THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 19, 1996 TAG: 9601190038
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB HUTCHINSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
When near-record snow fell on Virginia recently, the switchboard at the Richmond headquarters of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries started to light up.
Everyone, it seemed, wanted to know what effect the snow and prolonged cold weather would have on wildlife and how they might help the critters.
Not to worry, was the word the agency sent out; wildlife has a way of taking care of itself.
If some wild animals and birds succumbed, it would merely be Mother Nature's way of consistently producing stronger strains, better able to take whatever fate hands out.
Behind the scenes, however, some state wildlife officials were concerned about two things:
1. Bobwhite quail, in a statewide decline for more than 20 years, always have a tough time surviving heavy snows, which prevent them from getting to the foods buried below.
2. This snow was deep, more than three feet in some areas and it wasn't going to go away soon. Besides, it was wet, not the kind to quickly drift and leave open patches of wildlife food.
Additionally, wildlife officials knew they had been wrong in their assessment of a 30-inch snow three years ago. Then they also had said they expected few problems from the March blizzard.
Not until that fall, when hunters started finding carcasses scattered about the hardest-hit highlands, did state officials realize that the deer death toll had been significant.
This time, the game department's Bob Ellis, assistant chief of the wildlife division, is more careful.
``We expect to lose some deer,'' he said, ``but that can happen even when we don't have a lot of snow. Some of the weaker animals don't make it through a harsh winter, especially if there's a poor mast (wild food) crop.
``This year's mast was good in some areas and not so good in some others. We haven't received any reports from the west, where the snow was heaviest. But I suspect we'll lose a few animals.''
Some spots in Virginia received more than three feet during the recent storm. Areas around Blacksburg reported up to 38 inches, with up to 43 inches in eastern West Virginia.
Compared to whitetails in the New England and the North, Virginia deer are not as big and less able to withstand long periods of heavy snow.
Ellis said prolonged snow cover here can take a heavy toll of rabbits and other small game. It makes them much more vulnerable to predators, especially hawks.
``But that's nature's way,'' he said. ``What's good for some wild creatures isn't always good for some others. However, we all know that the rabbit population can bounce back very quickly.''
He is much more concerned about the survival of bobwhite quail.
``Fortunately, I guess, we don't have many quail west of the Blue Ridge Mountains, where the heaviest snow usually falls,'' Ellis said. ``But the quail population has been in a general decline for more than 20 years. We hate to lose any more to weather. We're losing enough as it is.''
Regardless of how severe Virginia's weather becomes, the game department has no contingency plan for putting out wildlife food.
That is like telling wildlife a lie, Ellis said.
``I know they do it in some of the western and northern states,'' he said, ``but that's an entirely different situation.
``There you have animals, especially elk, going to wintering grounds. They're going to be in that area, regardless. And they're going to be coming back the following year, regardless.
``But if you put out food in areas where animals don't normally go to wintering grounds, you not only attract them, but also tell them to come back the following year.'' by CNB