Elk Country
6th Annual - Elk Country Awards:
Elk Country Award (2007) Recipient - Land Protection
Congratulations to the Dakota Prairie Grasslands on their Elkhorn Ranch Project!
To the average American eye, it’s a forgotten scrap of windswept prairie with horizons broken only by weathered fencerows. But to the American spirit of conservation, it’s sacred ground. Today this North Dakota landscapeTheodore Roosevelt’s historic Elkhorn Ranchis permanently protected, now held by the U.S. Forest Service, following a long, collaborative effort by reverent conservationists.
To celebrate the project, the Forest Service and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation recently presented an Elk Country Award to dedicated federal employees who were instrumental in the success. The award, a bronze elk sculpture, was given during the Elk Foundation’s annual convention, which concluded Feb. 24 in Reno, Nevada.
Ron Erickson of Forest Service Region 1 and Dave Pieper, Dakota Prairie Grasslands supervisor, accepted the award on behalf of their staffs. (Text Courtesy of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation).
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Elk Country Award (2007) Recipient - Individual Achievement
Congratulations to Jeff Bohler of the Umpqua National Forest!
The award recognizes Bohler for his hard work and leadership in enhancing forage conditions for elk and other wildlife in Douglas County. Since 2001, Diamond Lake Ranger District has completed prescribed burning, forage seeding, fertilizing, forest thinning and mowing projects across more than 2,500 acres of public land. Most of this work has occurred within priority winter range for elk. (Text Courtesy of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation).
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America's Elk Country
As the land management agency responsible for managing
most of the occupied elk habitat in the continental United
States, the Forest Service plays a definite role in establishing
a future for wild, free-ranging elk on public lands.
Nearly 80 percent of today's elk population reside year-round
or seasonally on National Forests and Grasslands. These
lands provide a variety of elk habitat: dense coniferous
forests of the northwest, pinyon and juniper of the southwest,
and the steep timbered canyons and sagebrush flats of the
northern rockies. Presently 72 million acres of National
Forests and Grasslands (an area roughly the size of Colorado)
support nearly 550,000 elk of three subspecies: the Tule
elk of California; the Roosevelt elk of the Pacific coast;
and the Rocky Mountain elk of the interior west. Elk make
the public lands richer- their presence lends a wild edge,
a bit of wonder.
Elk have occupied North America for at least 10,000 years.
With a range that extended almost coast to coast, elk were
the most widespread members of the deer family when European
man first arrived. The westward expansion of man changed
that. Elk were eliminated from the eastern United States
by the mid 1800's. By the turn of the century only 1 percent
(about 100,000) of the total estimated population survived,
the majority in the remote Yellowstone National Park area.
The history of elk in the United States is a classic case
of habitat loss caused by man's settlement and development
of the west. Demands on elk habitat continue to increase.
Today, conservation efforts have increased elk numbers
dramatically. Major opportunities to improve habitat and
expand elk range exist. The Forest Service will continue
to provide successful management of elk populations, through
coordinating elk management with other forest uses, close
cooperation with state fish and wildlife agencies, programs
with private partners, and public support.
MOUs/MOAs
The National Forests
Did You Know?
Eight out of every 10 wild, free-ranging elk spend all
or part of the year on National Forests and grasslands.
As elk were forced from their historic range, millions
of acres of suitable habitat were left vacant. Although
populations of elk in many western states are at high and
generally stable levels, demand for elk hunting has doubled
in the last 20 years and continues to grow. Through transplants
and habitat improvement, a major opportunity exists to increase
the current occupied range by up to 20 percent.
Elk feed predominantly on grasses, but also use forbs,
browse, and bark. Prescribed fire is one way to stimulate
forage production on summer and winter range. Other habitat
improvement methods include development of watering sites
and seeding logged areas. Annually these and other projects
to expand and improve elk habitat total over 48,000 acres
on National Forests and Grasslands.
Each year, over 700,000 elk hunters spend over $34 million
on elk licenses alone. These revenues provide important
funding for many state fish and wildlife programs. With
related hunting expenditures, elk hunting has become a mult-million
dollar industry in many western states.
Recreational enjoyment of elk is not limited to hunting.
Millions of people appreciate and photograph elk throughout
the National Forests and Grasslands. Established viewing
areas attract over 2 million visitors annually.
Recreation Opportunities
During 1991, elk hunting on National Forests provided recreation.
Nonconsumptive use of wildlife (photography, wildlife viewing,
nature viewing) provided recreation for visitors. Many of
these days were spent viewing and photographing elk.
Wildlife viewing guides provide information such as maps,
driving directions, best times to view wildlife, and the
type of animals at wildlife viewing sites in several states
including Idaho and Utah. The Idaho Wildlife Viewing Guide
specifically identifies nine elk viewing locations on five
Intermountain Forests, and the Utah Wildlife Viewing Guide
identifies 17 elk viewing opportunities on six Forests.
Wildlife Viewing Guides for Utah and Idaho are currently
available by phoning toll-free Falcon
Press at 1-800-582-BOOK. These guides provide viewing
opportunity information on federal, state, and private lands
throughout these states.
California, Nevada, and Wyoming are also preparing wildlife
viewing guides, portions of which are in the Intermountain
Region.
Additional information on opportunities to view, photograph,
or hunt elk is available at the Nature
Watch website and Nature
Watch -- Viewing Sites website.
Research
The Forest Service sponsors a substantial percentage of
the elk research in the United States. Years of work by
talented scientists has resulted in a body of information
that is widely applied by managers in the field.
The most comprehensive and ambitious elk study ever undertaken
is the Starkey elk study in northeast Oregon. This 10-year
$4 million cooperative project will examine:
- Food preferences and seasonal forage use
between elk, deer, and cattle.
- The effects of building and using roads
in elk habitat.
- Impacts of different forest management
practices on elk and their habitat.
- The influence of bull to cow ratios on
elk populations.
The Future
The demand for viewing wildlife, including elk, is increasing.
Forest Service resource professionals are meeting the challenge
by providing increased viewing and recreational opportunities
through the development of viewing sites and guides and
as a result of elk-specific habitat improvement projects.
Partnerships benefit the wildlife resource and provide
for greater achievements in making every resource dollar
invested "go further."
You Can Get Involved
Individuals, groups, and organizations are invited to explore
the possibilities and participate in the continuing program to
provide more and better elk habitat.
- Contact a western USDA
Forest Service office (where there is elk habitat,
thus projects). The wildlife biologist on the Forest can
share with you information regarding on going and up coming
projects. Using our Challenge Cost Share program and volunteering
your time, knowledge, tools, skills, or networks, you
will help improve elk habitat.
- Join a society focused on elk, such as
the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
- Go watch elk. Once you hear an elk bugle
you will be a fan for life. The Nature
Watch Viewing Sites website can help you find a great
place to watch elk.
Elk Biology
Clearwater
Elk Initiative
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
Hardware Ranch Management
Area
Hardware Ranch is a wildlife management facility in Blacksmith
Fork Canyon, Utah. The Ranch provides winter forage for a large
elk herd as a mitigation measure for the loss of elk winter range
in Cache Valley due to agricultural and urban development. The
Ranch is managed as a commercial concession for the Utah Division
of Wildlife Resources.
Past Elk Country Award Winners
5th Annual (work done in 2006; awarded in 2007)
2007 ELK COUNTRY AWARD FOR WILDLIFE HABITAT ACHIEVEMENT
Kreig Rasmussen, Wildlife Biologist for the Richfield/Loa Districts of the Fishlake National Forest.
2007 ELK COUNTRY AWARD FOR INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT
Craig Grother, Zone Wildlife Biologist for the Norwood and Ouray Ranger Districts of the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forest.
Awards - Spring Edition 2006 (2007 Posting)
Sandy Kratville, National Elk Country Coordinator
Forest Service/Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Liaison
Phone: 406-329-3588
email: spkratville@fs.fed.us
FAX: 406-329-3171
FS mailing address: USFS, Northern Region
P.O. Box 7669
Missoula, MT 59807-7669
RMEF mailing address: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
P.O. Box 8249
Missoula, MT 59807-8249
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