HOOFPRINTS IN THE SNOW – by Parmer Vanfleet
Mary and I often retreat to Bozeman in the winter, but this year we decided to stay at Henrys Lake to put some distance between us and the virus. Spring has come and today we were greeted today with grouse in the understory and fresh fox tracks in the snow. Over the years we have delighted in the early morning travels of wildlife near our cabin. Sometimes we see them and sometimes we just know they came though by what they left behind.
A few days back when I rose early to let Hank out, I noticed the tracks in the snow behind the cabin. Eight legs snaked down the canyon and plowed the waist deep snow to travel my cleared driveway. From the impressions, I supposed they belonged to a cow moose and her yearling bull in search of buds and sprouts on the north side of Henrys Lake.
I’m sorry to say this story ends the same way too often because it is we who increasingly live in and travel through wildlife habitat, not the other way around. The phone call came this morning and I learned the young bull was dead on the edge of the highway. The conservation officer was called and now all that remains are hoofprints in the snow.
People choose to live here, to vacation, to hike and hunt and fish here. Many of us are here to enjoy the peace of the mountains and wonder of the wildlife. Others are here for the noise and thrill of fast machines, dust in the face, icy wind up the sleeves. No matter the reason most folks stand in awe when a bear or elk or moose comes into view. Please ask your friends and family, neighbors and guests traveling to Henrys Lake to slow down and enjoy what they came for.
