Elkhunter
New member
Elk champion takes last look at well-trodden habitat
National Elk Refuge biologist Bruce Smith retires after 22 years of exhaustive research.
By Rebecca Huntington
Driving across a bumpy road on the National Elk Refuge, Bruce Smith surveyed the 25,000-acre winter haven for elk, and in recent years, bison, for one of the last times.
He pulled his truck to the side of the road, hopped out, strode across a field littered with elk droppings, and pointed to a plant that barely crested the toe of his boot. The woody plant, which blended with the grass due to its unnaturally short stature, was a willow.
Smith knows from poring over historic photos that the nipped-off plant once belonged to a tall stand of willows that spanned the refuge. But years of overgrazing by thousands of elk and now bison have destroyed willows across the refuge. Cottonwoods and aspen also have taken a beating.
After overseeing the refuge's winter feeding program for 22 years, Smith has concluded that wildlife habitat can not be dispensed in the form of an alfalfa pellet. As Smith, 55, retired April 2, he made a parting plea to quit overgrazing the range for the sake of wildlife.
"It's our responsibility as stewards to not put animals at risk," Smith said.
In western Wyoming, elk populations are kept artificially high by winter feeding programs that dole out hay and alfalfa pellets for elk because their native winter ranges have been taken over by subdivisions, ranches, resorts and other developments. But maintaining more elk than the existing habitat can support puts animals at risk, Smith said.
For one, putting too many animals on too little land degrades the habitat, which supports fewer animals as it declines, he said. Secondly, artificially concentrating animals on feed grounds, such as the Refuge, in winter, aids the spread of diseases, compromising the herd's health, he said.
Though feed grounds are popular, Smith has long warned of the drawbacks during his tenure.
Smith also assisted local citizens in pursuing a ban on wildlife feeding on private lands, which took effect this winter.
Smith's constant warnings about the downsides of feeding have put him on the hot seat. Some citizens complained to his bosses when he supported the ban on private feeding.
But Smith's supporters say he has been a tireless champion for wildlife. Moreover, Smith's research on how the Jackson elk herd migrates and how elk calves die has assisted wildlife managers in fine-tuning hunting seasons to protect the integrity of the herd.
At a retirement banquet March 26 at Snow King, many of the region's wildlife experts and advocates and public lands managers filled the Teton Room to celebrate Smith's contributions to the valley and wish him good-bye.
Elk Refuge Manager Barry Reiswig called Smith "one of the best professionals I've ever worked with bar none."
Reiswig also lauded Smith for "his unwavering concern about the way the refuge is managed." The refuge is in the midst of a multi-year, multi-million-dollar study that looks at the program of doling out tons of alfalfa pellets for as many as 7,500 elk each winter and whether that should continue. A draft is due out next winter.
At the banquet, Grand Teton National Park wildlife biologist Steve Cain said Smith's "steadfast, unfailing, and intensely dedicated approach to his profession has benefited wildlife in this valley more than many of you, other residents, or visitors to the valley will ever know."
Cain also teased that "for a guy with relatively small feet, it is doubtful that the shoes you leave behind will ever be truly filled."
When Smith first arrived on the refuge in 1982, one of his first tasks was to write a job description. The refuge had no on-site biologist at the time.
Smith picked up an elk telemetry study that had been started in the 1970s to see whether feeding elk alfalfa pellets would be a good substitute for hay a controversy that still lingers. The refuge used to raise hay on Mormon Row in Grand Teton, but park officials wanted that to end.
After concluding that elk survived just fine on pellets, Smith continued to follow the radio-collared elk to see where they spent their summers. Smith discovered that elk summer in four areas: Grand Teton, the Teton Wilderness, southern Yellowstone National Park and the Gros Ventre drainage. His research showed that elk are faithful to those summer ranges, which prompted wildlife managers to adjust hunting seasons to ensure that any one of those segments was not overhunted, which could leave a summer range without elk.
Smith also worked with former Elk Refuge Manager John Wilbrecht on research that ultimately lead to winter range closures on forest slopes east of the refuge between Cache Creek and the Gros Ventre. That closure continues to protect big game today from disturbances ranging from skiers to snowmobilers to wildlife photographers, he said.
While working at the refuge, Smith continued his studies and eventually earned a doctorate degree from the University of Wyoming. Out of that work grew a research project that looked at the survival rates of elk calves.
From 1990 to 1992, Smith radio-collared and followed 153 elk calves to learn how they die. Only 15 percent of those calves died within the first few months of birth, a high survival rate compared to other herds, he said. Black bears proved the primary source of mortality. Smith continued to monitor the calves as they grew up and the data proved helpful in evaluating the success of hunting seasons.
Smith repeated his elk calf mortality study in the mid 1990s with another 145 radio-collared calves. This time, he discovered that the mortality rate had increased to 28 percent, up from the low 15 percent.
Although black bears remained the number one cause, other predators, such as grizzly bears, played a more significant role. Also accidents and disease killed more calves than in the previous study, he said.
Poor weather conditions may have made the calves more vulnerable to predators, accidents and disease, Smith said. The study documented lower production of milk in mothers and slower growth rates among calves as a result.
Tracking elk calf deaths meant being on call 24 hours a day to recover a carcass as soon as a radio-collar gave out a mortality signal. In one case, Smith rode 34 miles roundtrip on horseback in a day to recover the carcass of a calf killed by a grizzly in Yellowstone. Smith had to beat scavengers to the scene to determine cause of death.
Smith's studies were conducted before wolves moved into the area. Another study should be done to document what impacts wolves are having, he said.
"As long as the controversy continues about the effect of wolves, I think it's very valid and important to address those questions in an objective and quantitative way," he said.
Smith said he wanted to do the study but found little support among the agencies or the public.
At the same time Smith has been tracking elk, he has been tracking their impacts on habitat on the refuge. Smith has just finished writing a book on how elk and bison grazing has altered plants on the refuge over the past century. The book is due out by summer.
During his informal survey last month of the refuge's beleaguered willows, Smith pointed out a shrubby cinquefoil, a plant that elk and bison normally won't graze, that was mowed to the ground.
The only shrubs, willows, cottonwoods and aspen not hammered are those plants protected by fences inside experimental exclosure designed to keep animals out.
For Smith, the condition of the woody plants outside the fences, is evidence the winter range is being stocked beyond its carrying capacity. Too many elk and bison their numbers artificially inflated by the winter feeding program is damaging the habitat that other species, including songbirds and fish, depend on for survival. Moreover, a degraded habitat is less able to support elk and bison, he said.
Most other western states do not feed big game herds to maintain more animals than the habitat can sustain, he said.
Smith predicted: "Someday, elk and deer populations in western Wyoming will be managed based upon the capacity of the available habitat to support them, rather than upon numbers of animals that people want despite damage they cause to habitats and risks to the sustainability of the animals themselves."
Respond to this article by e-mailing [email protected]
http://www.jhnewsandguide.com/Archives/Environmental/2004/040407-enviro.html
National Elk Refuge biologist Bruce Smith retires after 22 years of exhaustive research.
By Rebecca Huntington
Driving across a bumpy road on the National Elk Refuge, Bruce Smith surveyed the 25,000-acre winter haven for elk, and in recent years, bison, for one of the last times.
He pulled his truck to the side of the road, hopped out, strode across a field littered with elk droppings, and pointed to a plant that barely crested the toe of his boot. The woody plant, which blended with the grass due to its unnaturally short stature, was a willow.
Smith knows from poring over historic photos that the nipped-off plant once belonged to a tall stand of willows that spanned the refuge. But years of overgrazing by thousands of elk and now bison have destroyed willows across the refuge. Cottonwoods and aspen also have taken a beating.
After overseeing the refuge's winter feeding program for 22 years, Smith has concluded that wildlife habitat can not be dispensed in the form of an alfalfa pellet. As Smith, 55, retired April 2, he made a parting plea to quit overgrazing the range for the sake of wildlife.
"It's our responsibility as stewards to not put animals at risk," Smith said.
In western Wyoming, elk populations are kept artificially high by winter feeding programs that dole out hay and alfalfa pellets for elk because their native winter ranges have been taken over by subdivisions, ranches, resorts and other developments. But maintaining more elk than the existing habitat can support puts animals at risk, Smith said.
For one, putting too many animals on too little land degrades the habitat, which supports fewer animals as it declines, he said. Secondly, artificially concentrating animals on feed grounds, such as the Refuge, in winter, aids the spread of diseases, compromising the herd's health, he said.
Though feed grounds are popular, Smith has long warned of the drawbacks during his tenure.
Smith also assisted local citizens in pursuing a ban on wildlife feeding on private lands, which took effect this winter.
Smith's constant warnings about the downsides of feeding have put him on the hot seat. Some citizens complained to his bosses when he supported the ban on private feeding.
But Smith's supporters say he has been a tireless champion for wildlife. Moreover, Smith's research on how the Jackson elk herd migrates and how elk calves die has assisted wildlife managers in fine-tuning hunting seasons to protect the integrity of the herd.
At a retirement banquet March 26 at Snow King, many of the region's wildlife experts and advocates and public lands managers filled the Teton Room to celebrate Smith's contributions to the valley and wish him good-bye.
Elk Refuge Manager Barry Reiswig called Smith "one of the best professionals I've ever worked with bar none."
Reiswig also lauded Smith for "his unwavering concern about the way the refuge is managed." The refuge is in the midst of a multi-year, multi-million-dollar study that looks at the program of doling out tons of alfalfa pellets for as many as 7,500 elk each winter and whether that should continue. A draft is due out next winter.
At the banquet, Grand Teton National Park wildlife biologist Steve Cain said Smith's "steadfast, unfailing, and intensely dedicated approach to his profession has benefited wildlife in this valley more than many of you, other residents, or visitors to the valley will ever know."
Cain also teased that "for a guy with relatively small feet, it is doubtful that the shoes you leave behind will ever be truly filled."
When Smith first arrived on the refuge in 1982, one of his first tasks was to write a job description. The refuge had no on-site biologist at the time.
Smith picked up an elk telemetry study that had been started in the 1970s to see whether feeding elk alfalfa pellets would be a good substitute for hay a controversy that still lingers. The refuge used to raise hay on Mormon Row in Grand Teton, but park officials wanted that to end.
After concluding that elk survived just fine on pellets, Smith continued to follow the radio-collared elk to see where they spent their summers. Smith discovered that elk summer in four areas: Grand Teton, the Teton Wilderness, southern Yellowstone National Park and the Gros Ventre drainage. His research showed that elk are faithful to those summer ranges, which prompted wildlife managers to adjust hunting seasons to ensure that any one of those segments was not overhunted, which could leave a summer range without elk.
Smith also worked with former Elk Refuge Manager John Wilbrecht on research that ultimately lead to winter range closures on forest slopes east of the refuge between Cache Creek and the Gros Ventre. That closure continues to protect big game today from disturbances ranging from skiers to snowmobilers to wildlife photographers, he said.
While working at the refuge, Smith continued his studies and eventually earned a doctorate degree from the University of Wyoming. Out of that work grew a research project that looked at the survival rates of elk calves.
From 1990 to 1992, Smith radio-collared and followed 153 elk calves to learn how they die. Only 15 percent of those calves died within the first few months of birth, a high survival rate compared to other herds, he said. Black bears proved the primary source of mortality. Smith continued to monitor the calves as they grew up and the data proved helpful in evaluating the success of hunting seasons.
Smith repeated his elk calf mortality study in the mid 1990s with another 145 radio-collared calves. This time, he discovered that the mortality rate had increased to 28 percent, up from the low 15 percent.
Although black bears remained the number one cause, other predators, such as grizzly bears, played a more significant role. Also accidents and disease killed more calves than in the previous study, he said.
Poor weather conditions may have made the calves more vulnerable to predators, accidents and disease, Smith said. The study documented lower production of milk in mothers and slower growth rates among calves as a result.
Tracking elk calf deaths meant being on call 24 hours a day to recover a carcass as soon as a radio-collar gave out a mortality signal. In one case, Smith rode 34 miles roundtrip on horseback in a day to recover the carcass of a calf killed by a grizzly in Yellowstone. Smith had to beat scavengers to the scene to determine cause of death.
Smith's studies were conducted before wolves moved into the area. Another study should be done to document what impacts wolves are having, he said.
"As long as the controversy continues about the effect of wolves, I think it's very valid and important to address those questions in an objective and quantitative way," he said.
Smith said he wanted to do the study but found little support among the agencies or the public.
At the same time Smith has been tracking elk, he has been tracking their impacts on habitat on the refuge. Smith has just finished writing a book on how elk and bison grazing has altered plants on the refuge over the past century. The book is due out by summer.
During his informal survey last month of the refuge's beleaguered willows, Smith pointed out a shrubby cinquefoil, a plant that elk and bison normally won't graze, that was mowed to the ground.
The only shrubs, willows, cottonwoods and aspen not hammered are those plants protected by fences inside experimental exclosure designed to keep animals out.
For Smith, the condition of the woody plants outside the fences, is evidence the winter range is being stocked beyond its carrying capacity. Too many elk and bison their numbers artificially inflated by the winter feeding program is damaging the habitat that other species, including songbirds and fish, depend on for survival. Moreover, a degraded habitat is less able to support elk and bison, he said.
Most other western states do not feed big game herds to maintain more animals than the habitat can sustain, he said.
Smith predicted: "Someday, elk and deer populations in western Wyoming will be managed based upon the capacity of the available habitat to support them, rather than upon numbers of animals that people want despite damage they cause to habitats and risks to the sustainability of the animals themselves."
Respond to this article by e-mailing [email protected]
http://www.jhnewsandguide.com/Archives/Environmental/2004/040407-enviro.html
