u Wildlife and Fisheries Management. Self perpetuating and expanding wildlife populations, and thriving fisheries do not "just happen" except in the most primitive areas untouched by man. Careful stewardship, good planning, well defined goals, and pro-active management including harvest and opportunity regulations are all important ingredients to the overall masterpiece. Assuming habitat has been created, enhanced and is maintained, the owner can begin to integrate regulations to accomplish the "fish and critter goals" for the Ranch. An acre of foot water, (one acre of water, one foot deep) or an acre of land will support only so many biomass pounds of living organism. It can be managed for less population and larger individual living organisms (population biomass units), or for maximum population, with resulting smaller individual population components. In other words, a ranch property, even fully improved, will support only so many elk, deer, antelope and other wildlife. An acre foot of water, for instance, capable of supporting four hundred biomass pounds of living organisms, will sustain 400 hundred one pound fish, 100 four pound fish, or 800 half pound fish. While good habitat can increase the number of biomass pounds sustained by each population unit, there is nonetheless a final limiting factor in wildlife and fisheries management. The key, as with all resources, is pro-active (rather than reactive) management. Begin with a goal, plan a strategy to achieve that goal, implement the plan and monitor progress. It is to a Ranch what Management by Objective is to the corporate boardroom. Animals and fish, like humans, must be provided with, or allowed to enjoy, the basics: food, water, privacy, safety, shelter/protection. These basics are an integrated function of habitat, use, regulation and, in the case of a working Ranch, agriculture and livestock management. Everything one does affects everything else. The big picture must always be considered in making decisions for the use , protections and enjoyment of the land. Wildlife Management. Assuming habitat and animal basics described above are in place, a ranch owner must decide if he is managing for as great possible a population, or for a trophy population. Trophy population; when it comes to ungulates and antelope, is generally regarded as a 40% male to female ratio with at least half the male population: in the case of elk, six point (one side) or better, in the case of deer, five point(one side) or better, and in the case of antelope, 14 inch horns or better. Overall population health, regardless of what the end goal is, can be sustained by carefully managing habitat and forage, particularly through the use of cattle. Many persons mistakenly believe cattle to be some evil bovine intrusion on wildlife and fisheries. Quite the contrary; cows can be extremely important tool in managing riparian areas, controlling weeds and fire danger, and in top browsing range grasses allowing rapid regrowth and better forage conditions for ungulates that prefer the tender young or lower statice of grasses and plants. Careful rotation of cattle herds and strict adherence to minimum after-pasturage grass profiles can both increase and attract wildlife populations, even from neighboring properties and public lands. Wildlife friendly fencing which allows for good cattle management and rotation, but still allows antelope, elk calves, and fawns to get under fences, and allows mature adults to easily clear top strands are very important. Antelope and mule deer are particularly abhorrent of page wire fences, those fences constructed of small squares which allow virtually nothing to pass through and which are often used to control sheep. A simple improvement, such as taking down page wire on a Ranch and replacing it with strand wire fences can result in almost immediate increases in mule deer and antelope populations. Once again, give the land half a chance and it will regenerate itself. We have built, repaired or rebuilt on behalf of clients, and on our own spreads, hundreds of miles of fence. We strongly recommend against high tensile electric. It is a wreck waiting to happen. Wild animals will knock off tensile strands creating shorts; falling trees from wind or beaver will do the same. The result is a cattle and wildfire management mess and constant ongoing maintenance. We also strongly recommend against the old line six strand barb wire fences which are tight to the ground, and range, on their top strand, anywhere from 46 to 50 inches in height. We prefer (and, as a bonus, there is great cost savings involved) there or four strand wire fences with the bottom strand at least 14 to 16 inches off the ground and the top strand no more than 40 inches high. It works for cows, horses, wildlife and the pocket book. While wildlife certainly are drawn to lush bottom-land habitat, simple upland range improvements, such as the planting of Crested Wheat, Wild Russian Rye, Basin Rye, etc, coupled with development of tanks, springs, or ponds in the uplands can increase and attract wildlife population to important, albeit more remote, and previously "dry" areas. Strict harvest regulations must be implemented pro-actively to build and sustain wildlife herds. Hunting must be limited in terms of the number of male gender harvested, in size (antler points) of male gender harvested, timing of the hunts, and implementation of no hunting wildlife cover zones. Likewise, to keep in balance male/female populations once the population reaches a certain quantity, the harvest of female gender (does and calves) is almost as critical a component to a healthy herd, and particularly to a trophy herd, as is strict minimum size requirements on harvest on bucks and bulls. This is particularly crucial in areas with thriving white-tail populations where the whitetail, an extremely aggressive species, enjoy 90% twin birth rates, 90% fawn survival, with 70% to 80% of those surviving fawns typically being female. The enjoyment of wildlife, for hunting, photography, or just plain delight in their presence should be an uncrowded special event. If the Ranch has a guest/recreation revenue component, completely private areas, well spaced for safety and solitude reasons, must be assigned for defined time periods for hunting or viewing. Wildlife calving and fawning areas must be strictly off limits for at least a mile to a mile and half radius during the critical spring calving/fawning dates. The rules and regulations put in place to achieve the end wildlife population goal must be strictly enforced. No favorites, no breaks, no ifs, ands, or buts. Ranches of the West has put together comprehensive use regulations for more than 3 dozen working ranches in the Rocky Mountains, importantly, these regulations have achieved great success in achieving our owner’s wildlife management goals. On those ranches where hunting is an ingredient of management and owner’s goals, our clients, after several years, typically enjoy success rates on 5 or 6 point or better bull elk, of over 90% annually, and success rates on trophy deer (5 point one side or better) of 100% annually. Editorial: The Fish in the Rivers: A Bridge Over Troubled Water

Consultants to and for Recreation and Agricultural Enterprises

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