Villa Grove State Trust Lands 

Fence Removal

By Briant Wiles

Looking up from the fence our eyes are drawn to a solid wall of mountains that sweep south lining the bathtub of sediment that is the San Luis Valley in South central Colorado. The breeze picks up and a gust of wind brings cool notes of autumn refreshing the smell of sage tinted air. With bolt cutters and fence pliers we drop the old, barbed wire from wind polished ceder posts. These weathered posts stood as mute testament to a legacy of fencing, much older than any of the handful of volunteers that gathered to help improve habitat on the Villa Grove State Trust Land.  

The BHA habitat stewardship team had arrived once again to help remove fence in habitat important to deer, elk and a satellite population of the federally listed Gunnison sage grouse. Patrick Kenney, a student at Western State University, organized the project and his enthusiasm for getting down and dirty was evident. We are met this day by Cary Aloia and Jenny Nehring of Wetland Dynamics. Together they have more than 40 years of experience working to improve habitat in the San Luis Valley and are walking encyclopedias of conservation. They easily dispense knowledge of small draws and creeks recounting past treatments and ongoing projects. A real treat for anyone wanting to deepen their understanding of the area.  

Together we tackle a ¼ mile section of unneeded interior fencing, rolling up the wire and removing the posts. We start next to a fence already dripping with flags and follow it through the sage and down across San Luis Creek. We are in the heart of habitat for a small population of Gunnison sage grouse, hence the flagging on adjacent fences. These “flags” are just simple plastic rectangles that clip on the wires and spin freely in the wind. Low flying birds have a hard time seeing the thin strands of wire, especially at dusk and dawn, and marking the wires with flags makes them more visible, reducing collisions. It is with the grouse in mind that we remove the wood posts that soar above the surrounding sage brush. For many past fence removals in forested areas, we have left the wood post to rot unconcerned with their ongoing impacts. Not here. Fence posts in open country like this create artificial resting places for raptors that prey on the grouse.  

This was a surprising amount of work for the length of the 4-strand fence but after 6 hours it was all gone. A small but important dent in the ubiquitous fencing that divides the countryside. We revel for a minute in the permeating sense of accomplishment gazing again at the ramparts of the Sangre De Cristos. I know we all hope to be back again soon to pull some more. A huge thank you to Patrick, Cary, and Jenny for your passion and dedication to these landscapes and making this project happen. Will see you at the next one!