Close Elk Feedgrounds Before It’s Too Late

Close Elk Feedgrounds Before It’s Too Late. By Brodie Farquhar. Wyomingfile.com

Don’t Help….Yellowstone geotourism map

National Geographic Society’s Center for Sustainable Destinations, in partnership with several conservation and tourism organizations (click here to see full list ), most notably Wyoming Travel and Tourism have launched a giant “geotourism” program for the Greater Yellowstone Region (click here for the main page of the project website). The effort is intended to “celebrate and help sustain the world-class natural and cultural heritage” of the Greater Yellowstone region (click here for the press release).

The project’s centerpiece is, “a community based process will create a National Geographic ‘Geotourism MapGuide’ for the region centered on Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, and including communities and private and public lands in the three partner states.” In sum, National Geographic and their partners intend to give Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho an economic shot in the arm, in the form of well-heeled tourists, many from Europe, visiting the Greater Yellowstone region. Clearly, these three states couldn’t be more deserving, right?

GYC alert to stop creation of yet another!! Wyoming elk feedlot

Good for the Greater Yellowstone Coalition on this! This alert gives the information and allows you to send an easy eletter against yet another disease-spreading elk feedlot in the Gros Ventre River drainage (of course, your completely personalized letter is always better).

Heavy snow breaking plows in Yellowstone

Note the article below is wrong about the opening date of most of the Park’s interior roads. It is not March 2, but April 20.

I am at Yellowstone Park right now. It is April 11, and the snow on the Park’s northern range is deeper than I have ever seen it by far, even in late February. The bison and elk are dropping over. Most of the elk have fled the Park and are doing fine on public and private ground near Paradise Valley. The bison leave the Park and are quickly loaded up by Montana DOL and hauled off to slaughter.

Finally, on Saturday the first real warming is predicted. A little bit of grass is starting to grow on some of the Park road edges. North of Mammoth on the Park’s only winter true range, all the vegetation that can be eaten is gone. The snow is mostly gone though too. The grass is coming up everywhere, but it is perhaps 1/8 of an inch high. Pronghorn, which seem to be doing OK, are everywhere eating it as well as elk and a few bison who luckily have not crossed into Montana’s “kill all bison quick zone.”

The snow in the Lamar is so deep you can’t photograph over many of the plowed banks. Elk are hanging on by standing on south-facing slopes where the wind thinned the snowpack, and has now melted.

The few remaining bison (100 or so?) lie in the snow too weak to eat or stagger down the road looking for the occasional blade of new grass.

Amazingly we saw two whitetail deer at the Yellowstone River bridge just past Tower Junction! How did they get there and survive?

Heavy snow breaking plows in Yellowstone. By Cory Hatch. Jackson Hole News and Guide.

Central Idaho elk and deer doing fine in presence of wolves

Dr. Jim Peek presented data at the Chico wolf conference showing that the elk and deer population is doing fine in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. He examined population and hunter success trends in 4 key hunting units before and after wolf restoration.

Currently there are 105-119 wolves in the 4 units, which he believes is the maximum number that will naturally occur.

Overall, elk harvest is nearly stable with a slight upward trend in recent years. Mule deer harvest has increased more dramatically, perhaps the result of the many recent forest fires that have resulted in a proliferation of browse,

In the individual units, elk population is declining on one, increasing on one, with no trend in the other two.

Peek predicted a future decline in the most remote areas because of an overabundance of old, non-productive cow elk, and relatively few bull elk due to human hunting effects (few hunters will pack in 2 to 4 days to shoot an old cow elk, but they will for a bull elk). He speculated that the future elk decrease in the deep backcountry would be greater if wolf populations are reduced because old cows are what the wolves target — average age 13 years.

In the one front country unit (the Salmon Face, unit 28), the present and future seem bright because the cow elk are younger and the cow/calf ratio higher. Hunters there do go after cow elk because it does not take the time to get into that country.

Overall, the wolves have had little effect on elk or deer population size. The important factors are wildfires (57% of the area has burned since 1982), summer drought or adequate rainfall, and winter severity. Wolves can potentially suppress population rebound following a severe winter, especially in the frontcountry unit, although he presented no evidence that this has actually happened.

Two Colorado Ranchers charged with shooting 34 elk

Ranchers face charges after 34 elk shot dead. By AMY HAMILTON. Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.

“Two Northwest Colorado ranchers, apparently frustrated by foraging elk eating hay intended for livestock, now face thousands of dollars in fines and multiple felony charges for allegedly killing 34 elk.”

Elk numbers rise south of Jackson, WY. Moose and pronghorn populations southeast of Jackson.

This is not an overview of all of Wyoming, or even NW Wyoming. It’s a story mostly about the country southwest of Jackson Hole — the Fall Creek elk herd. Ironically, this herd is in the area where all wolves can be killed by anyone at will beginning March 28.

Elk herd prolific in latest census. By Angus M. Thuermer Jr. Jackson Hole News and Guide.

Deadly lichen killing southern Wyoming elk

Although not as bad as several years ago, 48 elk have died from eating a deadly lichen that grows in the Red Rim area near Rawlins.

Deadly lichen killing southern Wyoming elk. By Chris Merrill. Casper Star-Tribune