The Missoula Technology and Development Center (MTDC) was asked to evaluate various fence materials and designs to exclude elk and moose from plantations, riparian areas, and aspen regeneration areas. Our goal was to design a reasonably priced fence that would last up to 8 years and that was easy to install and remove when it was no longer needed. MTDC installed three different types of temporary fence exclosures in the fall of 2002. The exclosures are relatively small in size, but materials were chosen that could be adapted easily for larger exclosures.

The fences are on a steep, northfacing slope near the Continental Divide in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest in Montana, (elevation 8,200 feet). This location, known as Buffalo Springs, receives large amounts of snow and high winds, making it a worst-case testing ground as far as the weather is concerned. The enclosed areas allow researchers to study regeneration in aspen groves without the pressure of grazing animals. Each fenced area is about 1 acre (figure 1). Two battery-powered electric fences with solar charging systems are 6 feet tall (figure 2). The plastic mesh fence is 7½ feet tall (figure 3).

Figure 1—Three types of fence exclosures are being tested on the
Continental Divide between Montana and Idaho.

Figure 2—Six-foot tall, high-tensile steel electric fences and polyrope
electric fences are designed to exclude moose from aspen groves
in areas used for research.

Figure 3—A 7½-foot-tall plastic mesh fence exclosure is supported
by metal T-posts and high-tensile wire.

The two electric fences are monitored remotely by a satellite telemetry system.

MTDC helped install another plastic mesh exclosure fence near Philipsburg, MT, in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. The exclosure is a cooperative project involving the Forest Service, Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, and the U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service. The fence encloses almost 1 acre and protects a riparian willow patch in an area heavily populated with moose (figure 4).

Figure 4—This 7½-foot tall plastic mesh fence protects a riparian
willow patch from grazing moose on the Middle Fork of
Rock Creek near Philipsburg, MT.