Wildlife and livestock co-exist on pasture throughout the summer. However, in winter when livestock are being fed, wildlife can become a nuisance. Across Alberta, many producers are dealing with wildlife in winter feed, but how many are experiencing problems is not known.
“It’s pretty ubiquitous throughout the province, but what changes is species,” says Mark Lyseng, government relations and policy lead with Alberta Beef Producers.
Different parts of the province have different issues. In the north and west parts of Alberta, large elk herds cause issues. East-central and southwest Alberta have deer issues.
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Producers have been making sacrifices over the years to deal with the problem, Lyseng says. For example, a producer might stop swath grazing because wildlife defecated in the swaths, rendering them unsuitable for livestock. Or a producer may not bale graze because deer congregate around the bales.
“They have adapted to dealing with these problem situations,” Lyseng says.
In Alberta, there are two issues. One is elk management and the other is a shift in hunting. Elk is a tricky species to manage because they form large herds.
“If you’re the unlucky producer who gets a herd of 600 elk on your land, you get absolutely hammered. You can be the best manager, but you could lose an entire alfalfa field.”
Large herds of elk don’t stay in the same spot year-round. This makes it very hard to control them through hunting. Lyseng says he hears hunters complain producers with the large elk herds should have allowed more hunters on their land. But the elk might not have shown up until February or March, outside of hunting season. Even with longer seasons and more tags, unless the hunters find where the large herds are, the success rate is low and not effective for managing the population.
“That’s one of the biggest issues with elk.”
It doesn’t matter how the producer is feeding their animals, alfalfa fields alone can attract several elk or deer, reducing hay yields in the coming year. However, Lyseng says that is not what they hear about the most.
“The big one we do hear a lot about is swath grazing.” Swath grazing, as well as bale grazing, are eligible for the AFSC Wildlife Damage Compensation program, but the compensation ends on October 31 — right when most producers begin using their swath grazing or even before wildlife has taken a bite out of it.
“When we pushed back, they said if you have that high of population of wild ungulates you shouldn’t be doing those management practices,” says Lyseng of the government response.
“They are taking one efficient, low-cost, effective management practice out of beef producers’ toolbox.”
Alberta Beef Producers is pushing for a later date to claim wildlife damage to feed. “That October 31 date needs to be January 31.”
Compensation is available to producers for wildlife damage. It covers damage to stacked hay and greenfeed, silage and haylage in pits or tubes, according to the AFSC website. Producers don’t need to have AFSC coverage to submit a claim. They do need to pay an appraisal fee of $25 per inspection. The monies for funding are split between the federal and provincial governments. To receive a claim, a producer needs to consult with a Fish and Wildlife officer, who will then provide recommendations, before a claim is paid.
The maximum claim paid for haystacks and haylage in pits and tubes is $5,000. For subsequent claims, producers must have implemented Fish and Wildlife’s minimum recommendations. If recommendations are not met, on the second claim, the producer is only eligible for 50 per cent of the claim amount, and after no claim will be paid. For fencing off haystacks, the fencing materials are paid for but not the labour.
Unfortunately, the program monies don’t adequately cover the problem. Lyseng says, “They want to see these populations grow. So we’re only going to see the populations get worse.”
Alberta Beef Producers has heavily pushed the point that if the government wants to encourage these sizeable populations of elk and deer, then the government needs to pay for them.
“Or pay for the loss of use,” Lyseng says. “Ultimately you’re losing a use of your landscape.”
Calculating population size isn’t cut and dry — it’s heavily debated. Lyseng says it makes things tricky for beef producers, especially for producers who have pasture surrounded by cropland. These producers end up “providing feed” for the wild ungulates on their pasture land for being good land stewards.
“That’s the burden they have to bear and that seems unreasonable.”
Hunting has also become an issue because, in many areas of the province, cow elk and doe deer tags aren’t being filled. Hunting has shifted from subsistence to trophy hunting. The main mechanism the government has to control the wildlife population is hunting.
“Nobody wants to shoot the doe,” Lyseng says.
Producers are seeing pressure from wildlife during winter following a dry summer or in a cold, snowy winter. When feed is scarce, the deer and elk move in on cattle feed.
“This is at the time the livestock need the most feed. It’s also when your feed is worth the most. That’s a big issue for producers — they’re competing with the wildlife in a lot of cases. It’s a kick when you’re down.”
Some producers are coming up with creative ways to deal with wildlife on their land. One way they are finding is working with hunting and outfitter groups during hunting season. “This can help focus where the problem is. It’s both a deterrent and population management, which are both really useful.”
The working groups in Alberta are looking to their neighbours to the south, in the Western U.S., and seeing if strategies there will work here. Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota all have innovative programs regarding wildlife and livestock. Many of the strategies in the U.S. involve hunting. Some states will reward the landowner with a dollar value for each animal harvested from their land, Lyseng explains. Other states have access program incentives for both landowners and hunters.
While it sounds like livestock and wildlife are constantly competing for feed, the reality is many beef producers like to see wildlife and waterfowl in their pastures. Lyseng is also a beef producer in Camrose County.
“I know I want to see wildlife on my land. It’s great when I see deer. I post on Instagram when the fawns are playing in the pasture. Beef producers have that intimate relationship with biodiversity and stewardship.”
But when populations are allowed to grow unchecked, it becomes a problem. The burden falls on beef producers, and becomes “unreasonable,” says Lyseng. If society wants the wild ungulate populations to keep growing, organizations or groups will need to step up and pay their feed bill.
“I think that’s the big issue we’re running into. When is too much? That’s the big struggle right now. We shouldn’t lose the viability or sustainability of our operation for something that benefits all of society.”
