On August 31, Henrys Fork Wildlife Alliance members teamed up with the U.S. Forest Service to remove over a mile of unused electric fencing from the Kilgore area in effort to allow wildlife to move more freely through the forest. The old electric fencing was erected over two decades ago to protect newly planted trees from cattle. For many years it was left unused and an impediment to hunters and ranchers, as well as wildlife.

Volunteers with HFWA worked in coordination with the Forest Service to pull T-posts and wire from a mostly uphill densely forested area. All volunteers were required to wear bear spray as the group was deep in bear country. Members of the group walked the fence line pulling T-posts as they cut, gathered and bundled the wire. Volunteers hiked out the bundles of wire and T-posts.

“It was pretty steep in some parts collecting the wire, but it was a great feeling to get it removed out of harm’s way” HFWA intern Shaun Ward stated.  Over one mile of electric wire and t-posts were collected by the end of the project. The collected wire and t-posts were taken to the local landfill for disposal. 

“We’re grateful the Forest Service contacted us about this project. HFWA has completed several fence pulls in the past and we love seeing the results when we restore some natural beauty to an area”, HFWA Volunteer and Project Coordinator Caitlyn Wanner stated.