Quote:Central Idaho elk and deer doing fine in presence of wolves
April 8, 2008 — Ralph Maughan
Dr. Jim Peek presented data at the Chico wolf conference showing that the elk and deer population is doing fine in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. He examined population and hunter success trends in 4 key hunting units before and after wolf restoration.
Currently there are 105-119 wolves in the 4 units, which he believes is the maximum number that will naturally occur.
Overall, elk harvest is nearly stable with a slight upward trend in recent years. Mule deer harvest has increased more dramatically, perhaps the result of the many recent forest fires that have resulted in a proliferation of browse,
In the individual units, elk population is declining on one, increasing on one, with no trend in the other two.
Peek predicted a future decline in the most remote areas because of an overabundance of old, non-productive cow elk, and relatively few bull elk due to human hunting effects (few hunters will pack in 2 to 4 days to shoot an old cow elk, but they will for a bull elk). He speculated that the future elk decrease in the deep backcountry would be greater if wolf populations are reduced because old cows are what the wolves target — average age 13 years.
In the one front country unit (the Salmon Face, unit 28), the present and future seem bright because the cow elk are younger and the cow/calf ratio higher. Hunters there do go after cow elk because it does not take the time to get into that country.
Overall, the wolves have had little effect on elk or deer population size. The important factors are wildfires (57% of the area has burned since 1982), summer drought or adequate rainfall, and winter severity. Wolves can potentially suppress population rebound following a severe winter, especially in the frontcountry unit, although he presented no evidence that this has actually happened.
Quote:North Idaho elk even better
High percentage of bulls in Panhandle are six-point or higher
IDAHO
Top elk zones
Zone Total harvest Success
rate %
Panhandle 2,439 16
Tex Creek 799 29
Salmon 707 22
Weiser River 595 20
Selway 468 26
Rich Landers
Outdoors editor
September 14, 2006
Elk hunting in North Idaho has been great for the past two years, and it's getting better.
Cows continue to produce good crops of calves and some of the oldest bulls in the state are coming from the Panhandle, Idaho Fish and Game Department officials say. Nearly 30 percent of the bulls taken in the Panhandle are six-point or bigger.
Archers in particular are good at zeroing in on the big bulls. Although they shoot far fewer elk than rifle hunters, 65 percent of the archers who fill their tags in Unit 1 take home a bull six points or better.
The 8,000-square-mile- Panhandle region is 85 percent forest land and about half the area is public land. But it's no piece of cake to hunt. Much of the area is rugged and dense with timber and brush. Those are the main reasons the seasons have remained so liberal.
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Rifle hunting opportunities for elk run from Oct. 10-Nov. 3 in much of the Panhandle with a portion of the season open for both bulls and cows.
Idaho's 2006 big-game regulations pamphlet incorrectly omitted unit 4A from the Panhandle Zone any-weapon season list, said Phil Cooper, department spokesman in Coeur d'Alene. The unit is open Oct 10- Nov 3.
Hunters looking to put all the odds in their favor will get away from roads, said Brad Compton, Idaho Fish and Game Department big game manager. "Elk generally avoid areas routinely traveled by motorized vehicles including ATVs," he said.
Clearwater and Salmon region hunters also enjoy a wealth of public land for hunting elk. "We have a lot of wilderness, but that makes for some classic elk hunting," said Jay Crenshaw, department wildlife manager in Lewiston.
Indeed, it's that remote rugged country in the Selway and Middle Fork zones that provides the now rare opportunity to use a modern rifle to hunt bull elk during the rut. The result for the wilderness-ready sportsmen: about 45 percent of the successful hunters bag bulls with six points or more.
Lolo Zone elk continue to decline, but since controlled hunt tags have been reduced, the quality of hunting the Lolo Zone remains high, Crenshaw said. Hunters can get cheap bear tags and an extra cougar tag for that area in an effort to help reduce the impacts of predation on calf survival.
The Salmon Zone, another area rich with roadless backcountry, is traditionally good, and it's getting better. Elk numbers have increased substantially in recent years and so has the number of controlled-hunt permits.
"The Salmon had its fourth- highest bull harvest on record in 2004," said Tom Keegan, Salmon region wildlife manager.
The Middle Fork herd had a high percentage of old-age cows that perished last winter, Keegan said. That should translate into better calf production and better hunting in a few years.
"The fires we've had in this region have increased the grass for elk," he said.
Portions of the southeastern Idaho that didn't have elk hunting because of few elk 15 years ago now offer lots of general season opportunity, and even a limited number of 'extra' tags to address over-population concerns.
Hunters killed more than 21,000 elk in Idaho last year, including more than 11,000 bulls and 9,000 cows. The 2005 total harvest ranks 8th all time. Bull harvest since 1995 has ranged from 6,600 to 12,200, while cow harvest has ranged 5,200 to 9,400.
