Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks (FWP) moved to extend the 2011 wolf hunting season through February 15, 2012 due to poor results during the regularly scheduled season set to end December 31. Near the same time of this announcement, FWP released a recommendation to limit the 2012 East Fork, Montana Elk Hunting District 270, elk season to a permit only season. FWP is now taking public comment on the East Fork recommendation.
Elk herd decline habitat…not predators
The message this spring was the East Fork elk herd was doing great so the West Fork elk herd decline was likely due to habitat and not predators. My, how a few months have changed things. In his spring elk count, Craig Jourdonnais, counted about 3,600 elk in the East Fork hunting district. FWP objective is 3000 plus or minus 20%. So, on the surface it appears the herd is doing great but dig a little deeper and the picture isn’t rosy.
Bull:cow ratios have been below 10:100 for the two consecutive years it takes to trigger the action under consideration now. Under the state’s proposal, anyone who wants to hunt bull elk in the East Fork would be required to put in for a permit. There would not be a limit on the number of permits handed out for the area. By applying for this permit hunters would not be able to apply for any of the more coveted permits in the state, though.
Calf numbers have been dropping in the East Fork for several years as well. On average, Jourdonnais has counted about 15 calves per 100 cows. A more sustainable number would be something closer to 25 or 30. All of this adds up to an aging elk herd that will see a significant crash in population once the adult animals begin to die off.
Impact on the Bitterroot Valley
According to a report done in 2005 by FWP, big game hunting brought in $11.3 million annually. 2010 Bitterroot big game season saw a reduction in hunter numbers through the Darby Check Station of 36% off the 5 year average. That equates to about $4 million in lost revenue to the Valley’s economy. Speaking with Charlie Johnson of the Bitterroot Elk Working Group, today was equally as disturbing. During the big game season of 2006, the number of hunters through the Darby Check Station was over 16,000. In 2010 that number dropped to about 9000. Charlie told me, “this year (2011) I bet we were around 8000 hunters.” That would equate to a 50% drop in hunter numbers and revenue loss of $5.65 million for the Valley.
In addition to lost revenue, the Bitterroot Valley faces a potential loss of our once great elk herd. Over the last century, sportsmen have spent billions of dollars preserving wildlife habitat and recovering wildlife species. In a little over a decade, we have seen over 100 years of work decimated.
Poor Predator Management to Blame
Is it just coincidence our ungulate herd decline began with the introduction of wolves? If you believe that I have some swamp land in Florida I would like to sell you. While wolves are solely responsible, they were the “straw that broke the camel’s back”, so to speak.
We have had years of a restrictive permit system for mountain lion hunting that has caused an over-population of lions. Throw wolves into the equation and you have a “perfect storm”, where we have far too many predators for the habitat. If you think things are bad now, wait until the prey species decline to the point where predators must look elsewhere for food. If we don’t make radical changes in our predator management, that day is fast approaching. Every credible biologist I have spoken with says we need to be removing between 50-70% of the wolves each and every year. How are we supposed to accomplish that when the official population figures are up to 300% lower than what is actually occupying the habitat? Biologists just laugh at the reported number of 1650 wolves. According to the experts, there are more likely 4000-5000 wolves in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana combined.
My Prediction
I am typing this with a heavy heart but 5 years from now, we could be facing the elimination of elk hunting in several areas that were once prolific elk habitat. At the very least, we will be looking at drawing for tags like we do for Big Horn Sheep. There simply won’t be enough elk left to have over the counter tags.
This season has proven what many of us said that fair chase hunting was not enough of a management tool to keep wolf numbers in line. There is no way hunters can remove 50-70% of the wolves each year. As we have seen from the Idaho and Montana seasons, simply meeting minimal quotas can’t even be achieved. Unfortunately, alternative measures will never be tolerated. So, we are forced to sit and watch the decimation of the elk herds so many spent so much time, money and effort to recover. Time will tell.
It is know longer in doubt. Although, it never was in doubt for many, the devastating effect wolves are having on our ungulates. Many highly regarded biologists warned us this was going to happen. The loss of our ungulates was predicted by several biologists.
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