Elk Meadow Elementary School in southwest Bend sits on busy Brookswood Boulevard, surrounded by side streets lined with modern, single-family homes. It’s a nice enough neighborhood but contrary to the school’s moniker there isn’t much meadow here and certainly no elk.
The name harks to a bygone era before the school was built in the early 1990s. At the time, there were large tracts of open space, clusters of ponderosa pine, bitterbrush and manzanita where elk spent the winter. In more recent decades, the meadows have disappeared under the new streets and houses.
Corey Heath, a retired Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist, says 80 to 90 elk used to winter in the area.
“The elk abandoned the site,†said Heath. “They more or less quit using this whole south end corridor.â€
Urban growth impacts on wildlife
The loss of wildlife due to urbanization is a situation that has repeated itself time and again across Bend. Insatiable demand for more housing has pushed neighborhoods sprawling into natural habitats of myriad wildlife endemic to this area. Birds are likewise impacted when trees are bulldozed to build homes and RV parks.
When development comes, some wildlife have migrated elsewhere. Occasionally, some species habituated to an area and stayed, sheltering in the nooks between the homes and streets.
And every so often, one of them is picked up by a human and transformed into a pet. Others became roadkill.
Molly Honea, a spokesperson for Think Wild, a Bend-based wildlife hospital, says most wildlife end up in the clinic because of some kind of interaction with humans. Window strikes caused by birds flying into newer homes and buildings with large windows are a growing problem, she said.
In May, the clinic treated a bald eagle suffering from lead poisoning. This often occurs in raptors after they feed on a carcass shot with lead bullets. Other animals end up in the clinic because of a vehicle strike or because they were tangled in fencing, garden netting or some other object left out by humans, said Honea. Others are injured by humans who tried to care for animals they thought were abandoned.
“Sometimes there’s irreversible damage done to those animals that, unfortunately, results in their demise,†Honea said.
A tipping point
Sara Gregory, Deschutes watershed district manager for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, says multiple factors have resulted in a decline of wildlife numbers, leading to an eventual “tipping point.â€
“We have energy development out on winter range, we’ve got more and more recreation, more and more traffic on highways creating a barrier to passage. All of these things add up and it’s hard to say which one thing is going to put us at that tipping point.â€
Not all animals are following the same path. Elk are robust animals that can usually find new habitats when displaced. Coyotes and bobcats have also adapted to urban and semi-urban conditions.
But the same cannot be said for mule deer, which have a high fidelity to their summer and winter ranges. Once they are cut off from these areas — because of roads and fences that block their migratory path — they lose access to food and traditional breeding areas. Eventually, their numbers decline because of poor health, disease or an inability to avoid oncoming traffic.
Mule deer numbers have fallen by more than 50% since 2002, according to ODFW. The starting point for their problems is often the parceling of lots and building on those lots, says Andrew Walch, the ODFW district biologist in Bend.
“What comes with that is a lot more fencing and human presence and pets,†said Walch.
If land is not “permeable,†says Walch, animals will be unable to move from one area to the next, disrupting their life cycle.
Walch adds that humans tend to compete with wildlife for the best habitat around Bend. Housing developments are located in low-lying areas near rivers which also tend to be the best places for wildlife to feed, find water and reproduce. When humans move in, animals are pushed out to less hospitable terrain.
“As urbanization occurs you’re just excluding those wildlife to places that are marginal habitat,†said Walch. “They are getting the secondary, the leftovers, which isn’t as productive or secure.â€
Not always on the same page
Wildlife experts say it helps when Bend and other cities build up rather than out to limit sprawl and keep the urban footprint from expanding. When infill does occur in undeveloped parts of the city, the better plan for wildlife is to build subdivisions that feature scattered housing and few fences, rather than multiple houses lined up in a row, said Heath.
“In the older parts of Bend where there may be an open lot in between some houses and bigger lots, we do see deer still using those sites,†said Heath. “Where houses are: house, house, house, and everything’s paved and fenced and all that, there’s very little deer use in those areas.â€
In rural areas, wildlife officials suggest that growth be concentrated on a parcel of land and leave the remaining portions of the parcel open for wildlife. Deschutes County considered this recommendation from ODFW to protect mule deer a year ago but the county commission voted the plan down after complaints from rural landowners.
Deschutes County Commissioner Tony DeBone, one of the two commissioners who voted down the mule deer overlay, says he trusts private property owners to create a good environment on their land to protect wildlife.
“We have a growing area and it does impact the wildlife so we all have to acknowledge that as citizens of the area,†said DeBone. “Drive more attentively to wildlife collisions and respect the wildlife around your private properties.â€
Solutions for wildlife
Even though wildlife numbers around Bend have declined because of growth, each problem comes with an attempt to find a solution.
Vehicle strikes have been addressed with wildlife crossings under major highways, including three crossings near Lava Butte, an area that sees over 20,000 vehicles pass by each day, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation. Miles of fencing were erected on both sides of the highway to guide animals toward the crossings. ODOT says the crossings near Lava Butte have helped cut collisions by 86%, saving human and animal lives.
Work is also being done to address habitat disruptions in the Deschutes National Forest west of Bend.
Winter closures are one example of collaborative efforts between the Deschutes National Forest and ODFW. This occurs when roads are closed to the public to allow wildlife sanctuary at a challenging time of the year. Agencies have also collaborated to realign roads and trails away from critical wildlife habitats.
“We’re trying to strategically manage. For example, by re-routing trails to leave larger areas intact,†said Walch.
Many areas around Central Oregon that were formerly used for agriculture have been rehabilitated back to their natural habitat, including land along Whychus Creek and McKay Creek.
But wildlife officials insist that investments in wildlife crossing and other efforts to protect mule deer need more attention. Gregory from ODFW says although animal lives have been saved because of the Lava Butte crossings, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of mule deer are dying on other roads.
“I would say they (wildlife crossings) have helped but it has been a drop in the bucket,†said Gregory. “More is definitely needed, along with more education and awareness.â€
Moving forward with growth
Biologists acknowledge that the decline in wildlife numbers in recent decades is irreversible and the number of mule deer in particular can’t return to levels seen in the mid-20th century. Instead, agencies like the ODFW are tasked with managing and maintaining species at sustainable levels. That requires help from officials, non-profits and the public to create pathways and remove impediments to their movement.
Gregory says Central Oregonians have a say in what happens to wildlife and collective choices will determine whether or not they continue to exist in and around Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson counties.
“We engage where we can, laying out the facts. It’s up to the community and our society to decide what we are going to prioritize,†she said. “And if it’s wildlife, that’s great. That is what ODFW is advocating for. But if it’s not, that is the choice we are all making.â€
Gregory adds that biology and science can only go so far in protecting wildlife. The rest is up to people’s choices.
“If people look at it from that perspective there is more stewardship, we should all be stewards of these animals.â€
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