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Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

SPOKANE, Washington --(Ammoland.com)- A draft plan for managing elk in northeast Washington will be the subject of three public meetings Jan. 26- Feb. 2.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is holding the meetings to discuss and take public comment on the plan, which has been revised in response to hunter input regarding elk numbers in northeast Washington.

The proposed elk management plan is referred to as the “Selkirk Elk Herd Plan” because it includes elk in the Selkirk Mountains of Pend Oreille County.

Under the plan, the elk are considered as two distinct sub-herds-the Pend Oreille sub-herd and the Spokane sub-herd. The plan covers elk management in Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, Ferry, Lincoln, Whitman, and eastern Okanogan counties of northeast Washington (Game Management Units 101 – 142 and 204.)

The meetings will take place from 7-9 p.m., on the following schedule:

• Jan. 26, at the Okanogan County Public Utility District (PUD) #1 Main Office, 1331 2nd Ave. N., in Okanogan.
• Feb. 1, at Center Place, 2426 N. Discovery Place, in Spokane Valley.
• Feb. 2, at the Northeast Washington Fairgrounds Building, 317 W. Astor Ave. in Colville.

Sportsmen’s groups and others have long expressed an interest in elk numbers in some parts of northeast Washington, said Kevin Robinette, WDFW’s regional wildlife manager in Spokane.

“We have managed elk in this part of the state-where elk groups are small and scattered-with liberal hunting rules to keep elk numbers low and minimize agricultural damage,” Robinette said. “But we have heard from hunters that they want to see more elk.”

Robinette said game managers are trying to address hunters’ interest through the proposed plan, which should result in greater elk numbers by shifting from ‘any elk’ hunting seasons to restrictions on antlerless elk hunting in the Pend Oreille sub-herd areas, including units 101, 105, 108, 121 and 204.

“If agricultural damage problems should arise, we would address them through a variety of tools we use throughout the state,” Robinette said.

The draft plan is available for review at http://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/01350/ , where a link provides opportunity to submit comments through Feb. 10.

The elk plan must be finalized before changes in Selkirk elk hunting seasons and regulations could be made. The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission is scheduled to review proposed new hunt rules in March and to consider adoption in April. If adopted, those rules would become part of 2012-14 state hunting rules package.

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Experimental Status Lifted on Smoky Mountains Elk

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

MISSOULA, Mont. --(Ammoland.com)- Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials have notified the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation that the “experimental” status of the park’s restored elk herd has been officially lifted, clearing the way for permanent management of elk in and around the park.

RMEF is the largest financier of the park’s 10-year elk restoration project, with more than $800,000 in contributions.

Kim Delozier, RMEF conservation program manager, said, “This is important because it’s a formal federal declaration that our elk restoration efforts in the North Carolina section of the park have been deemed a success.”

Prior to joining the RMEF staff, Delozier was the longtime supervisory wildlife biologist in the park. He worked closely with RMEF and others to make reality of a common dream–returning a wild elk herd to the native but long-empty habitat of the Great Smoky Mountains. He says that without the efforts of RMEF, especially its volunteers, wild free-ranging elk would not be in North Carolina today.

Elk were extirpated from the region some 200 years ago.

“Local RMEF members approached me about elk restoration as far back as 1990, so this has been a long process and a tremendous amount of work by many people,” said Delozier.

“During my time in the park, we had a number of restoration projects for other species. Some were controversial. Others were relatively quiet. But the elk project was really a people project. This was an effort and animal that everyone wanted to support. The people made it happen. People love to see large wild animals and elk fit that need.”

In an “experimental release,” the first elk were reintroduced into Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 2001. Today the herd is healthy at about 140 animals.

Elk have been a popular addition to the park and are associated with significant economic benefits through tourism. Cataloochee Valley, where elk were originally released, now receives approximately twice the visitation than it did prior to elk restoration.

The herd’s experimental status was lifted when National Park Service officials on Oct. 20, 2011, approved a “finding of no significant impact” of the environmental assessment on a proposed plan for managing a permanent herd of elk in the park. Research indicates that the population is sustainable, has minimal impacts on the park’s resources and the human-elk conflicts are manageable.

Going forward, the park’s objective is to maintain a permanent elk population within park boundaries that is self-sustaining and allows only acceptable impacts to park resources.

The park’s elk plan also transitions elk management responsibility outside the park to the appropriate tribal, state or federal agency with jurisdiction over wildlife on lands where elk occur. Delozier said some elk do currently inhabit areas outside of park boundaries. The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission has started discussions on developing its own elk management plan, which could bring limited elk hunting opportunities to the state in the future.

David Allen, RMEF president and CEO, said, “The possibility of additional elk hunting opportunities for the public in the eastern U.S. is one more reason to celebrate. The more people can connect through hunting with the land, elk, other wildlife and their habitat, the more folks we’ll have on board to help sustain America’s conservation movement.”

Allen added that RMEF has pledged continued support for area conservation agencies involved in elk management or habitat stewardship.

About the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation:
RMEF is leading a conservation initiative that has protected or enhanced habitat on over 6 million acres–an area larger than Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Glacier, Yosemite, Rocky Mountain and Great Smoky Mountains national parks combined. RMEF also is a strong voice for hunters in access, wildlife management and conservation policy issues. RMEF members, partners and volunteers, working together as Team Elk, are making a difference all across elk country. Join us at www.rmef.org or 800-CALL ELK.

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