Wind, wildlife and winter

Wind - there's no shortage of it in Montana east of the Continental Divide. The big blow the other day was the talk of the town. Every town. And for everyone who is complaining this winter about the wind, you must have loved last winter with lots of snow and little wind. More on that later.

Back to last week, it was an experience just to go outside. Dust, trash cans and most anything not secured went flying. A few trees toppled over, but mostly man-made objects bent or broke.

Plants on the Great Plains evolved with the wind and the dry conditions associated with lying in the rain shadow of the Rockies. The animals that followed thrived on those pliable plants. Think of the grazing wildlife still here that evolved with the Great Plains - bison, antelope and elk, when they are east of the Divide.

Even mule deer, browsers not grazers, eat nutritious native browse, like the tips of willows and chokecherry that evolved here in coulees and river drainages.

When the winter is mild, like this year, we typically have a lot of wind. When winters are tough and seem to last forever, think last year, we long for a warm Chinook to sweep down the Rocky Mountain Front and eat away the snow.

Animals have to take what comes. Last year, with record snowfalls and fewer Chinooks, some animals were restricted in their movements.

Elk will go wherever they can to find food. But smaller creatures, like antelope and deer, cannot. Last winter, in eastern Montana the only places antelope could travel easily was on plowed roads and railroad tracks. That led to several accidents and hundreds, maybe thousands, of dead animals.

Besides restricting movement, snow and prolonged cold also take a toll on wildlife. Each summer, herbivores fatten up on available grasses, forbs and plants. If the food is nutritious from a wet growing season, wildlife enter winter in good shape. If the summer is dry, plants won't produce the nutrition animals need. Then wildlife enters winter in poor condition. Combine that with a harsh winter and lots of animals die.

Because last year was wet, many animals that made it through the winter of 2010-2011 had plenty to eat. Going into this winter, deer, elk and antelope should have been in good shape.

Add a mild winter, so far, and life is pretty good on the prairie. Of course, that's said at the end of January. The real test comes in March and April.

By the end of winter, many animals will have used up the majority of their nutritional reserves. For deer especially, winter is a long downhill slide. If spring arrives early or the winter has not been too tough, the females will come through in good shape and produce healthy fawns.

The opposite is not pretty. So maybe pray for wind to ward off a long, cold, tough winter. Pray for wind? Did someone really say that?

Bruce Auchly is the Fish, Wildlife and Parks Region 4 information officer.