The morning of May 11th was perfect. Blue, clear skies, a cool breeze, and air filled with excitement south of Bend. Twenty volunteers, including members of the local BLM and USFS field offices, came together to for the Skeleton Burn fence pull. This area is known as prime mule deer winter range for animals coming out of the Cascades. Unfortunately, it is crisscrossed by miles of unmaintained barbed wire fence. There have been multiple reports of wildlife becoming entangled in these old fences, but luckily, we were able to utilize the strength of our members to modify this fence, making these migration corridors once again usable by wildlife.
After a short safety brief and instructional meeting, volunteers split into groups to tackle each individual task involved with modifying the fence line. Young and old alike worked to remove the original top and bottom strands of wire, while others were tasked with driving t-posts or building braces to ensure the new, safer wire would last for years to come. After about 4 hours, we stood together and admired our work, a quarter mile of safer fence in the middle of a major migration route. The efficiency of our volunteers showed clearly. Once the work was done and all the tools were picked up, we were treated to a delicious lunch courtesy of OR/WA coordinator Chris Hager. Our volunteers spent the end of the day making new friends, and all were ready to start on the next phase of the project.
About Robert DeSoto