Elk Country

7th Annual - Elk Country Awards:

Elk Country Awards from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

RMEF news release

U.S. Forest Service employees in California, Colorado and Oregon are earning special recognition for their work enhancing and conserving habitat for elk and other wildlife. Each has received a 2009 Elk Country Award presented by the Forest Service and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

• Elk Country Award: Wildlife Habitat Management Achievement - Modoc National Forest
• Elk Country Award: Individual Achievement - Melanie Woolever, R2, Wildlife Program Leader
• Elk Country Award: Partnership Achievement - Mark Henjum, Umatilla National Forest

Hank Kashdan (USFS/Associate Chief/Operations; left), Randy Moore (USFS/PSW Regional Forester; center) and Jack Blackwell (RMEF/Vice President of Lands and Conservation; right). [above]		Mark Henjum accepting award (left), posing with Tom Toman (RMEF). [above]
	Hank Kashdan (USFS/Associate Chief/Operations), Melanie Woolever (center) and Jack Blackwell (RMEF/Vice President of Lands and Conservation). [above]

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