1. IDFG winter feeding detail

Hot, dry conditions that helped this year’s Paddock Fire grow to nearly 190,000 acres in southwest Idaho also slowed some cover crops planted near the burn scar to help sustain mule deer and elk that spend winters there.

But some of the crops “look really good, and there was a lot of feed replaced there,” said Peter Ott, Idaho Fish and Game southwest region landowner-sportsman coordinator.

The Paddock Fire took out cover that provided not only food, but also shelter and warmth that slows calorie consumption. IDFG staff approached landowners about planting cover crops suited to deer and elk. The department paid landowners, who stood to get some back-end grazing and soil health benefits, for seed and some fuel.

Of the 1,400 acres planted, about 300 were dryland fields.

“We knew going in that the dryland stuff was going to depend on what sort of moisture we got in September and October,” Ott said. “We didn’t get really suitable moisture during the growing season.”

But on the 1,100 irrigated acres that were planted, “we got pretty good growth,” helped by good germination and sufficient water, he said. Irrigated cover crops stood about a foot tall in mid-October.

Cover crops were planted on the south, east and west sides of the burn scar — all in farm fields on the fire perimeter, “lower elevation areas that are winter range,” Ott said.

“Did we plant enough winter cover crops to replace the caloric needs of all deer and elk in the Paddock scar? No,” he said. “The other question is, will animals find these fields? Some have seen heavy use from deer and elk.”

In addition to providing some winter forage, the cover crop sites are intended to prevent or reduce crop depredation. “If elk don’t find feed there, they will find it somewhere else,” Ott said. Elk will roam farther in search of food than mule deer, which tend to return to the same range each year.

“Winter range is what we are most concerned about,” said Brian Pearson, IDFG southwest region communication manager. Some deer may have arrived on Paddock winter range at lower weights because fire also affected their summer range.

When large wildfires burn huge swaths of winter range and affect a broad enough area, emergency feeding may be triggered until natural forage returns. This is “an option, but not one that’s taken lightly,” according to a Fish and Game statement.

Deer and elk can survive most normal Idaho winters, according to the department.

Supplemental winter feeding intends to temporarily mitigate extreme conditions and is “typically limited to unusual situations when abnormal weather or temporary problems overwhelm a herd’s natural ability to endure winter,” according to the release.

Feeding sometimes is done to prevent damage to agricultural operations or to prevent public safety issues such as herds wintering near highways. IDFG operates one annual feeding station, in the Wood River Valley, to keep elk out of communities.

Regional committees of citizens advise the department on winter feeding.