Stewardship volunteers modify 6.5 miles of fence on the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument

BHA stewardship events provide improved access for not only wildlife, but humans as well.  Many of us spend our work days parked behind a computer, communicating through a keyboard.  We daydream about being out on public land, hunting, fishing or hiking.  We ask public land to provide us with a lot: food, shelter, solitude, recreation etc.   But how often do we get the opportunity to give back and leave it better than we found it?  Stewardship is that pathway into volunteer conservation.  BHA stewardship events are tailored for participants to leave their computer on Friday, and be given a tool and skills on Saturday, that improve thousands of acres of public land wildlife connectivity.

  

  

That is exactly what happened at the third annual Buck, Sweat, and Tears Paunsaugunt Fence Roundup in Utah.  On May 8 volunteers started arriving at camp on the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.  In total we had 22 participants- 2 BHA staff, 1 BLM staff, 2 Wildlands Network staff and 17 volunteers total.  Our goal was to remove the bottom barbed strand from 6.5 miles of fencing. In the fall of the year contractors will finish the modification by installing a smooth strand at 16” off the round and re-spacing the three other wires at 6”, 8” and 12” spacing.

 

  

The Paunsaugunt plateau in southern Utah is home to a large mule deer population.  In October, mule deer begin a migration of up to 78 miles, traveling from their summer range on the plateau to winter range on the UT AZ border.  The most significant barrier they face is highway 89 that bisects their corridor and winter range. In 2012, the Utah Department of Transportation and partners placed 12.5 miles of wildlife exclusion fence between existing and new crossing structures to reduce deer-vehicle collisions and provide connectivity for deer and other wildlife across the highway. This year was the third year that BHA and the Wildlands Network have been working together to improve connectivity for this herd.  It began with a year of inventory of the existing fence and determining which fences were in need of modification.  Wildlands looked at data from inventory and game cameras and determined there were 6.5 miles of fence that needed modification for 2026.

 

Saturday began with a safety briefing and breaking the crew up into two groups. One group would go with the wire winder and a larger group would be removing and rolling wire by hand.  Much like any other BHA stewardship event, volunteers quickly found a rhythm and began removing fence.  Rocky Talkies came in handy as crews were spread far apart and needed to communicate down the fence.

  

  

By the end of the day the crew had removed 5.5 miles of bottom barbed wire strand.  Everyone headed back to camp to hydrate and prep meals for the wild game potluck. Once again, the potluck was a highlite of the weekend.  Elk shank sliders, spicy BBQ quail, elk chili, javelina chorizo tacos, oryx steaks and elk merguez sausage.

  

  

On Sunday a small group of volunteers finished the job by removing the final 1 mile of fence.

  

Thanks to everyone who participated and to I Got Poop for donating the portable toilets.

 

If stewardship sounds like your kind of fun, check out the BHA Events page to find an event near you.

 

If you are not a BHA member, please become one today.