Late-winter surveys of elk and bison herds in Yellowstone National Park show the animals are maintaining relatively stable populations compared to recent years, according to park biologists.
Whereas the park's bison herds total about 3,000 animals, the elk population is pegged at just under 6,100 animals. The elk tally, though, is a far cry from the days when Yellowstone's elk numbers were pushing 20,000 during the winter and 30,000 in summer.
Both counts were made from aerial surveys. Poor conditions -- low snowpack that had a number of bare areas in the park -- led park officials to say the bison tally was probably an underestimate by as much as 10 percent.
Fifty-six percent of the bison are in the Northern Range herd, with 44 percent in the Central Interior herd, they said. Last year the survey estimated bison numbers at 2,900 animals.
Of particular note in light of the acrimony that has surfaced in recent years over the steps taken in Montana to keep bison from possibly transmitting brucellosis to livestock herds is that just four bison were taken by hunters this winter, and no other bison were captured or shipped to slaughter, park officials said.
As for the elk herds, biologists say the winter tally has remained "fairly stable since 2006." As with the bison count, the elk count was hampered by low snow conditions and poor flying conditions, the park said.
The herd winters between the park's Northeast Entrance and Dome Mountain and Dailey Lake in Paradise Valley, Montana. Half of the elk counted this year were inside Yellowstone, while the other half were observed north of the park boundary, park officials said.
This population count is down significantly from the 9,545 elk counted during the winter of 2004-2005.
The long-term trend shows a 60-percent decrease in elk numbers since wolves were restored in the region, the officials said. However, a significant reduction in both wolf numbers and wolf predation has been observed on the park’s northern range.
Biologists believe elk numbers have decreased in areas where there are higher numbers of wolves and grizzly bears, but have stabilized or even increased in areas where there are fewer predators and moderate population reduction due to hunting, the park said in a release. In addition, fewer elk calves survive in areas where there are more predators.
Comments
It’s interesting to see that wolves are constantly blamed for lowering elk numbers when the Montana Department of Livestock and Yellowstone National Park continue to harass wildlife year after year. I’ve witnessed hundreds of instances where the “authorities” have run roughshod over critical habitat at the worst time of year: late winter and early spring. They even run wildlife with helicopters up to 7 miles inside of Yellowstone! While they target ecologically extinct bison, there is no way they can miss wildlife like elk, swans, and bald eagles in these misguided stampedes. While it’s been shown that wolves help create healthier herds and habitat, I’ve never heard anyone claim that running wildlife with snowmobiles, atvs, and helicopters is beneficial. I’ve seen many instances where elk have been stressed to the point of death by these operations, even where dead elk pile up by the dozens near the Duck Creek bison trap. Wolves are here, and yes, they do impact elk herds and habitat for the better in the long run. Heavy handed management operations don’t help anything but the coffers of the Department of Livestock. The simple solution would be to allow bison to use suitable lands outside of Yellowstone and to end the bureaucratic boondoggle called the Interagency Bison Management Plan. This would be a clear step to help all of our wildlife while saving millions in taxpayer dollars every year.