Don't fence me in!

Hi Readers! This is a time when we see a lot of wildlife activity on our five acres and I'm expecting to see some babies before long. We've had three does passing through, no doubt looking for places to give birth to this season's fawns. For several years in a row, we've had twin fawns appear out of the brambles when 'Mom' thinks they're ready. In preparation for that, we've recently been removing wire from an old fence that was buried in a blackberry thicket on our property to make it easier for deer and other critters to navigate. We discovered a dead doe hanging from one leg on our fence upon returning from a long trip to the Northwest and it added fuel to our already aroused interest in protection of wildlife. While traveling, we picked up a newspaper on which the front page article and photo displayed a large, disturbing image of two dying Bull Elk laying nose to nose on the ground. Their bodies were completely entangled in barbed wire and they could no longer struggle to free themselves. They died a slow, agonizing death. This image evoked such a profound reaction from my husband and me and left us with, not only lingering sadness, but questions. Why does this have to happen? The fact is that it doesn't! Humans need to recognize that wildlife needs to be mobile. Their very survival depends upon it! They need to search for food, water, shelter and mates but every obstacle humans build or leave behind creates a challenge to their existence. We liken it to living in a "pinball" game where a ball drops but is diverted by "pins" that re-direct the ball continuously. This "pinball" effect is the reality for wildlife. Our concerns grew as our online research revealed the ubiquitous phenomenon of wildlife entanglement in fencing. The more we learned the more we wanted to know if anything is being done to help wildlife navigate. Then, by pure serendipity, we discovered a TV program about a non-profit in Oregon whose mission is to "re-wild" large swaths of land in Oregon desert areas - lands formerly grazed by cattle and sheep. One of their missions is to remove old, "obsolete" fencing - fencing that no longer serves a purpose. When we returned home from our Northwest trip to our five-acre country home in Placer County was when we found the dead doe on our own property. This profound succession of discoveries was like a message that haunted us and led us to reach out to local conservation groups to see if they were doing anything about this very real problem for wildlife but we could find no group or agency or non-profit doing anything in California! At that point, we felt compelled to do something to bring awareness to the problem so we decided to form a non-profit corporation who's mission would be use to start identifying and removing obsolete fencing in our local area. We also felt compelled to make public education a part of our mission because the problem is so under-recognized! In June 2024, Friends Aiding Wildlife in Nature (FAWN) was born. We began spreading the word of FAWN's mission by making presentations wherever we could. From that start we were able to enlist the support of compassionate volunteers, local conservation groups, county fish and wildlife commissions, local service clubs, land trusts and recreation areas. In February of 2025 we had our first project at China Bar in Auburn - part of a state-managed recreation area. We enlisted enough volunteers to remove miles of obsolete wire fencing in partnership with local Placer Resource Conservation District staff members. Since that time, FAWN has now completed several projects and removed over 20 miles of wire fencing! As an extension of this "Country Living" column, I would like to appeal to private land owners whose land may contain obsolete fencing. In order to make a significant difference to our challenged wildlife, country land owners can take action on their own private properties. For free assistance from FAWN, contact fawn4wildlife.org or email fawn4wildlife@gmail.com. FAWN's motto is "Help FAWN help Wildlife." Let's work together to make this happen! Irene Smith has enjoyed rural living for more than 30 years and wants to share experiences and lessons learned from this lifestyle for the benefit of others. You can share your comments and experiences with Irene at n8rlvr2009@gmail.com.