Fixing Fences for Southern Utah’s Resident Herd
The Paunsaugunt Herd
Across the western United States, vast grids of barbed wire fences crisscross the landscape to manage livestock and divide rangelands, but fences can be deadly barriers for migrating big game, such as mule deer.
This is the case for the Paunsaugunt herd of over 5,000 mule deer. Each year, the herd migrates between their summer range in the high-elevation plateaus near Bryce Canyon National Park and their winter range in the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument where they move in search of food and water and to escape deep snow. This migration is essential for the herd’s survival – but fences are disrupting it.
Mule deer jumping over a barbed-wire fence to move through their range in Southern Utah. Video by Wildlands Network
In the Paunsaugunt migration corridor, old barbed-wire fences were designed to keep cows in place rather than allow wildlife to move, and, as a result, they detrimentally impact mule deer. High, top wires can trip adult deer; low, bottom wires can trap fawns; and small spaces between the top wires can entangle hoofs, causing injury and even death.
Fortunately, a simple but effective solution exists - fix the fences, which is what we’ve been doing over the past few years. Although this problem is not new, fence improvement projects are becoming increasingly common among wildlife and land managers.
Across the West, wildlife and land managers are retrofitting fences by raising bottom wires, lowering top wires, and replacing barbed wire with smooth wire. These adjustments allow mule deer to more easily cross over or under fences without compromising the ability to divide rangelands or manage livestock.
A mule deer sliding under a fence. Video by Wildlands Network
Our Approach to Restoring Connectivity
In 2018, the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) issued Secretarial Order (SO) 3362, directing the DOI to coordinate and collaborate with state wildlife agencies to identify and conserve migration corridors and winter ranges for mule deer, elk, and pronghorn in the western United States. One of SO 3362’s key objectives include wildlife-friendly fencing projects to improve movement.
Under SO 3362, Utah’s State Action Plan identified the Paunsaugunt mule deer corridor as a priority project area. The UDWR and Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) had already taken significant steps towards protecting this migratory path by installing wildlife underpasses and the associated fencing. With funds provided by SO 3362, the UDWR deployed additional GPS collars that identified the precise movements and migratory routes used by this herd.
Based on that data, Wildlands Network received a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) to retrofit the barbed-wire fences that intersect those routes in order to improve connectivity and reduce fragmentation.
In 2023, we launched our project to survey, map, and improve fencing within this critical habitat in partnership with Grand Staircase Escalante Partners, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, Mule Deer Foundation, the UDWR’s Dedicated Hunter Program, and staff from the UDWR and BLM.
Back in 2023 and 2024, we surveyed and mapped over 150 miles of fences within the migration corridor with the help of over 60 volunteers over the course of several events.
A visualization of all of the fences surveyed and mapped in our project area throughout the mule deer corridor in green. Pink lines represent the worst fences (top wire above 42” and bottom wire below 16”), and the other colors represent varying permutations of these combinations, with green lines representing the most wildlife-friendly fences (top wire below 42” and bottom wire above 16”). Visualization by Aaron Facka
Using an ArcGIS Field Maps survey form developed by the Utah Migration Initiative, volunteers walked miles and miles of fences and measured wire heights, recorded the presence of wildlife in or along the fences as well as non-fencing structures, such as cattle guards, and took pictures of the fences to better understand the quality and condition of the fences.
From those surveys, we prioritized 12.4 miles of fence to either retrofit or remove that did not meet wildlife-friendly standards. Importantly, these fences are adjacent to existing wildlife underpasses along U.S. Highway 89 - ensuring that improved fencing supplements existing wildlife crossing infrastructure.
Building on the last two years of progress, we’re now able to take advantage of the knowledge we’ve gained and take important steps forward.
A fence line in our project area with bent fence posts, indicating that a mule deer or other animals attempted to cross this section of fence but got tripped up in the wire. This is a great example of the problem that impermeable fencing poses to big game and other wildlife. Photo by Wildlands Network
Looking Ahead: Our Research Continues
In the current phase of the study, we deployed over 30 cameras in the project site to capture footage of mule deer behavior before the fences are retrofitted or removed. Studies show that animals such as mule deer exhibit certain types of behavior when they encounter a barrier, like a fence.
Our camera trap sites along the mule deer corridor. Visualization by Aaron Facka
Animals either exhibit 1) normal behavior like crossing quickly and safely, or 2) altered behavior like turning away from or pacing along a barrier. By capturing footage of these behaviors before and after retrofit and removal, we are measuring the effectiveness of fence improvements.
In the coming months, if we capture fewer instances of altered behavior and an increase in quick, safe crossing, we will know that our efforts are working.
In 2025, we will be either retrofitting or removing the 12.4 miles of fence with volunteers from all of our partner organizations. After improving the fences, we will re-deploy the cameras during the migration from early October to mid-April to see if retrofitting or removing fences made an observable improvement to the herd’s ability to move safely between summer and winter ranges.
A mule deer stopped at a barbed-wire fence. Video by Wildlands Network
By reducing barriers within the Paunsaugunt mule deer corridor, we expect to see fewer instances of altered movement behaviors and an increase in quick crossings. This improved mobility will ensure that the Paunsaugunt mule deer herd can safely access food, shelter, and water throughout the year – maintaining and enhancing the long-term population health.
Our long-term goal is to facilitate the free movement of wildlife populations by contributing to the assessment or modification of 1,000+ miles of public land fencing by 2030. This project is helping us make important strides towards that goal.
As we continue, we are not just fixing fences - we are working to restore an essential migration route. With ongoing collaboration and coordination, we can ensure that the Paunsaugunt mule deer herd survives and thrives for years to come.
