On Sunday Montana’s deer and elk hunting seasons opened and official say that the state has too many elk…..as many as 12,000 too many. If there are too many, what is the state doing in their management program to balance out the imbalance? Depending on who you talk to I guess would render you a different answer but it is safe to say that the answer isn’t a simple one.
Great Falls Tribune Outdoor Editor Michael Babcock takes a detailed look into the many factors that effect elk harvesting results. Some may surprise you but here’s one that jumps out at me and helps to drive home the point many hunters, trappers and fishermen have been lamenting about for some time.
Hunters cannot kill elk if they cannot get to them, and about a third of Montana’s elk are out of reach.
“We estimate that 35 percent of all Montana elk are on private land that is inaccessible to the general hunter,” Aasheim said.
“The most important single answer is access to harvest opportunity,” Kujala added. “Access to elk. If hunters are not able to get to elk that are on specific properties, or a series of properties, those properties become refuges of sorts.”
Ron Aasheim is head of communication and education for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Quentin Kujala is a wildlife management bureau chief for FWP.
Babcock also points out that even in areas where elk hunting is accessible, hunter habits have changed. Many think of elk hunting as trekking into the back country and packing out your harvest, sometimes taking several trips on multiple days or packing out with horses and mules. But in this day and age of off-road vehicles, more hunters want easier access. If they can’t get it, they don’t hunt or limit their hunting to areas they can access. This obviously affects the elk harvest.
In December, FWP plans meetings in which they will discuss seasons and management plan changes.
Tom Remington
