BHA volunteers gathered this July to remove unnecessary fencing on a 200-acre parcel of prime big game habitat recently acquired by the United States Forest Service in the Pioneer Mountains near Wise River, Montana. Staff from the National Wildlife Federation and USFS facilitated the event by identifying priority zones and marking property boundaries, making it easy for BHA volunteers to show up and get to work.
Marked by generations of varied use, the parcel included portions of barbed wire fencing, high tensile wire, and multiple types of wooden fencing. Most notably, the property included a mile-long span of jack-leg covered in woven wire once used to harbor a captive elk herd. This fence presented a serious barrier to movement for wildlife between the adjacent meadowlands and dense timber, so we prioritized its removal. Much of the fence was decayed and-or buried in fallen timber, making progress slow and strenuous. After a weekend of work, however, we removed the woven wire entirely and disassembled most of the jack-leg in order to allow more freedom of movement for big game. Volunteers also removed nearly a mile of partially buried high-tensile wire fencing.
Between work days, volunteers camped along the Wise River and took advantage of nearby fishing and hiking in the Pioneer Mountains. On Saturday evening we enjoyed a group dinner of venison burgers before resting up for a final morning of fence removal. As usual, BHA volunteers brought positive attitudes and a strong work ethic the whole weekend. Not only did we get to spend a weekend on a piece of land made newly public, we left the area in much better shape for wildlife. Thanks to all the volunteers who donated their time and labor, and the folks at NWF and USFS for laying the groundwork!
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A final thank you to RightonTrek and Timberline Ace for providing food and tools for this project.
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About Micah Fields
Micah lives in Helena and is the Stewardship Leader for the Montana BHA Chapter.