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editor@newslj.com March 12, 2015 -- 7
news letter journal NeNS
Staying connected
Tasha Townsend still finds time to help customers during the Advanced Communications
Open House last Friday.
Snow is melting fast
Alexis Shultz
NLJ Reporter
The warm weather we have
begun to celebrate do have a
downside, particularly in the
way they effect the snow pack
in the Hills, and the areas near
Weston County are no excep-
tion. The warm weather and
lack of snow has put a definite
dent in the snow pack that was
above average only a month
ago, but experts believe it is
still too early to predict what
kind of moisture will be in
place when growing season
begins.
Last month, the snow totals
for both Little Bear Run and
Mallo, the closest areas to
Weston County analyzed in
the Black Hills Snow Course
Readings, were above the 30
year average, but the read-
ings taken on March 1 show a
significant change. Both areas
is determined by the amount of
moisture contained in the snow
pack.
The readings from Feb. 1 of
this year had Little Bear Run
sitting at 108 percent of the 30
year average and Mallo was at
100 percent. The warm weather
has brought a 17 percent drop
for Little Bear Run bringing it
to 91 percent of the average.
As for Mallo, the drop has only
been six percent bringing the
total to 94 percent for March.
The situation is worse else-
where in the Black Hills, and
only one of the ten stations
monitored reported a snow-
water equivalent above the 30
year average. The lowest of
these was Bear Lodge Divide,
which boasts only 46 percent of
its 30-year average.
The difference in totals is
even more significant when
totals from March 1 of last year
are considered. Last year at
percent.
Local officials aren't overly
concerned by the drop though.
"Half the time you'll be
above and half the time you'll
be below (the average),"
USDA Resource Specialist
Jason Nehl told the News
Letter Journal. He said it is
hard to define what is normal
when it comes to snow pack,
and that all of the numbers are
based on snow data over the
past 30 years.
Nehl said that while the
snow-course readings do not
make it possible to predict the
future, continued warm weather
and dry days would probably
have an impact on recreational
activities, as well as fire danger,
in the coming months.
"Things can turn around
pretty quick," he professed,
noting that the wettest months
for this area are coming up
and the snow pack-- and the
have dropped below 95 percent this time Little Bear Run had a amount of water contained in
j t
of the30 year average, based 0n "Sktbw wat6r."6qtiivalent bf i24 it" could'still |hdae 166676
the snow water equivalent that percent and Mall0 wasat 117 fire season arnt, vet, d i
Deer f, om pag 1 .....................................................................................................................................
following year, in 2012.
"So those things, combined with predation
and outbreaks almost every summer of Epizootic
hemorrhagic disease, vehicle strikes-- every-
thing else that kills animals-- all of those things
acted together to really reduce our fawn produc-
tion and survival," Sandrini acknowledged. "So
basically we were having more things die than
we were able to put back into the population."
Following an average winter in 2013, the
summer was one of the best growing years on
record, and 2014 was another good year for
forage production. The two good years in a row,
combined with already low numbers of animals,
resulted in the health of does being good enough
to produce more fawns, and their survival rate
improved as well.
At the end of previous hunting seasons, most
of the herds boasted fawn numbers in the 50's
and 60's per 100 does, which is below what is
needed to sustain population. Last year, informed
Sandrini, the numbers were a little above that,
and this year the numbers were well above.
For mule deer herds, Game and Fish's state-
wide surveys show positive results, with the
number of fawns per 100 does well above
recent averages. Several herds had more than
80 fawns per 100 does. Research shows at least
66 fawns per 100 does are needed to support
population growth, according to a press release
from WGFD.
"Survey results from this fall and winter are
encouraging. Drought conditions, which began in
earnest in 2000, coupled with disease outbreaks
and predation, have been hard on antelope and
mule deer throughout the state. To see a spike
in fawns across Wyoming shows how important
moisture and habitat are to antelope and mule
deer. This is why we have put such an emphasis
on improving habitat for wildlife with partners
like the Governor's Big Game License Coalition
and the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource
Trust," said Scott Smith, deputy chief of the
Game and Fish's Wildlife Division.
The populations have started to bounce back,
but it will take a couple of more years of good
reproduction until the area is "back in the deer
and antelope business," Sandrini cautioned. He
said most of the herds are still 20 to 30 percent
below where the WGFD would like to see them.
An emphasis the biologist wanted to make is
fawn production and survival is affected most by
the conditions of the does. Predators do play a
role, he admitted, but the body conditions of the
does have a lot to do with even the impact preda-
tors have. When the does have good nutrition,
their breeding cycles are more synchronized, and
breeding and giving birth about the same time
produces bigger and more robust babies.
"Basically when you have good habitat con-
ditions- so you have good forage and good
cover-- the females are in good shape. They
are having their babies all about the same time,
and those babies are big, healthy and robust. The
predators don't have nearly the impact on them
that they do when habitat conditions are poor
and when the fawning periods are spread out, so
you have more young babies over a longer period
of time, and not as much cover. This is just one
example, but these natural systems are just very
complex," Sandrini said. "It's a matter of the
good things lined up and the population goes up.
When the bad things line up, the population goes
down."
WGFD does not anticipate significant changes
in the number of licenses they will issue, but the
agency is looking at changing the number of
mule deer and whitetail deer they manage for
in the Black Hills. The numbers were set in the
1980's, but the techniques have changed, giving
better data, which suggests mule deer manage-
ment objectives for the area could increase from
20,000 to 30,000 head.
"Our best estimate right now is after last
year's hunting season we are probably around
25,000. We are looking at changing the mule deer
numbers in the neighborhood of 15 to 20 percent
above where they are now. We are wanting to see
the increase in numbers down on the southern
end of the Black Hills, between highway 16 and
the interstate 90 (before we do that)," Sandrini
acknowledged.
He continued to say the deer in Newcastle
city limits are not managed by WGFD, but he
did state that as the rest of the population in the
area decreased, the number of deer inhabiting
town seemed to follow suit. The numbers are
increasing now in town, as the wild popula-
tion grows. WGFD's primary management tool
is hunting, but that is not done in Newcastle
because the City Council has not approved a plan
to hunt in town.
The whitetail deer management goal in the
Black Hills was to sustain a herd of 40,000
animals, and Sandrini indicated the agency is
planning to change that to 55,000. The best guess
of the current population is around 50,000.
"We are not proposing a lot of changes for this
year because our populations are so far below
where we would like them to be. We would like
for them to continue to grow. Most of the hunting
seasons are the about the same as last year. Some
areas are a little more conservative, so we are
not issuing as many tags. Some areas are a little
bit more liberal, but there is not any real big
changes," he concluded.
At the public meeting on March 24, Sandrini
will be presenting information on what the deer
herds have been doing, how herd performance
has been, proposals for hunting seasons and man-
agement objective changes. The agency hopes to
receive public input in those areas.
"We also just got done surveying 450 Black
Hills landowners to take their input on deer
numbers and where we should manage. That
is heavily influencing our recommendations as
well. We are taking to heart what the landowners
had to say," Sandrini admitted.
FREE Developmental Screenings
Birth to School Age
Fine & Gross Motor, Cognitive, Speech
& Language Skills, Social/Emotional,
Hearing, Vision and Dental
WESTON COUNTY CHILDREN'S CENTER/
REGION ]]/ DEVELOPMENTAL SERVICES
NEWCASTLE
Friday, March 27
Children's Center, 104 Stampede
UPTON Friday, March 27
Children's Center in Upton
629 Sheridan Rd.
Has Your Child Been Screened?
Your friends at WCCC/Region III remind you that in Wyoming, every child should have at least one
developmental screening before the age of two, & certainly one before age 5 is essential. They are quick and
fun check-ups to make sure your child is on track. If needed, we will help you develop a plan to get your child
where he or she needs to be.
'All developmental services are free, regardless of income. The only thing you cannot afford to do is wait.
CALL TODAY. Call 746-3541 to make an appointment.
Preented by the Weston County Children . Center/Region Itl Developmental Services with fitancial assistance provided
by Weston County School District #1 & #7 Title VI-B Funds and WY Dept. of Health, Behaviorial Health Division.
i tlll,lHm m.llll IIH I I H , l lmlll II II ...... I
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