Feeding backyard deer and elk does more harm than good

"The more deer that concentrate in an area, the higher likelihood of predators moving into that area," Berkley said. "A few winters ago, we saw increased mountain lion sightings witnessed by numerous people or their doorbell cams."

Once a mountain lion, coyote or any other large predator discovers a buffet of town deer, it doesn't take long for them to move within city limits, sometimes right up to one's backdoor.

"Any time we have mountain lions in close proximity to people, our primary concern is for public safety," said Berkley. "Our level of concern rises when lions start to exhibit nontypical behavior, such as being active in the middle of the day and losing their fear of humans, or preying on domestic pets, which is why continuing to receive reports from the public is so important."

What seems harmless is often the opposite

Fish and Game always recommends against private feeding of deer and elk, and in many Idaho communities, it's illegal. Artificially altering wildlife's behavior almost always produces unintended and often negative consequences.

"Keeping all wildlife wild is the responsibility of all of us as humans living in wildlife habitat," Berkley said.

The story repeats farther north in the Panhandle and Clearwater, where the sight of white-tailed deer, turkey and moose meandering through town is commonplace.

Knock on just about any door and you'll hear stories of wildlife decimating freshly planted ornamental landscaping, or devouring the entire crop from a garden. While nearly all people love wildlife, wild animals living in neighborhoods creates conflicts between neighbors who don't want their expensive landscaping or hard-earned fruits and vegetables turned into deer food.

Some towns have resorted to other alternatives to deal with the destructive influx of hooved, feathery and hairy residents. In recent years, the City of Hayden Lake has pursued trapping and euthanizing resident white-tailed deer in town.

Trapping and relocating town deer is typically not an option due to possible disease transmission into wild populations. A relocation effort to remove town deer was halted in the City of Cascade because the deer were infested with lice that would be transmitted to wild deer if the town deer were released into the wild.

Fish and Game feeds only during emergency situations

In very rare cases, Fish and Game managers will supplement a deer or elk's diet with winter feed in emergency situations. Extreme winters can sometimes cause winter forage to become limited or unavailable, sometimes for prolonged periods of time.