
A mule deer safely navigates a wildlife underpass at Lava Butte in Central Oregon. Built in 2012, the passageway under Highway 97 has reduced wildlife-vehicle collisions in the area by 86 percent.
By ROB DeHARPPORT/For The Herald — The fall foliage that recently brought us a bright array of color will soon be gone. It seems that fall can be here one minute and gone the next in a blink of the eye. Many of the colorful leaves have already dropped to the ground, encouraged by the winds and rain to make way for winter.
Old Man Winter came knocking this morning here on the mountain near Crescent Lake with a fresh dusting of snow above 4,800-feet elevation. It hasn’t amounted to more than an inch at my house at this point and most likely will be gone by afternoon. Our forecast is predicting intermittent snow for the coming week with little actual accumulation. A reminder or tease that winter may arrive in full force at any time. With that reminder, it’s a good idea to dig out the snow tires or chains if a trip over any of our higher elevation passes is in the future.
This morning’s greeting of the white stuff will be welcome for those chasing elk on either side of the Cascade Crest. The Cascade elk rifle season begins this morning on the west side, along with a muzzleloader

A mule deer at Cabin Lake winter range.
season here on the east side of the Pacific Crest Trail. Fresh powder always helps to track the elusive elk.
The mule deer that have spent the summer and fall are beginning their annual migration to their wintering grounds of the high desert. In fact, many have been seen along highway 31 and the Fort Rock area as well as crossing Highway 97 heading east. As the years go by my success hunting deer and elk has declined, most likely due to the effort invested or the lack of effort when compared to my younger years. I find nearly as much enjoyment capturing deer and elk in photos as I once did filling the freezer.
Spending time photographing and filming mule deer this time of year through November has always been an enjoyable hobby of mine and others for many years. The bucks let their guard down as they only have the females on their minds during the annual mating season or rutting season.
Mule deer populations throughout the west as well as here in Oregon have been declining over the years. For many reasons, one is due to mortality on our highways. One day just two years ago I counted a dozen fresh road-killed deer between Gilchrist and Lapine. North of Lapine a fence and underpass were installed a few years ago in order to reduce the number of car vs. deer collisions. Although expensive, these wildlife underpasses and overpasses have proven to reduce immensely the numbers of collisions along deer and elk migration routes.

Our columnist felt lucky to capture this blurry image of big mule deer running at Hole in the Ground winter range.
Near Lava Butte, an underpass and fence were installed in 2012 to assist migrating deer, elk and other wildlife crossing Highway 97. It has proven to reduce the numbers of deer and elk collisions on that stretch of highway by 85 percent!
Recently, a portion of the five-mile Gilchrist Wildlife Underpass project has neared completion. This is located on Highway 97 immediately north of the town of Gilchrist. Oregon Department of Transportation created a much-needed passing lane and a bridge or wildlife migration corridor underpass to reduce vehicle collisions and reduce deer and elk mortality — a win-win! The underpass was an $800,000 ODOT project. The $900,000 fencing portion of the project has been paid for with donations from various project partners, including the Oregon Wildlife Foundation, the Mule Deer Foundation, ODFW, Oregon Hunters Association, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the Oregon Water Enhancement Board.

Leaves are coming down fast from the quaking aspen of Central Oregon.
According to ODOT, here in Oregon there are 7,000 reported collisions with wildlife annually with perhaps as many as three to five times that number of collisions unreported. In plain terms that equates to nearly 35,000 mostly deer and elk deaths annually.
These projects alone in my opinion justify paying for an annual or lifetime membership to the project partners or Oregon Wildlife Foundation and other organizations advocating for our fish, wildlife and the heritage of fishing, hunting and enjoying the great outdoors and the critters who live in our beautiful state.
Handwringing and whining about the “good old days” simply don’t produce results or improvements. Simple memberships, helping with habitat enhancement projects with like-minded folks does bring positive results to our fish and wildlife.
Get involved, purchase a membership with the organization of your choice and most importantly get outside and enjoy the outdoors and all it offers.
Rob DeHarpport, former mayor of Westfir, moved to the Crescent Lake community in 2015 shortly after retiring from a 31-year career in the trucking industry.

Mule deer congregate at their Fort Rock winter range in Central Oregon.