BuzzH
Well-known member
Unbelievable!!! First they kill everything, now they're responsible for too much big-game....good grief!
Oh, and the MTFWP is going to catch hell from a guy in Wyoming over the "either sex" tags being proposed...how does killing bulls in August with a rifle "control" elk numbers????
Trouble in the triangle: Depredation convinces FWP to open new elk season
By BRETT FRENCH
Gazette Outdoor Writer
BRIDGER - Back in 1944, rancher Rudy Hergenrider could ride the range along the base of the Beartooth Mountains all day and see maybe three deer.
"Now they come in by the hundreds all summer long," Hergenrider said. "The deer are getting too thick. And they (the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks) don't let them hunt 'em enough."
Not only have deer populations blossomed in the region, about 100 to 150 head of elk have taken up residence on these farm and ranchlands east of the Beartooth Mountains.
In response to complaints from landowners such as Hergenrider, FWP is proposing the establishment of a new elk hunting season in the area - Hunting District 510's Cottonwood Triangle. The triangle is formed by highways 72 and 310 on the west and east, respectively, and the Wyoming border to the south.
The agency is also proposing to issue 400 additional permits for whitetail does that would be valid in 510 as well as four adjoining districts. The FWP Commission will take final action on the tentative regulations at a meeting today in Helena.
Where did they come from?
Some landowners are blaming the reintroduction of wolves for the increase in elk.
But Shawn Stewart, FWP's wildlife biologist for the area, said the elk migrations to lower elevations were noted before wolves were reintroduced in Yellowstone National Park in 1995.
"Whether or not the wolves are holding the elk down there, I can't answer that," he said. And he can't say that the same movement of elk wouldn't have happened without wolves showing up. He said it's just as likely the elk left their traditional winter range atop the Line Creek Plateau in the Beartooths because the weather was harsh and the forage scarce. Yet elk didn't seem to be pushed lower by overpopulation, he said.
Stewart said the development of agricultural crops along Grove Creek may have had something to do with luring elk from the mountains. The Beartooths feed Grove Creek's headwaters. The stream runs east through Tolman Flat, south of Red Lodge, before emptying into the Clark Fork River.
"For years, that was not an area with good alfalfa or corn crops," Stewart said.
Elk now living in the Cottonwood Triangle weren't the only ones to leave the Line Creek region. Stewart said another portion of the herd that wintered on Line Creek but summered on Bennett Creek, near Deep Lake, also left the area.
"They stayed at low elevations summer and winter in Wyoming," he said.
Two summers ago, Stewart said radio-collared elk crossed the Clark Fork River and summered in alfalfa fields.
"So there are a lot of strange movements going on in that herd," he said. "But there are no real answers to it."
Safety on flatlands
Deer, too, are crowding agricultural lands in the Cottonwood Triangle. Jim Peters, who ranches south of Belfry, said it's easy to understand why wildlife have moved into the area.
"An animal ain't dumb," he said. "They come to the valley where they're safe."
Peters said he doesn't mind feeding a few deer, but when they get on top of haystacks and ruin 10 times what they eat, he gets a bit frustrated.
He estimated the deer eat about $1,500 worth of feed in the winter.
Peters said a solution to the problem may be unreachable.
"We lost our hunters," he said. "The ones who kill the most (deer) are cars."
Peters said although he allows hunters on his ranch, next door to him is the Sunlight Ranch, owned by Sinclair Oil Corp. Sunlight's huge tracts are closed to hunters.
The deer have gotten so used to the presence of ranchers and farmers, and a lack of hunters, that Peters said they have lost all fear of humans.
"When I was young, you had to hunt them," he said. "They didn't stand and look at you."
Stewart said problems with mule deer could begin to ease soon. Their populations tend to rise and fall on 10 year cycles. That cycle is set for a downturn next year. As for whitetail, which mainly live along the Clark Fork River, Stewart said their populations only tend to trend upward. The occasional outbreak of epizootic hemhorragic disease, also known as blue tongue, is one of the few controls nature puts on their population.
Increasing hunter opportunity
In an attempt to relieve some of the problem of deer and elk depredation, FWP is proposing to modify this year's hunting season in HD-510. HD-510's western border runs south from Bridger to the Wyoming border along highways 310 and 72. The majority of its northern border, and all of its eastern border, abuts the Crow Indian Reservation.
For HD-510, an additional 400 antlerless whitetail B tags - 1,600 total - will be offered that are valid not only in 510, but also 502, 520, 560 and 575. The season would also be extended. The holder of one of the 1,600 B tags would be allowed to hunt from Oct. 24 through Jan. 1. Archers would also be eligible for the additional tags as well as any special permits offered.
For elk, it is proposed that the section of HD-510 west of Highway 310 - the Cottonwood Triangle - have a general rifle season for antlerless elk between Sept. 4 and Nov. 28. Four either-sex tags for the area would be valid in the same area - as well as all of HD-502 - from Aug. 15 to Nov. 28.
HD-502's western border is Highway 212 from Red Lodge to Laurel, and Interstate 90 from Laurel to Billings. The eastern border is the Crow Reservation. It's southern border runs from Red Lodge east to Belfry and then abuts the northwest corner of HD-510.
HD-510 has not had an archery season for elk in the past. Proposed for the 2004 season is an either-sex general elk archery license valid in the Cottonwood Triangle from Sept. 4 to Oct. 17.
FWP did not have any elk season specific to HD-510 in the past.
"Now the season is tailored to the 510 problem," Stewart said.
Brett French can be reached at [email protected]. or at 657-1387
Oh, and the MTFWP is going to catch hell from a guy in Wyoming over the "either sex" tags being proposed...how does killing bulls in August with a rifle "control" elk numbers????
Trouble in the triangle: Depredation convinces FWP to open new elk season
By BRETT FRENCH
Gazette Outdoor Writer
BRIDGER - Back in 1944, rancher Rudy Hergenrider could ride the range along the base of the Beartooth Mountains all day and see maybe three deer.
"Now they come in by the hundreds all summer long," Hergenrider said. "The deer are getting too thick. And they (the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks) don't let them hunt 'em enough."
Not only have deer populations blossomed in the region, about 100 to 150 head of elk have taken up residence on these farm and ranchlands east of the Beartooth Mountains.
In response to complaints from landowners such as Hergenrider, FWP is proposing the establishment of a new elk hunting season in the area - Hunting District 510's Cottonwood Triangle. The triangle is formed by highways 72 and 310 on the west and east, respectively, and the Wyoming border to the south.
The agency is also proposing to issue 400 additional permits for whitetail does that would be valid in 510 as well as four adjoining districts. The FWP Commission will take final action on the tentative regulations at a meeting today in Helena.
Where did they come from?
Some landowners are blaming the reintroduction of wolves for the increase in elk.
But Shawn Stewart, FWP's wildlife biologist for the area, said the elk migrations to lower elevations were noted before wolves were reintroduced in Yellowstone National Park in 1995.
"Whether or not the wolves are holding the elk down there, I can't answer that," he said. And he can't say that the same movement of elk wouldn't have happened without wolves showing up. He said it's just as likely the elk left their traditional winter range atop the Line Creek Plateau in the Beartooths because the weather was harsh and the forage scarce. Yet elk didn't seem to be pushed lower by overpopulation, he said.
Stewart said the development of agricultural crops along Grove Creek may have had something to do with luring elk from the mountains. The Beartooths feed Grove Creek's headwaters. The stream runs east through Tolman Flat, south of Red Lodge, before emptying into the Clark Fork River.
"For years, that was not an area with good alfalfa or corn crops," Stewart said.
Elk now living in the Cottonwood Triangle weren't the only ones to leave the Line Creek region. Stewart said another portion of the herd that wintered on Line Creek but summered on Bennett Creek, near Deep Lake, also left the area.
"They stayed at low elevations summer and winter in Wyoming," he said.
Two summers ago, Stewart said radio-collared elk crossed the Clark Fork River and summered in alfalfa fields.
"So there are a lot of strange movements going on in that herd," he said. "But there are no real answers to it."
Safety on flatlands
Deer, too, are crowding agricultural lands in the Cottonwood Triangle. Jim Peters, who ranches south of Belfry, said it's easy to understand why wildlife have moved into the area.
"An animal ain't dumb," he said. "They come to the valley where they're safe."
Peters said he doesn't mind feeding a few deer, but when they get on top of haystacks and ruin 10 times what they eat, he gets a bit frustrated.
He estimated the deer eat about $1,500 worth of feed in the winter.
Peters said a solution to the problem may be unreachable.
"We lost our hunters," he said. "The ones who kill the most (deer) are cars."
Peters said although he allows hunters on his ranch, next door to him is the Sunlight Ranch, owned by Sinclair Oil Corp. Sunlight's huge tracts are closed to hunters.
The deer have gotten so used to the presence of ranchers and farmers, and a lack of hunters, that Peters said they have lost all fear of humans.
"When I was young, you had to hunt them," he said. "They didn't stand and look at you."
Stewart said problems with mule deer could begin to ease soon. Their populations tend to rise and fall on 10 year cycles. That cycle is set for a downturn next year. As for whitetail, which mainly live along the Clark Fork River, Stewart said their populations only tend to trend upward. The occasional outbreak of epizootic hemhorragic disease, also known as blue tongue, is one of the few controls nature puts on their population.
Increasing hunter opportunity
In an attempt to relieve some of the problem of deer and elk depredation, FWP is proposing to modify this year's hunting season in HD-510. HD-510's western border runs south from Bridger to the Wyoming border along highways 310 and 72. The majority of its northern border, and all of its eastern border, abuts the Crow Indian Reservation.
For HD-510, an additional 400 antlerless whitetail B tags - 1,600 total - will be offered that are valid not only in 510, but also 502, 520, 560 and 575. The season would also be extended. The holder of one of the 1,600 B tags would be allowed to hunt from Oct. 24 through Jan. 1. Archers would also be eligible for the additional tags as well as any special permits offered.
For elk, it is proposed that the section of HD-510 west of Highway 310 - the Cottonwood Triangle - have a general rifle season for antlerless elk between Sept. 4 and Nov. 28. Four either-sex tags for the area would be valid in the same area - as well as all of HD-502 - from Aug. 15 to Nov. 28.
HD-502's western border is Highway 212 from Red Lodge to Laurel, and Interstate 90 from Laurel to Billings. The eastern border is the Crow Reservation. It's southern border runs from Red Lodge east to Belfry and then abuts the northwest corner of HD-510.
HD-510 has not had an archery season for elk in the past. Proposed for the 2004 season is an either-sex general elk archery license valid in the Cottonwood Triangle from Sept. 4 to Oct. 17.
FWP did not have any elk season specific to HD-510 in the past.
"Now the season is tailored to the 510 problem," Stewart said.
Brett French can be reached at [email protected]. or at 657-1387
