Rocky Mountain Elk on Hanford
Rocky Mountain elk did not inhabit the Hanford Site when it was established in 1943. Elk appeared on the Fitzner/Eberhardt Arid Lands Ecology Reserve in the winter of 1972. A few animals stayed and reproduced. Since that time, the herd has grown and now occupies portions of the Hanford Site, the United States Army's Yakima Training Center, and private land along Rattlesnake Ridge. Herd size was estimated from census data at 742 animals prior to the 1998 hunting season (see figure). Most of Hanford's elk habitat is on portions of the Hanford Reach National Monument managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Elk survey responsibility was relinquished to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2000. The latest (2004) census count from U.S. Fish and Wildlife is 672 elk.
As the herd continues to grow, there are two safety-related concerns that will increase. The first is the potential for an increase in automobile-elk collisions on local highways, and the second is the possibility that elk will range into the recently enlarged radiation protection zone immediately south of the 200-East Area.
Through 2001, the Rattlesnake Hills elk herd was monitored through a combination of aerial and ground surveys. Two surveys were conducted annually; post-hunting aerial surveys from December through February were used to determine the number of adult bulls, sub-adult males (spikes) and female and yearling calves. A second survey in mid-summer (July - September) was used to estimate post-calving numbers.
reside on and adjacent to the Hanford Site. Figure includes two seasons per year;
post-calving (Jun - Aug), and post-hunting (Dec - Feb).
Additional Information
- Population Characteristics and Seasonal Movement Patterns of the Rattlesnake Hills Elk Herd -- Status Report 2000. PNNL-13331, September 2000.
- Eberhardt, L.E., L.L. Eberhardt, B.L. Tiller, and L.L. Cadwell. 1996. "Growth of an Isolated Elk Population,: Journal of Wildlife Management 60:369-373.
- McCorquodale, S.M., L.L. Eberhardt, and L.E. Eberhardt. 1988. "Dynamics of a Colonizing Elk Population." Journal of Wildlife Management 52:309-313.
- McCorquodale, S.M., K.J. Raedeke, and R.D. Taber, 1989. "Home Ranges of Elk in an Arid Environment." Northwest Science 63(1):29-34.
- Start: 1975
- End: 2001