State hasn’t fed elk at Gros Ventre feedlots
Herd segment’s calf/cow ratios improve from last year’s worrisome levels.
By Cory Hatch, Jackson Hole, Wyo.
March 11, 2009
For the first time in 33 years, Wyoming Game and Fish wildlife managers have kept the Gros Ventre’s three feedgrounds closed and the herd segment’s elk on natural forage.
Managers have elected to keep the Alkali Feedground, Patrol Cabin Feedground and Fish Creek Feedground closed so far this winter, said Doug Brimeyer, wildlife biologist with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. The depth and consistency of the snow made for favorable conditions for elk to survive on natural forage, he said.
“There is really no comparison to last year,” he said of the snow. “We’re looking at a fraction of what we saw last year and there hasn’t been much crusting, so it’s easier for the elk to obtain forage.”
Still, winter isn’t over yet, and officials could elect to open the feedgrounds if things change. Wildlife managers are monitoring conditions in the Gros Ventre on almost a daily basis.
“Now, in March, we’re seeing that crusting is changing a little bit,” Brimeyer said. “We’re seeing tougher snow conditions. It’s still too early to tell [if the feedgrounds will remain closed]. We can have some of those springtime weather events.”
The unusual conditions highlight a controversy brewing between conservationists and the game management agency. Conservation groups say the Gros Ventre is one area where elk could subsist on natural forage during most winters.
The crowded conditions on feedgrounds exacerbate diseases such as brucellosis, feeding critics say. That could result in a devastating loss of elk if chronic wasting disease makes it to the Jackson Elk Herd, some wildlife managers and biologists say.
Animals harder to count
The feeding news comes as Game and Fish biologists completed their annual elk count for the Gros Ventre herd segment of the Jackson Elk Herd.
Surveyers counted roughly 2,550 elk in the Gros Ventre this year, Brimeyer said. Last year, the count was closer to 3,000 animals. The Game and Fish Commission’s objective for the Gros Ventre segment is 3,500 animals.
The actual population this year is likely close to last year’s numbers, just harder to count, Brimeyer said. Instead of congregating on feed lines, wildlife managers found Gros Ventre elk in groups ranging from 15 to 250 animals.
“The animals are widely scattered,” he said. “The bulk of them were found from Upper Slide Lake down drainage. We did see a shift in animals a little bit lower in the drainage as the winter progressed.”
The elk that did remain on wind-blown slopes and ridges might have escaped the count, Brimeyer said.
“It’s easier to find the bigger groups, and the bigger groups stay down lower,” he said. “That is where we were spending most of our time and effort.”
The count also shows a rebound in calf/cow ratios from levels that had wildlife managers concerned in recent years.
Calf/cow ratios are an indication of the herd segment’s ability to recruit younger animals to adulthood.
The Gros Ventre herd segment’s calf/cow ratios dropped as low as 17 calves per 100 cows during last year’s count, but jumped to 25 calves per 100 cows this year.
“That is encouraging,” Brimeyer said. “We had several years where we had some concerns about recruiting younger animals into that adult population. [This year’s numbers indicate] we will see more recruitment of bulls. From a management standpoint, we’d like to see it in the mid-20s ... so we can sustain some hunting pressure on the population.
“It’s a bonus,” Brimeyer said. “One year of high ratios is good. We’d like to see several years where it doesn’t fluctuate down to the low 20s again.”
Brimeyer said that conditions could improve in the Gros Ventre. Hunts have been limited by a spikes-excluded restriction and a shorter bull season.
“And now, this year, the forest is initiating the new summer travel program,” Brimeyer said.
The program will limit motorized use to designated trails.
“Elk vulnerability will be a lot lower,” he said. “Hunter success will be affected by that travel plan. From our standpoint, that’s a good thing because we’ll see more bulls survive until the next year.”
Agency’s decision praised
Mike Jimenez, wolf coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said recently that wolves appear to not be concentrating on the Gros Ventre herds because the elk are not bunched on feedgrounds.
Louise Lasley, public lands director for the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, praised the decision to keep feedgrounds closed, but said wildlife managers should use the option more often.
“Wyoming Game and Fish Department showed a willingness and ability to discard entrenched practices and showed that not feeding elk is a viable option for winter management,” she said.
Staffers with the Greater Yellowstone Coalition have been taking measurements and finding levels “are comparable to levels in studies from prior years,” she said.
“To argue that conditions this winter facilitated not feeding would be erroneous,” she said.
