Do you know that human-created obstacles (like old fences) are the cause of thousands of needless deaths to wild animals every year?

Welcome to FAWN

Friends Aiding Wildlife in Nature

FAWN’s primary mission is to play a part in “RE-WILDING” areas that wildlife inhabit and travel. There are things humans can do to protect wildlife, but it will take human understanding that wild animals need to be MOBILE for their very survival. Humans can play a part by REMOVING OBSOLETE OBSTACLES that are death traps to our wild friends. THIS IS FAWN’S MISSION.

Learn how you can be part of a this new movement to help REMOVE THE UNNECESSARY BARRIERS to wild animals that inhibit their ability to pursue the things they need for SURVIVAL and which can lead to injury, death and separation among wild species - mostly unseen by humans!

MOBILITY IS ESSENTIAL TO THE SURVIVAL OF WILDLIFE. It’s CRITICAL they have easy access to food, water, shelter, and mates. Fences, roads, and other human impediments can determine their fate!

!WARNING!

Some of the photographs throughout this website are very graphic and show evidence of suffering and death of innocent wildlife. These images are intended as a wake-up call to humans. Proceed at your own risk.

About FAWN

FAWN is NOT a rescue organization - there are already excellent wildlife rescue organizations in our greater area. FAWN’s primary goal is to identify OBSOLETE fencing and, with property owner permission, and REMOVE IT.

It’s not just obsolete fencing that blocks wildlife mobility - modern fencing designs in residential neighborhoods are also TRAPS. So, as part of our mission, we want to offer education on the negative effects of fencing - PLACEMENT, DESIGN, AND NECESSITY.

Our Goals

Educate

Educate private and public property owners, government agencies and the public about fencing hazards and “wildlife-friendly” solutions where fencing is needed through tabling, speaking, media coverage, outreach to civic groups and governmental agencies.

Identify Opportunities

Identify candidate properties and seek landowner permission to remove obsolete fencing. Work with willing landowners to remove obsolete fencing to improve the mobility of our native wildlife.

Improve Fence Design Standards’

Outreach to government agencies about creating wildlife-friendly fencing standards and guidelines. Some counties and municipalities have little or NO fencing guidelines.

Organize Volunteers

We’ll manage volunteers who can devote time and labor to help us protect threatened wildlife.

Background

Fences cut across historic migratory routes. Hundreds of thousands have died along these routes because they couldn’t get access to seasonal grazing and fresh water. Our area was once home to pioneer farms and ranches - the REMNANTS of which can be seen in open spaces, recreation areas, land trust holdings, undeveloped rural areas and even in residential neighborhoods. When abandoned, obsolete fencing often lays fallen from their posts, twisted and tangled on the ground, creating PERFECT TRAPS for hundreds of thousands of WILD ANIMALS, as you will see in these shocking photos.

Another, often unrecognized, “NAIL IN THE COFFIN” to the success of wildlife survival is SEPARATION of animal families. Unable to keep up with their Mothers, fawns will often curl up and die of exposure and dehydration. In Placer County, a local fawn rescue group rescues an average of 200 fawns per year!

The SPREADING HUMAN POPULATION and the historic human demand for fencing has created a grid of obstacles leaving the only remaining corridors for wildlife as CREEKS and Roadways. We’ve all seen the horrific consequences to wild animals lying dead along roadways, especially where water courses cross the roads.

FAWN IN ACTION

Here’s some photos of FAWN volunteers in action. We welcome your help in volunteering, suggesting project sites, and helping us promote FAWN in the community.

Who We Are.

Roger and Irene Smith, Founders of FAWN, live in rural Placer County, California and have spent years promoting the preservation of open space and wildlife habitat. Their “defining moment” for the creation of FAWN was twice discovering dead deer entangled in wire in their own neighborhood. Their hope is to raise awareness of this under-recognized problem and to make a difference by promoting the importance of mobility for our native wildlife.