, I won't mention his name here.
These numbers (projections) are supported up by highway and railway kill numbers observed and recorded over the past few years.
More recently the CWD has really tightened the count numbers for road kill. Over an 8 week period in June, July and into August, there were over 240 highway kills taken in for CWD testing. In this area all ungulates are heading for testing and those numbers are now online.
Lastly, the elk collaring was carried out in the Elk Valley. This study has been made available to the public and was a presentation made on a BCWF seminar. Again, I know the study is available, but i won't mention the author or study.
I don't actually know the breakdown of the numbers as you had requested.

Apologies, might not have been what you were looking for. Being involved locally, there is a collection of conversations, sharing of information that leads one to certain assumptions.
If we want to help wildlife populations a first step is addressing road and railway kill.

Its all good didnt think you would put up stuff about the study just certain bits as you did for dramatic effect, sounds like a pretty flawed study.
Highways and railways are always going to be a issue and only going to get worse as population ect grows, fences can and do cause a lot more
issues and are not always a good thing, lots of examples of them not being good and causing more issues. lowering speed limits do they help
take the Radium sheep for example they lower the speed limit now putting up an overpass have flag people, so traffic even slower. have first nations supposedly watching
and yet still have sheep hit.

[KootenayKiller]

Its all good didnt think you would put up stuff about the study just certain bits as you did for dramatic effect, sounds like a pretty flawed study.
Highways and railways are always going to be a issue and only going to get worse as population ect grows, fences can and do cause a lot more
issues and are not always a good thing, lots of examples of them not being good and causing more issues. lowering speed limits do they help
take the Radium sheep for example they lower the speed limit now putting up an overpass have flag people, so traffic even slower. have first nations supposedly watching
and yet still have sheep hit.

While any single study has limitations, it's the accumulation of evidence over time that brings reliable insights. I share your concerns about wildlife data quality but don’t find it productive to dismiss these ideas without better information—especially given that your understanding is also limited. Research from parks like Kootenay, Banff, and Yoho over 20 years shows wildlife fences effectively reduce vehicle collisions. While fences may disrupt migration if overpasses aren’t used, that’s still likely better than losing ~10% of the elk population annually. With traffic in the EK expected to grow, fences with crossings are probably more effective than temporary measures like speed reductions, which, as you noted, haven’t stopped the sheep from getting smoked regularly.


Why specifically do you think we would be worse off with wildlife fences than without?

[LBM]

While any single study has limitations, it's the accumulation of evidence over time that brings reliable insights. I share your concerns about wildlife data quality but don’t find it productive to dismiss these ideas without better information—especially given that your understanding is also limited. Research from parks like Kootenay, Banff, and Yoho over 20 years shows wildlife fences effectively reduce vehicle collisions. While fences may disrupt migration if overpasses aren’t used, that’s still likely better than losing ~10% of the elk population annually. With traffic in the EK expected to grow, fences with crossings are probably more effective than temporary measures like speed reductions, which, as you noted, haven’t stopped the sheep from getting smoked regularly.


Why specifically do you think we would be worse off with wildlife fences than without?

Maybe fences reduced vehicle collisions doesnt mean they saved wildlife, certain fences may of caused more death with the ungulates being run into the fence and killed by coyotes, wolves etc, when there escape route is blocked
by a fence it doesnt end well, but the parks etc might not want you to know this. Then there is the bears and other wildlife that do get caught inside the fence and get hit. I see both these being a issue with the radium area but again
wont be much said about it if it happens.
The high fences put up by some of the local rancher/farmers has altered many travel/feeding routes which has also caused much of the highway mortality.
Also the liberal doe hunting season a few years ago did have a impact on the population in certain areas of the EK.