# Utah roadsides... Could this help pheasant populations in the state ?



## #1DEER 1-I

http://wildlife.utah.gov/habitat/roadside.php

What do you think?


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## horn hunter

So let me see if I have this right. we spend how much money a year building fences along the roads to keep wildlife OFF AND AWAY from the roads.... Now we are gonna spend money, and probably a lot of it, to encourage animals to live NEXT to the road...? REALLY?!? I know pheasants biggest threats aren't cars, but I'm positive this idea will kill ALOT of animals that would otherwise live longer lives... Not to mention it'll make road hunting for the stupid things that much easier!! What a **** joke!! Whoever has been coming up with these ideas lately needs to be FIRED!!!


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## Springville Shooter

Are they doing this already with moose habitat up by Strawberry?-------SS


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## #1DEER 1-I

I think this could be beneficial and utilize habitat for pheasants. I don't know about deer though .


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## BPturkeys

I like this thinking. Of course it's not "the answer", but every little bit of new or recovered habitat will help. Whole mini ecosystems could develope benefiting many many species, not just game species. Another good thing is that the cost is practically nothing. Just a little seed and time spent planning simple things like the mowing schedules. 
Way to go DWR, keep up the good work.


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## #1DEER 1-I

BPturkeys said:


> I like this thinking. Of course it's not "the answer", but every little bit of new or recovered habitat will help. Whole mini ecosystems could develope benefiting many many species, not just game species. Another good thing is that the cost is practically nothing. Just a little seed and time spent planning simple things like the mowing schedules.
> Way to go DWR, keep up the good work.


See we can agree BP . Like you said it may not be the answer but I fully support it. If nothing else this would create hundreds of acres of nesting habitat for pheasants and also winter cover . I don't see it increasing highway mortality because it shouldn't increase frequency of anything crossing. Nesting habitat and winter cover are the two main reasons for the pheasant decline, this would create hundreds of acres of habitat in every county in the state. Good idea and will be great to see it implemented.


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## Mr Muleskinner

I like the idea.

Reading the article just the mention of the word "meadowlark" took me back a ways. Growing up they were all over the place and I hear them every time I went out. Not so much anymore. It was once was a sound that I heard so much it was almost an annoyance. I was just reminded how much I miss it's song.


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## Bax*

I like the idea behind this initiative.

Think about your drives down various highways and such and consider the amount of wildlife that you have seen off to the side of the road. Yes sometimes you see a stretch with a bunch of dead bunnies splattered on the highway, but stop and think about _why_ they are there in the first place. Roadsides really do produce some habitat that just isn't prevalent nowadays that we used to see. Why is this? Well I'm no biologist but it seems pretty obvious to me. Water. Water isn't absorbed into the road and has to run off somewhere. That somewhere is the roadside and soon enough that little extra water allows vegetation to grow better than areas further from the road which means the vegetation grows larger and stays greener longer which means food and cover for wildlife. Furthermore, this land is essentially a no-man's land that isn't privately held so it isn't maintained like a farmer's field would be so it is allowed to grow wild in many instances.

This is a good thing to look at maintaining and improving upon in my personal opinion. It may not be ideal, but it is convenient for sure. 

To Horn Hunter's point, I would encourage you to rethink your stance on this. This is actually going to be substantially cheaper to maintain than if we were to focus on land off of the highway. Think about the simplicity of access. You can drive on one road for miles and miles and spread seed to grow food sources, water is easier to control, and it can create a relative safe zone for game to thrive that we cant necessarily hunt according to the proclamation. So it would be a great area for breeding. 

One Eye, I agree however that this could be an attractant for deer. So I suppose the DWR would need to be selective about what vegetation is encouraged to grow so as to mitigate the amount of roadside deer. Do I have a solution for this? No. But its an interesting idea you present.


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## LostLouisianian

Well the way I see it is this. There WILL be an increase in animal deaths by vehicles, however if the increase is offset by a greater increase in numbers of wildlife due to more suitable habitat then it's a plus......unless of course you're one of the animals that becomes a hood ornament or something for the roadkill grill.


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## Packfish

Seems to work in other states - it's not a new idea


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## #1DEER 1-I

Bax* said:


> I like the idea behind this initiative.
> 
> Think about your drives down various highways and such and consider the amount of wildlife that you have seen off to the side of the road. Yes sometimes you see a stretch with a bunch of dead bunnies splattered on the highway, but stop and think about _why_ they are there in the first place. Roadsides really do produce some habitat that just isn't prevalent nowadays that we used to see. Why is this? Well I'm no biologist but it seems pretty obvious to me. Water. Water isn't absorbed into the road and has to run off somewhere. That somewhere is the roadside and soon enough that little extra water allows vegetation to grow better than areas further from the road which means the vegetation grows larger and stays greener longer which means food and cover for wildlife. Furthermore, this land is essentially a no-man's land that isn't privately held so it isn't maintained like a farmer's field would be so it is allowed to grow wild in many instances.
> 
> This is a good thing to look at maintaining and improving upon in my personal opinion. It may not be ideal, but it is convenient for sure.
> 
> To Horn Hunter's point, I would encourage you to rethink your stance on this. This is actually going to be substantially cheaper to maintain than if we were to focus on land off of the highway. Think about the simplicity of access. You can drive on one road for miles and miles and spread seed to grow food sources, water is easier to control, and it can create a relative safe zone for game to thrive that we cant necessarily hunt according to the proclamation. So it would be a great area for breeding.
> 
> One Eye, I agree however that this could be an attractant for deer. So I suppose the DWR would need to be selective about what vegetation is encouraged to grow so as to mitigate the amount of roadside deer. Do I have a solution for this? No. But its an interesting idea you present.


Bax I love the idea of it as well. This is by far the easiest and cheapest way to improve habitat for many small game, including pheasants. Think about all the habitat down a stretch of highway that could be created for pheasants during nesting time hornhunter. How much winter cover. Areas where the cover is not cut, fed off and burned fence line to fence line. The DWR won't have to pay for access, won't have to work with private land owners on this subject. They will have a control over what happens to the vegetation. It only needs to be planted once, and then once established provides great opportunity's for wildlife in in every county in Utah. Driving down the roads since I read this article makes you realize how many hundreds of acres that could be great pheasants habitat as well as other wildlife right off your highway. As for deer, I guess it could increase highway mortality, but in all honesty, whatever the DWR plants isn't going to be more tasty than the alfalfa, corn, or oats that the farmers are planting so I doubt it will really bring deer any closer to the highway. IMO it would be great to see this take off in our state. I would be glad to see 3 foot high grass and brush and bushes off the sides of the highways helping our game and non game species out. This isn't the full solution but it is definitely an aspect to add into the equation.


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## JuddCT

In SD a lot of the local guys will hunt that strip off the road up against private and we saw a lot of pheasants in that roadside vegetation.


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## Springville Shooter

Railroads would be another idea. Spilled grain makes a great food source. I love railroads. Reminds me of the scene in the movie Unforgiven where they shoot pheasants from the train.--------SS


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## Bax*

Springville Shooter said:


> Railroads would be another idea. Spilled grain makes a great food source. I love railroads. Reminds me of the scene in the movie Unforgiven where they shoot pheasants from the train.--------SS


Thats a good idea SS. Traffic is lower here and would likely reduce animal fatalities here. I wonder if the water situation could be improved in areas like this?


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## Springville Shooter

Bax* said:


> Thats a good idea SS. Traffic is lower here and would likely reduce animal fatalities here. I wonder if the water situation could be improved in areas like this?


Railroads often have wetlands on both sides as drainage has to be channeled away from the track structure. ------SS


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## Bax*

Springville Shooter said:


> Railroads often have wetlands on both sides as drainage has to be channeled away from the track structure. ------SS


I dont know anything about railroads other than the stretches I have followed in the desert and see tall stands of sage brush around them so having some wetland areas would be interesting to see how habitat improvement could be capitalized upon.

Good job using your noggin SS


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## #1DEER 1-I

Well I would say if enough sportsmen begin emailing and contacting the right people we could see some results. It's worth a try and a plausible help for pheasants and other wildlife, hope to see this start running.


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