Here's the write up on the original portion of the project:
April 2 through 5, 2009 volunteers will congregate along CFB Suffield’s north boundary to participate in a pilot to create a wildlife-friendly fence. Coordinated by Alberta’s largestconservation group, the Alberta Fish & Game Association, this multi-stakeholder initiative involves several sponsors, partners and supporting agencies. Recognizing the growing problem, project participants arecollaborating to address fencing barriers that affect Alberta’s vulnerable pronghorn antelope population.According to University of Calgary researcher, Mike Suitor, “recent GPS tracking studies show thatAlberta’s pronghorn are extremely mobile, especially as they migrate to hospitable wintering locations inthe fall and then back to fawning grounds in the spring to settle back into their summer territories. During these movement cycles they encounter countless barbed wire fences that restrict movement.”As a rule, antelope crawl under fences rather than jump over them. Many barbed wire fences areconstructed with the bottom strand only 30 centimetres (12 inches) off the ground - too low toaccommodate pronghorn movement. In turn, many antelope are funneled along these fencing structuresuntil they can locate a suitable place to cross. Likewise, many lose swatches of hair as barbs snag theirhides as they cross. In extreme cold conditions, this exposes flesh and endangers the animal. Thisfencing project is designed to alleviate this problem.“Universally accepted standards for wildlife-friendly fencing suggest that by removing the bottombarbed strand, then elevating to 46 centimetres (18 inches) and replacing it with a double-strandedsmooth wire we can minimize the barrier and facilitate free-flowing movement. Fencing of this nature hasbeen on the radar of wildlife managers for some time now; we’re very excited about the prospect of expanding it to other jurisdictions in the future,” says Project Manager Kevin Wilson
This project is made possible, thanks to a grant from the Minister’s Special License Program andadditional funding support by Alberta Conservation Association and EnCana. Volunteers plan to replace37 kilometres (23 miles) of fence wire during the four-day project.
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