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Northeast Region proposes drill-pipe fencing to protect Matt Warner WMA and reduce nutrient runoff
Summary
DWR sought funding split between Blue Ribbon and Habitat councils to replace three miles of failing fence on Matt Warner WMA with durable drill-pipe fencing to keep cattle out of sensitive shoreline and reduce nutrient inputs that cause algae blooms.
Pat Rainbolt, Northeast Region habitat program manager, presented a fencing replacement project for the Matt Warner Wildlife Management Area on Diamond Mountain aimed at excluding livestock from sensitive riparian and reservoir shoreline areas.
"This WMA is meant to provide forage for deer and elk. It's not we do not graze it with livestock for that reason," Rainbolt said, noting the current wooden top-rail and barbed wire infrastructure is failing under snow, cattle pressure and vandalism. He said cattle frequently breach the fence and cause trampling, concentrated nutrient inputs and erosion that contribute to algal problems in the reservoir.
Nut graf: The proposal requests about $400,000 (split between Blue Ribbon and Habitat Council accounts) to replace approximately three miles of perimeter fencing with drill-pipe top rails and solid sucker-rod laterals—a design Northeast staff say is more durable in heavy-snow and high-use conditions and reduces entanglement risk for deer and elk.
Council members discussed whether the project fits better under WMA maintenance budgets rather than habitat council funding; presenters explained that fisheries protections and water-quality outcomes overlap and that formal consideration of Blue Ribbon status for the lake may make council funding appropriate.
Ending: Presenters said drill-pipe fencing has performed well elsewhere in the region, and the Forest Service and DWR will coordinate on installation and long-term maintenance agreements. Members requested written maintenance agreements with the Forest Service if the council funds construction.
