Idaho wildlife manager talks about elk herds and wolf packs

Fewer North Idaho families will have elk steaks in their freezers this fall. Two severe winters, plus a growing wolf population, have dramatically reduced elk calf survival rates. To allow the herds to recover, wildlife managers shortened hunting seasons by seven to 14 days. The cutbacks affect archery, rifle and muzzleloader seasons. Jim Hayden, Idaho Department of Fish and Game’s regional wildlife manager, discussed the situation last week. Q.How many fewer elk calves are you seeing? A.This year, we counted 12 calves for every 100 cows. We’ve been at a ratio of 40 to 45 calves for every 100 cows. That’s high production and we’ve had that for the last seven to eight years. We want a ratio of at least 30. Q.How much mortality was caused by wolves, as opposed to the deep snows? A.Just from winter alone, we know we had some substantial losses. We had more snow than we did in 1996, when there were functionally no wolves, and we still lost perhaps a quarter of the elk that winter. …Where there were no wolves, the calf ratio dropped to the 20s this spring. Where we had wolves, we saw the ratio drop to nine calves per 100 cow elk...SpokesmanReview