Home Is Where The Habitat Is

January 2007, By Jennifer Jackson - IDFG

For the last four years, Craig Bute, of Farrwest, Utah, has called 2,450 acres of Idaho's landscape in South Arbon Valley "home" - at least during the times of the year when he and his family retreat to the property for some hunting and to work on their cabin.

For now, their "home-away-from home" is only half built, so Bute and his family stay in three small, 100-year old cabins-a gift from an Arbon Valley neighbor- that they painstakingly moved one log at a time to their property.

However, Bute does not exert all of his blood, sweat and tears on construction of a new cabin. There is something else he is trying to build-a better place for wildlife. "Though the purpose for buying this property was mostly recreational," Bute said, "we also want to enhance it for wildlife."

Bute's property is home to a variety of species, including sharp-tailed grouse and hungarian partridges, hawks, owls, foxes, coyotes, and mule deer.

"Elk will move through during the winter months, and we have seen quite a few moose, too." Bute happily added, "We think the deer and moose have really appreciated the wildlife troughs we put in."

The troughs of which he speaks are eight solar-powered wildlife guzzlers the Bute family has installed throughout the property. Other improvements have included the planting of sunflowers and forbs for deer and upland birds and removing all barbed wire cross fences. They maintain the perimeter fencing to exclude cattle from neighboring properties.

During previous ownership, about half of Bute's Arbon Valley property was used for dry grazing at one time, and the other half was in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)-a federally funded farm program designed to take highly erosive cropland out of production. Bute has no intentions of farming the land or grazing cattle, and would like to see the CRP remain. His plans for the property are focused on enhancing the property for the wildlife that lives there, especially mule deer.

"When we first acquired the property, we would see the mule deer move in during the early spring and feed on the green grass that would be abundant in the dry grazing areas. When the grass browned, the deer would move out. So, we thought maybe there was something we could do,"Bute said.

About two years ago, Bute approached the southeast regional office of Fish and Game in Pocatello to formulate a "game plan." Fish and Game personnel walked the site with Bute and thought that the landscape, especially the CRP land, which had become a monoculture (one species) of crested wheat grass, could be bettered by planting strips of alfalfa.

With the USDA Farm Service Agency's approval, the project was ready to move forward in 2006 when, on August 15, lightning ignited a blaze that consumed almost the entire property. Only the Bute's partially built cabin and surrounding outbuildings survived the conflagration.

Craig Bute’s property in south Arbon Valley, Idaho, before a fire consumed valuable wildlife habitat in August 2006.	Craig Bute’s property in south Arbon Valley, Idaho, after a fire tore through the landscape in August 2006. This site is part of a habitat improvement effort being conducted by Fish and Game and the landowner.

Though fall rains brought back to life the grasses and forbs from the original CRP mix, the native shrubs valuable to wildlife for food and cover, such as antelope bitterbrush and big sage, will take years to recover without help.

The fire left only skeletal remains of shrubs and juniper.

Though the fire presented some additional challenges to the original plan for habitat improvement, the mission remained the same. So, in November 2006, Fish and Game personnel planted 2,100 antelope bitterbrush and 200 hobble creek sage on the Bute property. Fish and Game also contracted to have 25 acres planted with a mix of alfalfa and forbs in spring 2007.

Colin Wakefield, Mule Deer Initiative technician for Fish and Game's southeast region, says joint projects like this are important for wildlife, especially when trying to accomplish objectives outlined by the Mule Deer Initiative.

Colin Wakefield (left) and Paul Wackenhut (right) of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game get a chilly “ride” while planting Antelope Bitterbrush and Hobble Creek Sagebrush on Craig Bute’s property in south Arbon Valley last November. This is one of the habitat improvement projects taking place in southeast Idaho to benefit mule deer and other wildlife.

"Habitat is one of the single greatest factors affecting mule deer density and distribution," Wakefield said. "Therefore, the protection of existing mule deer habitats and improvements to poor mule deer habitat is critical to their success. By cooperating with the landowner, we [Fish and Game] wereÿgivenÿan opportunity to make some improvements to an area of less than ideal habitat conditions."

The Craig Bute Project, as it is now known, has generated real interest with some of Southeast Idaho's residents.

Wakefield said that as this project gained steam, some of Bute's neighbors also began expressing interest in habitat improvements for their properties.

As soon as the Southeast Idaho Mule Deer Foundation (SEIMDF) learned of the project, they committed funds to plant 1,500 Utah junipers this spring. Rick Cheatum, president of the SEIMDF said that their board of directors is always looking for ways to use their members' money to help mule deer in southeast Idaho.

"If we can aid in replanting natural browse and cover for the mule deer, we are helping to restore one area that would otherwise be lost for years,"ÿCheatum said. "A project like this is an effort to work on one piece of the puzzle of declining mule deer numbers."

After the snows melt this spring, Craig Bute will continue building his cabin and, with some help, continue building a better habitat for wildlife. His passion for this project stems from his belief that places for wildlife are disappearing as a result of human encroachment.

"If we don't do this, wildlife will have no food, no cover. there will be no wildlife," Bute said.