A dedicated crew of 15 volunteers came to Greenfire Preserve the weekend of Oct. 24-26 to aid Western Watershed Project's wildlife habitat improvement efforts.

The project focused on making the fencing on the preserve (which was in place before WWP took over the property) more wildlife-friendly for the elk, deer and pronghorn that graze in and pass through Greenfire's pastures.

The group tore down barbed-wire fencing along Greenfire's road boundary, dismantled wooden fences along riparian areas, and moved and reconstructed the wooden fences to replace the barbed wire. More than 500 yards of wooden fencing replaced the barbed wired that previously hindered wildlife passage.

The group soon enjoyed the rewards of their hard work. At the end of the weekend, they saw a herd of deer use the wooden fence access instead of attempting to jump the barbed wire!

WWP thanks the following supporters and directors for their hard work: Charley Herrington, Ed Grant, Bill Robins, Paul Martin, Jennifer Anderson, Damon Anderson, Patrick Csizmazia, Sue Rahmann, Maryanne Csizmazia, Tim Whitecotten, Dale Grooms, Debra Ellers, Bob Wagenknecht, Louise Wagenknecht and Gene Bray.

Special thanks go to Dale for organizing the weekend, planning meals and supervising the project, to Gene for use of his tractor and trailer, to Patrick for use of his truck and trailer, and to Martin for donating plants for landscaping. The project is expected to continue in the spring with more removal of barbed wire and reconstruction of wooden fencing.

If you would like to participate in this or other volunteer projects at Greenfire, please contact Teri Stewart at WWP: (208)788-2290 or teri@westernwatersheds.org.