Beetle Kill and Elk

[EWO]

A question for some of our seasoned elk hunters. What was it like before the beetle kill epidemic?

How much has the beetle kill changed the way you hunt, or has it?

I started elk hunting in the Rockies (archery and rifle) about 8 years ago, so all I've ever known is miles of dead and fallen timber in our forests. For me, the biggest impact is campsite selection and widow makers in the night.

Also, I'm a little more hesitant to stay out to last light when I know I have to navigate a couple miles of dark timber littered with dead fall. Navigating dead fall/beetle kill at night sucks!

 

[diamond hitch]

Prior to the beetle kill, elk traveled on pathways from place to place. Once you found the trail it was easy to navigate through the dark timber for miles. Now the pathways change day to day with falling trees. Many places are very dangerous for both elk and man in a light wind.

 

[EWO]

Prior to the beetle kill, elk traveled on pathways from place to place. Once you found the trail it was easy to navigate through the dark timber for miles. Now the pathways change day to day with falling trees. Many places are very dangerous for both elk and man in a light wind.

I think I have found some old pathways like this. I've followed game trails that almost look like a Forest Service trail, only to be buried in a pile of beetle kill. Then the trail kinda splits up into a bunch of smaller trails going around the fallen timber.

 

[Stone_Ice_1]

Interesting. My experience has been different. In areas with a lot of beetle killed trees that are now what is called jackstraw, that is blowdown trees littered everywhere, I find that the elk are nearby but now in specific areas compared to before. They don't like walking through that crap either, although they will. Some of the forests I hunt are a mix of douglas fir and lodgepole pine. The lodgepole was decimated by the beetle kill and is now jackstraw in places. I have found the elk are predominately in the douglas fir stands now because it isn't a complete mess to walk though and I can reliably find them there.

 

[Griztrax]

It has definitely changed the game as the beetle kill hits the ground. I have had to alter some of my travel routes into my hunting areas and the elk have altered their behavior as well. Elk don't like stumbling through that crap anymore than your or I. With millions of acres burning across the west, fire is not a popular topic right now, but fire is what it is going to take to rejuvenate those areas hit hard by beetle. Like Stone_Ice_1, I am focusing more on old growth douglas fir forest habitat types.

 

[diamond hitch]

I too find them in the fir but am seeing them in the regen stands that were clearcut in the 80s or before. They still have to travel cross country and a lot of what I hunt is too high for the fir. They have adjusted from old growth to younger stands on the north sides that are not as affected by the wind.
It will take a few more years till they establish the trails and patterns I saw for so many years.

 

[BuckRut]

Here's and entire study on the effects of the beetles on elk movement.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks :: Elkhorn Mountains Elk Research Project

Elkhorn Mountains Elk Research Project

fwp.mt.gov

 

[Nameless Range]

Here's and entire study on the effects of the beetles on elk movement.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks :: Elkhorn Mountains Elk Research Project

Elkhorn Mountains Elk Research Project

fwp.mt.gov

Beat me to it. Fascinating study. Section 5 goes over Beetle Kill's effects on elk habitat use.

 

[TOGIE]

when meateater covered that study they titled their article "study suggests elk hate bark beetle deadfall as much as you"

makes sense to me

edit: wait, maybe it's not the same study posted above. it was a wyoming study

Study Suggests Elk Hate Bark Beetle Deadfall as Much as You

“Beyond aggravating,” is how wildlife biologist Kevin Monteith describes elk hunting in forests where bark beetles have killed most trees and you have to scramble over dead logs at every turn. “There’s no way you’re going to navigate through it quietly if elk were in there, so you get torqued off...

www.themeateater.com

TWS Journals

wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

" At the study area scale, elk avoided beetle‐killed forest during nearly all parts of the day and selected for intact conifer forest during the day. At the micro‐habitat scale, as canopy cover decreased in beetle‐killed areas, there was a concomitant increase in grass biomass and downed logs. Nevertheless, while in the forest, elk did not alter resource selection relative to changes in understory vegetation or downed logs. The boost in forage abundance within beetle‐killed areas was insufficient to overcome the presumed increases in energy expenditures associated with locomotion and thermoregulation in beetle‐killed forests."

 

[Huntmt28]

Wow thanks for posting that link....going to check it out might come in handy in 12 days lol that place is amazing!! The waiting is almost over....