JACKSON, Wyo. — On Friday, March 29, the National Elk Refuge, in coordination with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, will end the supplemental elk feeding program for the 2023/2024 winter season.
“Our concern and interest in ending feeding the full 14 days prior to the calculated end date, and in accordance with the Bison and Elk Step Down Plan recommendation, is to minimize as much as possible the potential for disease,” National Elk Refuge Project Manager Frank Durbian told Buckrail.
Incrementally reducing supplemental feeding reliance on the federal public land follows the Refuge’s 2019 Step-Down Plan for Bison and Elk Management (Plan). The Refuge has committed to following the Step-Down Plan to reduce the reliance of elk and bison on supplemental feeding, while working with conservation partners to ensure healthy populations.
According to Durbian, the choice to end supplemental feeding earlier was based on current snow, spring melt and run-off conditions.
“Snow conditions immediately prior to and during our feeding season forced us to concentrate our feeding efforts in a much smaller area than we typically feed in and resulted in feed being distributed on top of areas previously fed on, currently creating an extremely wet/flooded situation that has concentrated elk both for feeding and loafing purposes on sites that can facilitate hoof rot,” Durbian said. “These conditions have also been exacerbated in the area immediately surrounding the feed grounds due to melting and sub-snow sheet water conditions.”
According to Durbian, ending supplemental feeding will not only lower the risk of hoof rot, but it will encourage the elk to spread out and use available food resources. With the earlier feeding ending date, Durbian does not anticipate higher rates of animal conflict as elk populations disperse off the Refuge.
“We recognize our priorities of trying to prevent issues with landowners and public safety on the road system, however we believe once feeding is stopped elk will linger on the refuge until conditions change that allow the typical spring off-refuge migration event,” Durbian said. “Any landowner issues that might occur would likely be minimal and short-lived and safety issues should be similar to previous years off-refuge migration events.”
If elk are observed leaving the Refuge and creating conflicts, mitigation measures will be enacted. The public and partners can contact the National Elk Refuge at frank_durbian@fws.gov or 307-733-9212.
