MT Senate tell WYO to stop feeding elk
Elk
Contributors to this thread:
cnelk's Link
Tough decision either way.
Now that's rich! Montana's now telling other states how "manage" their Elk herd. That is seriously one of the funniest things I've heard in a minute...
Well, I can't see making it easier for cwd to spread. Could very well be that elk losses with or without supplemental feeding are about the same.
I would guess that Wyoming's response to the Montana Senate will be along the lines of "Pound Sand".
If I was WY I would send a message of something like, "MT tell your ranchers to leave those poor sheep alone."
I about spit coffee all over my monitor when I read that. Apparently WYO should be feeding the elk lead until Feb 15th, just like Montana. That is the answer!
While I am at it, I will ask ISIS for advice on religious tolerance.
with the feeding of elk it definitely promotes the spread of CWD, and CWD don't stop at the boarders so what Mt is trying to do is protect the elk herds, Wyoming of course can do what they want but part of this feeding operation is controlled by the US Fish and Wildlife service and they are looking for a easy way out so Montana is giving them that out.
Montana is still killing cows and everyone killed has a calf in her Montana needs to keep there yaps shut Wyoming has way better management going for elk
so montana wants elk not to be fed where they are in a high concentrated area because of disease spread? are they going to tell farmers to plow under their alfalfa fields? i have seen hundreds of elk in alfalfa fields thick. i have seen several hundred elk in herds in the winter on sage winter range what the hell they going to do about those elk feeding all together by the hundreds for months during the winter? i guess their position is that if all of them die from starvation in an area then they cant kill each other from disease.
I guess the wolves aren't killing them fast enough....
Speaking of wolves.....is that an issue over there where all the elk are congregated? Seems like those dogs would be all over that setup? Thousands of elk all piled into one place, free bait site to keep em there. Anyone know anything about that?
Agreed Wyobull. As it should be. Montana has about as much business giving advice on Elk herd management, as Obama does on balancing a budget... LOL
The feeding grounds certainly increase the spread of disease. Brucellosis is endemic in these elk, and is very likely at a higher infection rate than it would be without the feeding grounds. The concern is very much warranted.
As Z pointed out though, shoulder seasons are a direct result of Montana's view of what elk management should look like. After all, unit 410 can only support 2000 elk, correct? Maybe instead of passing a resolution to give Wyoming advice, they should pass a resolution directing a rewrite of the elk management plan with population goals based on biological carrying capacity. And while they're at it, they could direct the department to actually remove harbored elk herds from the overall district population count as the plan states they should.
In the dead of winter the elk are going to yard up anyway, always have, always will. At least some feed gives them a much better chance of survival. They have had some massive winter die-offs over the years. With (wild) claims you could walk a mile from dead elk to dead elk and not step on the ground. The one point of some logic is dead elk certainly don't spread disease..... but then it's not MT elk that you are sentencing...... makes it a bit easier to give advise......
Another factor is I hear areas like around Jackson, much of the winter grounds have been developed into Yuppie villagettes and concentrate the herds even more.
WRT MT they need to get more ranchers out of the game management advisory. Most want the elk reduced, fewer elk means more grazing. Some have a point about crop damage, a herd can destroy an alfalfa field. Others don't have much of a point WRT BLM grazing and such, but still a lot of political clout. Should be a great deal less politics involved in game management from the left or the right. Every state has their issues, they should tend to them and clear them up before giving advise to others. But that is human nature. Easier to see your neighbors issues than it is to see yours.
Jason has it nailed. When you hear that units are "over objective" or "at objective", what does that mean for MT elk numbers? It sure sounds good, doesn't it? The elk number objectives are not derived from science and biological carrying capacity, the objective number are arbitrary, based upon tolerance and have almost nothing to do with carrying capacity. I call it the "dart board approach".
Right on Z Barebow,, and Right on JLS
I never did like the shoulder season plan and opposed it al the way but, that's not the point, the point is that cwd and brucellosis or any other disease that can infect so many animals is ,IMO, far worse than winter kill.
Like was stated earlier, the elk are going to yard up on food sources , whether it's farm land or natural grass but it may very well be more so with feeding. Mother Nature often has the best solution and as much as we hate to see a large die off it may just be ideal in the bigger picture.
Actually, dead animals can and do spread disease. A carrier of CWD that dies can leave the prions in the soil and they remain viable for many years.
Also, there is much more direct contact in a feed ground setting than in a traditional winter range setting.
I didn't know that about cwd and that just reaffirms the seriousness of controlling cwd as much as possible.
JLS's Link
This article gives a little background on the disease. Thus far, mule deer have been impacted to a much greater degree than elk have. The Douglas area deer herds have dropped to about 50% of what they historically were 15-20 years ago, and computer modeling suggests the mule deer in this area could be extinct in 40 years. In all fairness, Wyoming Game & Fish is a top notch agency, and I trust they have been considering this dynamic in the Jackson Hole elk herd for years.
MT Senate tell Wyo to stop feeding elk...
Wyo elk tell MT voters to stop feeding Senate