Montpelier area ranchers agree to conservation easements

Without the easements, future development could obstruct migration of mule deer, as well as elk, pronghorn and moose.

Based on the terms of the conservation easements, the properties will remain undeveloped to ensure that the land remains a big game migration area and that access to winter range is protected. The private owners of the land will also continue to use it for livestock grazing.

“This is a working lands ranch from a working lands family, and we have no intention of changing that,” said Matt Pieron, wildlife biologist and Mule Deer Initiative Coordinator for Idaho Fish and Game. “The current use of this sagebrush-steppe habitat is perfectly compatible with our conservation goals.”

The properties will also be opened to the public for hunting, fishing, trapping, and wildlife viewing, and will connect public lands on either side of the highway.

The group of mule deer that use this migration corridor belongs to one of Idaho’s largest herds, which spend summers in the Caribou Mountains and numbers around 20,000, based on Fish and Game’s aerial surveys. The herd winters in a variety of areas, but about a third of them cross the short stretch of Highway 30 at Rocky Point.

“Based on collision reports, staff observations, remote cameras, and electronic collar data, we have a ton of information that shows that these mule deer are migrating through a three or four mile stretch of highway that borders these easements,” Pieron said.

The total acquisition cost for the conservation easements was $1.275 million, and Fish and Game contributed $576,500 in license monies for the project. The balance of the funding came from a variety of partners.

“We had tremendous support across the board, including from smaller, grassroots, local organizations like the Southeast Idaho Mule Deer and Muley Fanatics foundations,” Pieron said. “These folks are incredibly important, because they are the people who know firsthand how crucial it is to preserve this area to ensure the longterm health of their mule deer population, and in turn, the health of their local economy.”

Every fall, more than 4,000 mule deer hunters visit Unit 76, where Rocky Point is located. These hunters combined spend over 22,700 days hunting for mule deer, and over $2.4 million on supplies.

Without this mule deer migration, the size of the herd would likely shrink, as would hunting opportunity and the local economic benefits associated with this mule deer population.

“This mule deer herd is very important to us, both culturally and economically, and that’s why we supported this project” said Chris Price, chapter president of Muley Fanatics Foundation.