Reflectors on fences can keep grouse from killing themselves

The Idaho Statesman reports:

By adding reflectors to fences funded by the federal government on public lands, managers can reduce one of the major killers of sage grouse. Environmental Defense says the relatively inexpensive addition to the thousands of miles of fence build on public lands can help the bird that is facing listing as an endangered species and its Midwest cousin the prairie chicken. Studies have shown wire fencing to be a major cause of death for sage grouse and prairie chickens, which live in 15 states across the West. The birds cannot see the thin wires and fly into them. A study in Oklahoma found that fence collisions caused 39.8 percent of lesser prairie chicken deaths from known causes, and a similar study in Utah found fence collisions responsible for 18 percent of sage grouse deaths. Since 2005, the Bureau of Land Management has built 3,150 miles of fencing in the 15 affected states, at a cost of about $10,000 per mile. The Natural Resources Conservation Service funds more than 1,000 miles of fencing each year in the counties where the birds live, at roughly the same cost. For an extra $200 per mile -- or a two percent cost increase -- all new fencing could be built with reflectors or flagging.