Barbed wire fencing can be an obstacle to big game migration and movement, but on a property near Lolo, Mont., elk and other big game will face less of it while navigating the landscape after RMEF volunteers removed more than a mile of dilapidated fencing and installed new wildlife-friendly fencing.

Fences can displace wildlife and can maim or even kill big game animals that get entangled in barbed wire while trying to cross them. An estimated 650,000 miles of fences crisscross the western U.S., and research indicates that each year an average of one elk, pronghorn and mule deer dies from entanglement for every 2.5 miles of fence. Younger animals are far more likely to die from entanglement compared to adults. The need to remove old barbed wire fences and replace those in use with wildlife-friendly designs is paramount.

Early in the morning on July 17, 2026, volunteers met up near RMEF headquarters in Missoula and headed for the project site. The event was part of RMEF Big Game Days, which attracted volunteers from across the country to participate.  After a safety briefing, volunteers got to work pulling nails and fence posts and cutting and rolling barbed wire.

“[I came out] to improve wildlife habitat and to get to know some other conservation-minded folks,” said volunteer Scott Ball. He added that he believes that participating in activities like this is not only good for wildlife but also helps improve hunter image for the public. This was Ball’s third time attending an RMEF volunteer work project.

The fence was old, with some parts partly or fully collapsed and buried inside of thickets of brush. After about four hours of work, the volunteers had managed to clean up the old fence and install a safer fence on the other side of the access road inside of the property.

“The event itself was great,” said Shawn Kelley, RMEF regional land manager-Northwest. “We did a lot of work in a little amount of time.”

The 16 volunteers at the event cleared the landscape of about 1,200 pounds of old wire. Kelley said more volunteer projects are likely to be done on the property in the future.

“Wherever there’s a bad fence, we want to fix it,” he said.