Agency Needs Help Feeding Hungry Deer

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is looking for volunteers to help feed thousands of hungry deer in the Winthrop and Pateros areas in Okanogan County,

Heavy snowfall early in the winter and continued freezing temperatures have caused an estimated 10,000 deer to migrate from their normal winter feeding range to lower elevations, where they threaten orchards.

The hungry deer feed on fruit trees and can destroy or severely damage them.

“This is Mother Nature at work,” said Dayna Matthews, chief of enforcement for the wildlife department. “We don’t expect to save all of the animals, but we believe this is the humane thing to do and, at the same time, we want to do everything we possibly can to minimize potential crop damage.”

The agency is working with area landowners to keep the deer from destroying crops. It is also setting up its own feeders at various locations and employees will be hired to assist, Matthews said.