Each year, collisions with barbed wire fences injure and kill many animals including the rare Gunnison sage-grouse, deer and elk.

A researcher in Idaho found 111 sites where birds collided into fences in random samples of 80 miles of fence. Sage-grouse accounted for 86 of those mortalities. The good news was that marking fences with 3-inch pieces of vinyl reduced grouse fence collisions by 74%.

With fewer than 100 Gunnison sage-grouse left in San Miguel County, we can't afford to lose birds due to collisions with fences.

A study in Utah and Colorado showed an average of one deer, elk, or pronghorn tangled for every 2.5 miles of fence. In addition to getting tangled, hooved mammals may get blocked and stranded by some fences. The same study revealed one ungulate found dead next to every 1.2 miles of fence.

Members of the San Miguel Basin Gunnison Sage-grouse Work Group, local youth and volunteers have already marked over 5 miles of fences. Your donation will help us to buy more materials, so we can mark even more fences.

To learn more, check out our website: www.sanmiguelgrouse.org