Old barbed-wire fences - Small Cabin Forum

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KinAlberta Member	# Posted: 5 Mar 2022 16:27 - Edited by: KinAlberta Reply Iâ€™ve never heard of this problem before! Groups ripping out old barbed wire that blocks wildlife movement west of Tucson â€œ â€œEverybody agrees that this is a pretty big problem for wildlife,â€ â€¦ â€œItâ€™s just so overwhelming. Itâ€™s like getting rid of â€¦ â€œ In one study of pronghorn antelope in Wyoming, Swann said, researchers found barbed wire scars on the backs of up to half of the animals.â€â€¦ â€œHe said barbed wire represents a major barrier to wildlife migration across the Western U.S., which is home to some 600,000 miles of fencing, enough to circle the Earth along the equator 24 times. â€¦â€ https://tucson.com/news/local/groups-ripping-out-old-barbed-wire-that-blocks-wildlife -movement-west-of-tucson/article_f6d3f0d6-9a4e-11ec-943b-83370e6df190.html

ICC Member	# Posted: 5 Mar 2022 17:42 Reply As the article states there are countless miles of unneeded old barbed wire fences in the western US. A few years ago after the forest service re-surveyed the forest boundaries in our area we worked a deal with them so we could remove some of the old wires. There were many miles, some partly down from falling trees. Those can be bad too as the wire on the ground can still trip and tangle and is harder to see. We got to sell the wire for scrap but the very rusty wire is prized by some artists that use it creatively. When the west was "settled" non-native people only cared about what worked best for them and their animals.

toyota_mdt_tech Member	# Posted: 5 Mar 2022 20:07 Reply K/B, proghorn cant jump, they move at great speed and with that momentum, a little jump, they would clear a gorge, but they cant jump. Have a pal who just bought 40 acres in Wyoming and has some barbed wire fence install to keep free ranging cattle out of an area around where his home site will be. Cattle itch and lean on things and they destroy stuff. But the rules there is the lower wire has to be higher from the ground and can not contain any barbs, only the top 3 runs gets the barbs. Of course, this rule probably didnt apply some time ago. Many states with pronghorns have adopted this and are helping landowners fix them at no cost to the fence owner. Now the pronghorn can just slide under the fence without getting injured.

neb Member	# Posted: 5 Mar 2022 22:13 Reply Quoting: toyota_mdt_tech But the rules there is the lower wire has to be higher from the ground and can not contain any barbs, only the top 3 runs gets the barbs. Of course, this rule probably didnt apply some time ago. Many states with pronghorns have adopted this and are helping landowners fix them at no cost to the fence owner. Now the pronghorn can just slide under the fence without getting injured. That is right. Fencing now days is a must and that spec to build fence with no barbs on bottom wire works pretty good for antelope. Through the years I have seen many big game animals caught in the top two wires on a fence. The animal jumps over and the back leg comes down between the top and second barb wire down and twists the wire and they are caught. Happens a lot in here in the west.

KinAlberta Member	# Posted: 5 Mar 2022 22:39 - Edited by: KinAlberta Reply Some rather awful photos here: Wildlife Friendly FENCING https://www.ab-conservation.com/downloads/educational_materials/brochures/ACA_Wildlif e_Friendly_Fencing.pdf Off topic but Iâ€™m reminded of a local problem of a tall picket fence: City fixes Cameron Heights fence after deaths of several deer and years of complaints \| CBC News â€œThe news comes as a relief to homeowner's association president Melanie Wilson who believes at least five deer and one moose have died after becoming impaled on the fence. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/city-fixes-cameron-heights-fence-after-deaths -of-several-deer-and-years-of-complaints-1.5846141