Experimental project to create deer habitat
Mule deer have always been one of the biggest challenges for east county farmers who have fields in the Gila River Valley, costing them many thousands of dollars each year in crop losses.
In addition to the damage caused by nibbling, keeping deer out of the fields is also a food safety issue because the area must be kept free of animal droppings.
While no outbreak of any disease in Yuma County can be blamed on the deer population, if an agriculture inspector sees tracks in a field, the crops are lost because they are no longer safe for human consumption and can’t be sold.
“Yuma County is a huge food source for the county during the winter months,” said South Sector Field Supervisor Michael Rice of the Arizona Game and Fish Department. “This is about preventing the possibility that a field can be infected.”
Now, there is an experimental project underway on a 30-acre parcel of land near Growler’s Wash to build a habitat for deer, which will provide them with an alternative source of food, water and shelter.
“The goal is to see if we can shortstop the deer by providing them with the resources here, so they won’t have to go into the agriculture fields,” Rice said.
The project is a collaborative effort involving the Arizona Game and Fish Department, the University of Arizona, a private landowner, Amigo Farms, the Wellton Mohawk Irrigation District and the Southwest Botanical Society.
Also taking part in the project is the Mule Deer Foundation, which recently opened its first chapter in Yuma County.
“We are constantly growing our chapters and we have not had one in Yuma County for a number of reasons, but we are here now, and we are bringing our resources here to help mitigate some of the problems that are going on between the wildlife and farming community,” said John Geghart, regional director for the Mule Deer Foundation in Arizona and Southern Nevada. “There is a huge deer population here, so this is a big deal for us.”
It is estimated that there are thousands of deer in eastern Yuma County. These deer generally live out in the desert north of the Gila River Valley, but they come down to the riparian area around Growler’s Wash every summer when the desert is dry in search of the resources they need to survive.
“This is the driest time of year and the desert is in poor shape. Everything out there is dry. There is no green landscape, and there is no water,” Rice said. “This is the most stressful time of year. What the deer are doing is migrating to this area, which is what they have always historically done.”
During the winter months, when there is rainfall, the vegetation will green again and there will be water along the landscape, so the deer will leave the Gila River Valley and go back out into the desert, where they prefer to stay.
Donald Pelfrey, president of the Mule Deer Foundation Chapter in Yuma County, explained that while many farmers in the area have put up fences around their fields, that doesn’t completely solve the problem. Pelfrey owns the land where the experimental project is being conducted.
Because fencing is so expensive, a lot of farmers can’t afford it. As a result, Pelfrey said, the deer are just going to the fields that don’t have any.
“When the deer come down here now, they are meeting fences that were never there before. And that is where the problem lies,” Pelfrey said. “It is only a solution if all the farmers have fences, but they don’t.”
He continued, “The farmer needs to do what he has to do to protect his field, and we understand that, because that is his livelihood. We are trying to create a habitat for the deer so the farmer doesn’t have these problems.”
Now in its second phase, the 30-acre parcel of land for the habitat has been completely cleared of all salt cedar trees and other non-native vegetation.
The plan was to plant 900 native trees and flowers such as mesquites, cottonwoods and willows this past spring, but Palfrey said that didn’t happen due to the coronavirus pandemic.
With about 40 deer in the area, he is hoping they can get the planting done later this fall. Several drink tanks will also be installed.
“We are going back to what should be here. It will eventually look like the West Wetlands out here,” Pelfrey said. “In the long run, it will not only be beneficial to the deer but to all the wildlife.”
The first phase of the project happened last year when a field of alfalfa was planted on a adjoining 5-acre parcel of land as a food source for the deer.
Palfrey said the experimental project, once completed, will be studied for
three years. If it proves to be successful at preventing the deer from going into the farm fields, more habitats could be established throughout eastern Yuma County. James gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 5396854. Find him on Facebook at www. Facebook.com/YSJamesgilbert or on twitter @YSJamesgilbert.