Designing a fence that enables free passage of wildlife while containing reintroduced bison: a multispecies evaluation

Abstract

Reintroductions of extirpated species are an important global conservation tool, yet can be challenging for wide‐ranging species. Fences that help anchor reintroduced species to a target area may have deleterious effects on other wildlife. Here we assessed the wildlife‐permeability of six bison drift fence designs at three spatial scales during the reintroduction of a wild herd of plains bison Bison bison to a 1200 km2 wilderness area in Banff National Park, Canada. First, we used an array of remote cameras along fences to capture wildlife interactions for 12 species, and modelled crossing success, preferred crossing methods and age–sex class tendencies. Second, we investigated fence barrier effects on wildlife movement at the local scale using cameras that were in place before and after fence construction. Finally, we tested for changes in movement rates of migratory elk and resident wolves at the landscape scale using GPS collar telemetry. Our results point to a single fence design that maximizes permeability for several species with diverse crossing strategies, and can be adjusted to contain bison. Wildlife detections increased independently of fence construction in our broader study area. Fence construction did not affect wolf or elk movements and migration at a landscape scale even when fences were deployed to obstruct bison. Our study highlights the important role of wildlife permeable fences in the reintroduction of large mammals such as bison.