If you live in Wyoming or have ever driven through, there’s a good chance you’ve experienced the high winds that occur on the state’s highways. In the winter that high wind combined with snow creates severe snowdrifting, leading to very dangerous road conditions. The state’s snow fence program works to reduce that hazard.
Snow fences distribute wind patterns so blowing snow drops out and accumulates behind the fence, rather than on the roadway. They’re placed about 450 feet from the road, storing snow in drifts up to its height. The height, 50% porosity, placement, and alignment with prevailing winds is all based on decades of scientific research, much of it led in Wyoming by Dr. Ronald Tabler. The “Wyoming snow fence” (which looks like bleachers) is the result of that research.
The state primarily uses wooden fences due to their low cost, but the state partners with companies that reclaim the old fence wood and turn it into decorative building materials. The company removes the old wood and replaces it with new wood, all at no cost to taxpayers.
Additionally, the state works closely with land owners and ranch owners that benefit from snow fences as windbreaks for cattle, sources of meltwater, improved grass growth, and increased property values. Sometimes trees and shrubs are planted to create “living snow fences”, functioning just as effectively as the man-made fences (though they take years to mature).
