Change to fencing allows pronghorn population to move, grow

For the past 50 years, residents across the Trans-Pecos region have embraced the diverse luster of landscape and plants that the Chihuahuan Desert offers. In recent years, a prominent decrease in the pronghorn antelope population has residents in fear of losing one of their historic featured inhabitants. The population of pronghorn antelope in the Trans-Pecos has declined by about 50 percent in the last 20 years. Elements that have hindered the antelope herd numbers include drought, predators and man-made obstacles. The net wire fence, a distinctive trademark from sheep and goat ranching legacies, has become recognized as one of the primary causes in suppressing antelope numbers. The species is facing an assortment of problems ranging from habitat fragmentation and herd isolation to an overall decrease in the population. Unlike deer, which leap over fences, antelope crawl under them to travel from pasture to pasture. The typical net wire fence creates a barrier that prevents natural movement of antelope from summer mixed prairie range to the rougher mountain country. In 2010, the pronghorn wildlife habitat was added as a high-ranking concern to the NRCS-Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program. WHIP is designed to benefit wildlife on primarily wildlife land, although agriculturally productive operations may qualify for funding. Through the program, producers applied for cost-share to help offset the implementation cost of new conservation measures that would facilitate recovery of the antelope...more