Idaho Fish and Game hosts wildlife and wildfire Q&As

Idaho Fish and Game is closely monitoring the mule deer and elk herds that normally overwinter on hundreds of thousands of acres of land burned by wildfires earlier this year.

The Paddock Fire, in particular, burned nearly 190,000 acres north of Emmett.

Ryan Walrath, a regional wildlife manager for Fish and Game, said this is the primary winter range for about 4,500 mule deer, or about 25% of the species population in Idaho.

“This fire in particular in the near term here or in the next year or two will be critical to some of that restoration effort to try to keep our annual invasive grasses to a minimum and encourage the return of our native grasses, forbs and.” “To enable shrubs,” said Walrath.

Mule deer require nutrient-rich vegetation such as sagebrush and bitterbrush to gain weight and survive the cold winter. However, after a fire, it takes a long time for these plants to regenerate.

“Rehab can take one to three years for grasses,” Walrath said. “It could take eight to 10 years for some of these shrubs, sagebrush and bitterbrush, to grow back to two- to three-foot-tall shrubs.”

He said mule deer are much more likely to be affected by these fires in the short term than elk because of their different diets.

Fish and Game has not yet determined whether additional feeding may be necessary to keep these animals alive over the next few months.

Walrath said the agency considers the health status of breeding animals and whether providing food prevents the animals from snatching snacks from commercial feed lines.

Idaho Fish and Game will speak in more detail and answer questions from the public at a town hall meeting Tuesday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Garden Valley High School.

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