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Yakima elk likely to lose another battle It's an issue that's become all too familiar to sportsmen and state officials - wildlife vs. humans. Stories about cougars roaming rural subdivisions, bears hiding in city park trees and big-game animals feasting on valuable agricultural products make the news almost weekly. And, unfortunately, it's wildlife that usually lose the conflict. Before the state Department of Fish and Wildlife are a series of management plans for the state's 10 major elk herds. The plans are designed to guide management of the state's elk herds for the next five years, said Lee Stream, regional wildlife program manager in Yakima. The Yakima elk herd is the latest to come under scrutiny. So far, only two elk management plans have been completed - the Blue Mountain and South Rainier, Stream said. The Yakima elk herd is one of the largest and healthiest in the state, providing an annual bull elk harvest of about 1,100 over the past 10 years. Stream estimated the Yakima herd at about 11,000 elk, which some say is too many for the area. Despite miles of fencing designed to keep elk on state and federal lands and several extensive winter feeding programs, elk have a penchant to dine on some of the Yakima Valley's valuable agricultural commodities. Because of concerns about crop and orchard damage and nuisance problems in rural communities, the Yakima elk draft plan proposes to reduce the herd size by 10 percent to 20 percent. "The goal would be somewhere around 9,500 total animals," Stream said. To reach this goal, the state is proposing to increase permits to hunt antlerless (cow) elk over the next few years, as long as the herd's overall numbers remain strong. "We have no intention of trapping and relocating any of these animals. It would be accomplished mostly through added hunting opportunity," Stream added. Hunters could see a 5 percent to 10 percent increase in the number of cow permits for the next few years until the overall herd size is met. After that, hunters likely will see cow permits tied to the annual reproduction and mortality of the herd and an emphasis on quality hunting for branch-antlered animals. However, this year the state plans to stick with about the same number of antlerless permits as it issued last season because of lower than normal calf-to-cow ratios this year. Not everyone, however, is enthusiastic about the state's proposal. Many hunters and sportsmen are worried about the future of elk hunting in the region. Stream said a federal study has determined that the economic value of the Yakima elk herd is worth about $14 million. "That's based on a lot of factors but includes such items as food, gas, lodging, hunting licenses and hunting equipment," he said. "The people of Yakima and the surrounding communities should be proud of the long elk hunting tradition and what it has meant over the years," Stream said. However, as Stream pointed out, the problem really isn't about elk, since they're only doing what comes natural. The problem is a growth-management issue as humans continue to expand into lands once occupied by wildlife. For example, some of the loudest complaints about elk damage have come from a few small (3 to 5 acres) landowners who have moved into big-game country. "Since 1979 we've fenced off an additional 30 miles of traditional elk winter range, and orchards continue to expand," Stream said. So far, however, elk damage complaints in the Yakima area have not been too costly to the state, ranging from a high of $10,000 to $12,000 a year, with the average closer to $2,000 to $4,000. Also, damage problems are not a new phenomenon. Stream said the state has dealt with elk complaints since the 1930s and says there always will be conflicts with elk. But recently it's been the intensity of the complaints that has spurred the state to take more drastic action, including a recent state legislative ruling that qualifies private range land as a crop, with the state possibly being liable for damages caused by elk. "We've worked real hard with landowners to keep them from submitting damage claims in the first place, which we consider to be alast-ditch effort," he said. The state's extensive fencing program, for example, keeps the majority of elk from descending upon Yakima farmlands, but keeping an eye on more than a hundred miles of fence is difficult. "Sometimes the elk damage the fences, but often we find that hunters or vandals cut holes in the fence and the elk escape and often start smaller herds on private lands," he said. "Then we have to deal with that problem." In addition to trimming the number of Yakima elk, the plan also proposes to manage the herd by constructing additional fences and improving fence maintenance; imposing seasonal area closures and road closures so elk are not harassed off public lands; enhancing habitat, especially on public lands; and acquiring land or conservation easements in key winter and transition ranges. Copies of the draft plan are available at the state's Yakima regional office, 1701 S. 24th Ave., or it can be downloaded from the state's Web site: www.wa.gov/wdfw/wlm/game/elk/yakima.htm. Written comments can be submitted until Thursday via the Internet or mailed to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Wildlife Management, 600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091. |
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