JACKSON, Wyo. — The National Elk Refuge (NER) has released the last biological update of 2024, summarizing the most recent elk movements as hunting season closes, ungulate counts and the Feeding Reduction Step Down Plan.
According to Eric Cole, NER senior wildlife biologist and author of the update, NER elk hunting seasons are designed to reduce the number of elk wintering on the Refuge to 5,000 animals. Human disturbance associated with the hunt encourages elk to use other areas during the late-fall time period to conserve forage on the NER during critical winter months, Cole writes.
Following the conclusion of the NER elk hunting season on Dec. 13, Cole reports there were significant elk movements to the southern half of the Refuge, and those elk have largely remained in the area since that time. Cole conducts weekly counts of all ungulates occupying the standard survey area that roughly corresponds to that southern half of the NER; the count comparison from Dec. 13 and Dec. 19 (after hunting season ended) is as follows:
Dec. 13
- Elk: Zero
- Bison: Zero
- Pronghorn: Three
- Bighorn sheep: 28
- Deer: Zero
- Moose: Zero
Dec. 19
- Elk: 3,080
- Bison: Zero
- Pronghorn: Zero
- Bighorn sheep: 53
- Deer: Zero
- Moose: Zero
The NER has been implementing the “Step-Down Plan Bison and Elk Management: A Structured Framework for Reducing Reliance on Winter Feeding” (SDP) for the past 5 winters, since 2019.
Cole confirms in his update that the overall goal of the SDP continues to be to reduce both the number of elk wintering on the Refuge and their reliance on supplemental feeding. The principal strategy used to meet these goals has been to reduce feed season length.
“Because elk participation in the Refuge feeding program is a learned behavior, our hypothesis was that by shortening feed season length, we would reduce the likelihood that elk would discover Refuge feeding operations, and over time this would result in a demographic shift where fewer elk participated in the NER feeding program and more elk occupied native winter range,” Cole writes.
According to Cole, there are a number of key findings and recommendations based on implementing the SDP for five years:
- During the five years of SDP implementation, elk feed days were reduced by 15%, the result of an eight day reduction in average feed season length. On average, NER snow pack was deeper and persisted later in the spring during the five-year SDP period, and Cole reports these winter conditions complicated efforts to reduce feed season length.
- The primary objective was to reduce the number of elk wintering on the NER, but there was no change in mean wintering elk abundance on the NER during Step Down Plan implementation.
- Elk calf winter mortality was higher during SDP implementation. However, winter severity was the primary factor leading to increases in calf mortality, Cole writes.
- Feed season length reductions during SDP implementation were hampered by winter severity and concerns about elk leaving the Refuge for private land. Reducing the number of elk wintering on the Refuge and their reliance on supplemental feeding, and limiting the impacts of Chronic Wasting Disease, are the ultimate goals, so Cole suggests strategies other than those implemented during the SDP should be considered.
See photos by Buckrail photographer of elk migrating toward the NER last week here.
