According to the U.S. Census Bureauís website, Denver County has the largest population in the state, with 704,621 people as of July 1, 2017. El Paso County is not far behind with 699,232 residents, as of that same date. The statistics represent a 12.4 percent population increase between 2010 and 2017, according to the website. With such growth, concerns arise about the welfare of local wildlife, especially the herd of pronghorn that call the Black Forest/Falcon area home.Julie Stiver, wildlife biologist for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, said the herd of about 150 pronghorn is just one of the many that make up the estimated 12,000 total that live in Colorado. Some of the local pronghorn have left but there is no definitive cause, since the population tends to fluctuate between the seasons, she said. ìDuring the winter, the herd sizes are at their largest and then they get smaller as spring comes,î Stiver said. ìThat number is always in flux, and they move around quite a bit more than people think.îStiver said development has definitely decreased the size of the pronghornís natural habitat but she does not think it has caused enough pressure to force them to leave. But concerned citizens have called CPW for years asking for that herd to be moved to a safer place, she said.ìWhen we hear that, we have to evaluate the risks versus the benefits of moving them,î Stiver said. ìPronghorn are the second-fastest land animal in North America. They can get into areas so fast; and, when they are panicking and running away, we have seen them run into fences or onto roads. They have the potential to break legs and do all sorts of things that could go really badly for the pronghorn and the people around there.îContrary to how it appears, Stiver said the pronghorn are not trapped in the fenced areas around Woodmen Road and up through Black Forest. The fences are permeable, and the developers and land owners have raised the lowest of the five barbed wire strands on the fences to allow the pronghorn to slip under them more easily, she said. If the pronghorn want to move, they can do so more safely by themselves than CPW physically moving them, Stiver said.ìWhen you move animals from an area and take them somewhere else, you have to move some portion of the habitat that makes them feel at home,î she said. ìBut they almost always try to go back home anyway; and, when they do that, their survival rate is typically lower than other animals in the area.îIn the case of the 150 pronghorn in question, taking them to another place, like farther into the Banning Lewis Ranch area, puts them at risk of crossing Highway 24 to try to get back home, Stiver said.Currently, the pronghorn are not under any stress, which is characterized by the animals pacing back and forth along the fence lines, she said. However, Striver said she expects the amount of development in the area will reach a level where the animals do feel that stress.ìFor the overall issue of development, I do not know if we are going to stop it,î she said. ìThat is private land and we respect that.î Concerned citizens can speak to the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners but one of the best ways to help the pronghorn is to work to change things within their immediate sphere of influence, Stiver said.ìMake modifications to your fence, talk to your neighbor about modifying their fence, start having those conversations with decision-makers in your area,î she said. ìFences are a total nightmare for wildlife in general.îStiver said the CPW website has a few links that provide information about how to modify fencing, including a guide titled, ìFencing with Wildlife in Mind.î They can be found at http://cpw.state.co.us.With development not slowing or stopping anytime soon, Stiver said the pronghorn will eventually move away, and it is not something she wants to see happen. However, the overall pronghorn population is at the highest level it has been in the past 10 years, which is a positive thing, even if the animals decide to move from the area, she said.ìIn a lot of these cases, the animals know what is best for them,î Stiver said. ìIt will probably be a much calmer situation if they can move on their own.î
