Save starving Gunnison Valley herds!

[elkduds]

The sagebrush on the winter range are covered by deep snow. Thousands of deer and elk are in the valley bottoms, unable to reach food beneath deep snow. The valley, internationally famous for big game habitat and hunting, is also susceptible to massive winter die-offs, losing several years of herd growth each time a killer winter like the current one happens. 5 feet of snow just this week, and the sagebrush on the winter range is buried. If you care to make a stand to save deer and elk herds, the site is here. Please spread this news to those with a heart to save wildlife.

[Save Gunnison Wildlife by Connor Clark - GoFundMe

 

[realunlucky]

What's his plan with the money he raises? I guess I didn't see a formidable plan on how the funds would be used. Guessing that maybe I missed it

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[elkduds]

Good question. Plan is to revive the feeding plan used in '08 by purchasing digestible pellets and using volunteers to distribute them. These locals have done this before. You can ask questions from the organizers on the Go Fund Me site. Thanks for looking @ it.

 

[Laelkhunter]

Where's PETA ? Probably busy euthanizing numerous shelter animals.

 

[Northernpiker]

Is the CPW going to let them feed if the funds are collected? Sounds like they are worried about disease also. I don't mean to discourage donations.

 

[5MilesBack]

Is the CPW going to let them feed if the funds are collected? Sounds like they are worried about disease also. I don't mean to discourage donations.

The public feeding wildlife is illegal in Colorado.

 

[airlocksniffer]

Intentionally feeding big game is illegal under Colorado state law. Sad but winter kill has been happening for thousands of years. Ultimately it will make the population healthier.

 

[hobbes]

I'm not arguing Colorado law, because it is clear. I'm also not standing in support of a money raising effort if there isn't a clear plan on how the money will be used. However, deer starving in your back yard isn't something most folks are willing to ignore. If it's similar to 2008, they aren't just talking thinning the herd a little.

I was in Colorado during the winter of 2008 and if the conditions are the same it will be devastating. It wasn't just a few animals starving in 08, the deer herd, especially in the Gunnison Valley, was devastated. I doubt it's fully recovered even now. The elk faired better from what I recall, but still suffered. I recall CWP (DOW back then) feeding the elk and deer. As I recall they had to feed the elk in one location and the deer in another so the elk would allow the deer a chance to feed. Even with the feeding efforts there were dead deer all over the valley by winters end.

 

[BigAntlerGetter]

Not to be negative but $10,000 is not going to save the herds. This will only hold off the starvation a little while. I to would like to see a plan on how this is going to work, an idea of how much to feed per day, cost per day, how many animals fed per day. What kind of feed is going to be used? It says pelleted feed but What kind? I don't want to be negative but this isn't something you go throw out feed for 3 weeks run outa money and say well we will see. After that time those animals aren't gonna leave that spot to search for food. They are gonna wait for it to show up as they did back in 08.
I'm very glad what you guys are trying to do but there needs to be a lot more thought put into this.
I will put this into perspective 20 horses will ingest 1400 lbs of hay in 14 hours. Yes I have seen it done many times... and this was before snow and there was still grass. Right now my 2 horses last 20 days on 1 1400 lb bale.
Like I said think it's great they are trying but what happens if the money is raised and the Dow still says no? Is money refunded, is it donated to the Dow?
In all honesty someone needs to make a fake Facebook take the go fund me link and post it to every peta and environmentalist group crying about how the deer herds would die and all that. Bet all those guys would love to donate money, just can't say that anyone is worried about the hunting


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[HookUp]

I've seen Washington State's budget for feeding elk at a few sites, runs around $120,000 a year. 10K isn't going to do much. Not seeing how this could end well.

 

[oldgoat]

Just talking about keeping them alive, not fat and sassy enough to go for a ride on.

 

[BigAntlerGetter]

Just talking about keeping them alive, not fat and sassy enough to go for a ride on.

Ya I understand that, I was making a point. But if they don't have enough feed to sustain them through the winter it's going to do more harm than good.
Trying to put things into perspective, somif you figure 3 deer per horse 60 deer will eat 1400 lbs of hay in 14 hours, and they will eat every bit of it, your not going to be able to kick them off hay once their full. They will just keep eating cause it's there. So then you have to figure out how you're gonna feed the pellets. How many pounds of pellets per day, per animal all that.
Just trying to put some things into perspective besides going into the whole situation half cocked and not having any idea of what they're doing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Josh Wright]

I spoke with a nice lady in the Gunnison field office today. During the last winter kill, the dow spent 2.8 million in the units effected in the state. 10k....not doing anything.

Currently, the herd is fine. Why? During the winter kill of 07/08, they were contending with snow a
AND minus 30 lows at night. This is not the case currently. It's a week by week deal. They are monitoring the situation and the process has already started in case they do need to request money. Right now, there is not a need.

It's too early to panic. The worst part is in the Crested Butte area.

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

 

[5MilesBack]

I find it ironic that some people want to keep the herds alive, just so we can then go and kill them later. LOL.

 

[elkduds]

Just talking about keeping them alive, not fat and sassy enough to go for a ride on.

Clearly the Gunny locals are motivated t take action that was delayed and ineffective by CPW in 2008, as well as in '82 and '78. CPW has to operate within political restraints, citizens do not. As was quoted in another discussion of this, "no jury in Gunnison will convict people for trying to save them."

My point is, there are lots of reasons people will choose not to help, as is their prerogative. Why those people would post discouragement to those who consider helping is beyond me. How about reading the Go Fund Me info, looking @ the result ($5K raised in 1 day so far), and considering why the locals are getting ahead of CPW efforts: Because locals in Gunny have watched their herds die off every decade and CPW do nothing or too little too late.

2 guys meet on the beach @ low tide. One is picking up starfish and throwing them back in the ocean. Other asks, "why are you wasting your time? There are thousands of starfish stranded every day on this coast alone. What you are doing won't matter." 1st guy throws another one back, says "it matters to that one."

If you won't help a cause, @ least don't discourage it.

 

[5MilesBack]

Hey, I was just pointing out the obvious irony.

If people want to save the whales or whatever.......that's their prerogative. I'm just wondering how they are going to coordinate this within Colorado law.

I'm sure the Gunnison valley is full of bunny huggers just like everywhere else these days. They'll go out of their way to help save some elk and deer from nature, but they won't lift a finger to save any elk and deer from the wolf nature, that they've deemed "natural". I can't think of anything more natural than snow and nature.

 

[TJ]

I find it ironic that some people want to keep the herds alive, just so we can then go and kill them later. LOL.

Ya! your full of irony

I wonder why people want to keep public land public,
I wonder why people care about an animal starving to death,
I wonder why people people hunt when you can go to the store and buy food,
I wonder why people would dispatch wildlife when they were just hit by a car,
I wonder why people do conservation work to help wildlife,
I wonder why people give a sh!t about nature,
I wonder why people stop wildfires,
I wonder why people like the wilderness,
I wonder why people litter,
I wonder why people pick up others peoples trash,
I wonder why people like sunsets,
I wonder why people read your posts,
I wonder why people help other people,
I wonder why people teach other people to hunt,
I wonder why people don't like to hunt,
I wonder why people help other people find hunting spots,
I wonder why people help pack out other people's game,
I wonder why people find things ironic, just to make more posts,

 

[BigAntlerGetter]

Obviously they want to keep the herds alive so we can hunt them. No herds no hunting ironic right. I understand them wanting to save the herds. I just would like to be for sure knowing where my money goes if I donate. That's the biggest thing

 

[BroodBuster]

Efforts such as this are best done by locals on the down low.

A Go fund me page, by nature, makes it political which only ****s things up.

 

[HuntHarder]

As Elkduds said, if you want to help the cause then donate. If you do not, move on. Why criticize something and try to deter others from helping? If the person donating is not smart enough to make their own decisions in life, that is on them. They can choose to support whatever they want and should not be persuaded not to by someone else's OPINION. Good luck on your efforts original poster.