High fence opinion in specific example???….

[booneriverbucks]

It’s total damage to vehicles & one could fairly easily get some data on average injuries & health costs related to collisions would be. If one wanted to assign a value for a human casualty…. From an insurance or biz POV - it could be done but clearly the over riding issue there is loss of a human life which is a tragedy in any case it happens.

The only “stretch” or deep thinking needed would be economic value of deer killed which could get into the weeds …. A deer hit by a car will likely have a reasonably low economic value (our deer hunting in iowa is a bare bones minimum of $180m annually). If car deer accidents get to a point where policy is changed…. That could be a % of that $180m - say it causes policy to reduce population by 10% …. It’s in the millions.

Interesting FACT or at least responses from car Insurace companies … as far as I know- they have never lobbied for lower deer #’s. They actually do bake the damages right in to their premiums & the cost is a very tiny amount vs other claims. Heard from high ups at State Farm, American family, etc on this and they have been very clear - they are not lobbying or voicing on policy. Where “kill em all” comes from the wonderful…. farm bureau first & foremost. They use vehicle collision data as a weapon to… “kill em all”. They bring it up and that’s why we hear the most about it. Yes, dnr, cities legislators & public have influence on this but
IMO- it’s a long way behind FB. Maybe some offshoots of that like corn & soy growers assoc or “the angry farmers of Iowa” .. that complain about anything & have too much time on their hands. Farm bureau followed by other orgs is main reason deer collision data will result in more deer shot though. Last fun fact of the day…. Where are 75%++ of complaints of “too many deer” coming from? You guessed it!!!!… northern 2/3rd of the state which has the lowest deer densities!! Ironic example but there were more complaints from one county that had 3 deer per square mile vs a county that had over 25 deer per square mile. U get in these high yield - no deer regions- the acceptability to have ANY deer damage is not tolerated. Like 2 rows of beans nipped that are 20 yards long (we talking a couple dollars MAYBE) - will get calls. Greed & every last nickel illustrated to its finest. Same dudes farming INTO the creeks & same exact dudes putting record nitrates in the water. GREED.

So you’re saying it’s not the poor farmers fault he can’t drive 65mph down the gravel road in between the only patches of cover for
miles?? The deer really aren’t suicidal?? I wish I was joking but man I’ve heard this agument a lot. I’ve literally heard people say their insurance is threating to drop them because of “all the deer they live by” and not their careless driving.. Obviously that is bs.. It is definitely a people problem. Insurance companies are just the convienient excuse

 

[Sligh1]

So you’re saying it’s not the poor farmers fault he can’t drive 65mph down the gravel road in between the only patches of cover for
miles?? The deer really aren’t suicidal?? I wish I was joking but man I’ve heard this agument a lot. I’ve literally heard people say their insurance is threating to drop them because of “all the deer they live by” and not their careless driving.. Obviously that is bs.. It is definitely a people problem. Insurance companies are just the convienient excuse

On another side of this…. I’m on the road between farms literally every day. I see quite a few deer collisions. This one’s interesting…. I usually see a pile each year before they happen. Idiot drivers not paying attention MOST the time. Like- how many times I’ve seen deer running across field for 10 seconds & car in front of me I’m shouting “hey dumb dumb, look out!!!!! Deer coming”. Wham! Usually avoidable.
I’ll give another fun fact…. I’d take a wild guess that 2/3rd the deer hit by one of my farms is by druggies driving to get their meth in a small town by me. Many mornings you find the car that was driven by a Meth Vampire (only come out at night) & they abandoned their 30 year old Dodge Caravan with 3 spare tires on side of road totaled from deer. If we could get rid of the drugs in my county…. Majority of deer Collisions would stop. All the meth vampires would be off the road & have no need to travel to these small towns known for the best meth in the area!

 

[booneriverbucks]

Hahahaha!! Unfortunately this is true… I have several family/friends that are in law enforcement and firemen/other responders and many of the deer collisions are caused by people drunk or on drugs.. Have heard stories of plenty of people blaming the deer for causing them to swerve and not the massive amounts of alcohol or other things they consumed that night. Yes, a deer may have run in front of them.. but that was not the only factor.. Obviously good drivers/people hit deer on occasion and it is unavoidable at times but there often is other “circumstances” that led to it.

 

[DMarley83]

IMO. High fence in IA should not be legal.Im not for big government however it should only be allowed with a permit for special live stock....

None of us like road kill however it's just part of life. Agree with the ultimate greed statement and GAY statement.

Also really dislike the TV show guys dozing timber/pasture into a foodplot with 1 entrance to hunt over. NEXT LEVEL GAY!!!!

 

[Steve-O]

Thoughts for those that drive through HWY 5 bypass that goes by Norwalk and goes around Des Moines on south side.

I drive this everyday...high fence on both sides of this 4 Lane. Does it prevent deer from getting hit, nope. Just seen a nice buck get hit on Tues. Car in ditch, hood flipped up and no way driver could see. Can't clock of all avenues of access.

Another area.. several that were created by landowners in Duhcatur county. One area I'm thinking of near "The Stag" always has deer penned in road ditch running to find the couple gates that are left open. Another one just south of there that does same thing...leaves gates opened with feeders and when season starts, removes feeders and closes gates.

With my travels up in Minnesota...I have noticed those wire ropes to prevent cars from crossing into in coming traffic have created issues and seen several deer spooked running along side the rope.

So as others states... critters will find a way.

Creates another question... would it be better to take money and create a wildlife bridge funneling them with these "fences".

 

[TheBig8]

If it's all timbered land, can you edge feather it into an impenetrable forest that the deer won't use except for possibly a few spots which would be the same as the one way gate theory?

 

[justinkarns]

On another side of this…. I’m on the road between farms literally every day. I see quite a few deer collisions. This one’s interesting…. I usually see a pile each year before they happen. Idiot drivers not paying attention MOST the time. Like- how many times I’ve seen deer running across field for 10 seconds & car in front of me I’m shouting “hey dumb dumb, look out!!!!! Deer coming”. Wham! Usually avoidable.
I’ll give another fun fact…. I’d take a wild guess that 2/3rd the deer hit by one of my farms is by druggies driving to get their meth in a small town by me. Many mornings you find the car that was driven by a Meth Vampire (only come out at night) & they abandoned their 30 year old Dodge Caravan with 3 spare tires on side of road totaled from deer. If we could get rid of the drugs in my county…. Majority of deer Collisions would stop. All the meth vampires would be off the road & have no need to travel to these small towns known for the best meth in the area!

It’s so awful how accurate the last couple sentences are..

Migration corridors for mule deer, etc in Wyoming - completely perfect use of fencing and bridges. This a migration that has occurred as long as modern history itself - and beyond. Our interstates directly impacted this and threatened their survival. This is for the greater ecology of the native landscape.

There isn’t any similarities to what we have in whitetail states - none. I greatly sympathize with loss of life, and those certain areas - maybe it works. But it simply isn’t practical - as a migration corridors never changes, one year of ehd and that fence that was put up to save lives, does nothing but create a complete dead zone because nothing can cross it, and saves nothing.

Fences = death of whitetail hunting as we know it. We can’t let the European model make it here.

 

[seven twenty]

I have not heard that. They actually removed it?!? Wow. The times I’ve seen implemented were to the exit/over pass so really wasn’t a way around it. But ya- that does make sense. I need to look at that example for sure.

It wasn’t a fence in the literal sense. They put up posts with reflectors every 10’ or whatever it was that reflected back to the ditches and “spooked” the deer into turning around. It was done in a few other areas of the state also. It was fairly costly at the time, or at least seemed like it. I want to say it was in the neighborhood of 40k for a 1/2 mi stretch but I could be way off too.

I’m sure some of the older DNR guys would remember the experiment and have a better answer as to how well it actually worked. I had family that worked for the State roads at the time and they said the deer just moved to one end or the other to cross.

 

[Iowa]

If you could find a way to make it work, I think it’s a good thing. Deer collisions just fuel the war on deer from insurance companies, farmers, and thrill killers. Seems like the longer stretch you could fence both sides the better.
I was in Montana this summer and there’s hundreds of miles of it and I never saw any roadkill along those roads. Never made sense to me we already pay for 5’ woven wire fence along interstates in Iowa, insurance companies should kick in the difference to make it 8’.
Last time I heard a quote on fence ( probably 10 years ago, 5 barb . Which can’t be too different from woven) it was $13,000 a mile. That’s probably not far off the average deer collision cost.
As far as the ethics of it, there would have to be rules regarding hunting within 1/4 mile of a crossing like someone mentioned earlier.