Wildlife-Friendly Fencing

This trail wasn’t made by cattle, but by North Hills elk that jumped the fence before volunteers installed this 25-foot-wide gate during the spring of 2007. The pits on either side of the gate are where the elk jumped and landed. The gate will be opened for elk each winter, then closed each spring before cattle are turned in. Elk passage gates such as this are one attempt to allow elk to move freely on their winter range without damaging rancher’s fences (photo by Scott Nicolarsen).

Elk can be tough on fences and fences can be tough on elk.

Traditional cattle fences were designed to keep cattle in, not to let wildlife through. Fences that let wildlife pass more easily may be easier for ranchers to maintain—especially on elk winter ranges.

In most cases, cattle aren’t grazing during the winter on ranch lands used by Missoula’s urban elk herds. That makes it possible to lay specially designed fences down or to open gates when the cattle are taken off the range in the fall.

It’s also possible to slightly modify traditional cattle fences in ways that still hold cattle but are easier for wildlife to cross. One four-wire design uses smooth wires for the top and bottom wires and barbed wire for the two center wires.

The bottom wire would be 16 to 18 inches from the ground to allow deer and elk calves to crawl under. The top wire would be just 42 inches from the ground to give elk a better chance of clearing it. The second wire would be 12 inches from the top wire. If the second wire was any closer, elk would be more likely to get a leg caught between the two wires.

In the Black Hills, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks have been encouraging the use of 3/8-inch cable in place of the top wire, strung about 40 to 42 inches from the ground. Elk have an easy time seeing the cable and if they hit it, the cable can give.

Here are some resources that will help you figure out how to make your fences friendlier for wildlife:

• Fencing With Wildlife in Mind, Colorado Division of Wildlife (188 kb Acrobat file)
• How to Create Wildlife Friendly Fencing, Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation (241 kb Acrobat file)
• Wildlife Friendly Fencing for Teton County, Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation (2.1 mb Acrobat File)