Disturbing trend!

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Wolverine

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Yellowstone National Park

Winter Count Shows Decline in Northern Elk Herd Population



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Date: January 12, 2011
Contact: Al Nash, NPS, 307-344-2015
Contact: Karen Loveless, MTFWP, 406-224-1162
Contact: Dan Tyers, USFS, 406-848-7375



News Release from the
Northern Yellowstone Cooperative Wildlife Working Group

Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, & Parks - Contact: Karen Loveless 406-224-1162
National Park Service - Contact: Doug Smith 307-344-2242
U.S. Forest Service - Contact: Dan Tyers 406-848-7375
U.S. Geological Survey - Contact: Paul Cross 406-994-6908


January 12, 2011

Winter Count Shows Decline In Northern Elk Herd Population
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Wildlife biologists say increased predation, ongoing drought, and hunting pressure all contributed to a decline in the northern Yellowstone elk population from 1995 to 2010.

The annual aerial survey of the herd conducted during December 2010 resulted in a count of 4,635 elk, down 24 percent from the 6,070 reported the previous year. There has been about a 70 percent drop in the size of the northern elk herd from the 16,791 elk counted in 1995 and the start of wolf restoration to Yellowstone National Park.

Predation by wolves and grizzly bears is cited as the major reason for the decline in elk numbers. Wolves in northern Yellowstone prey primarily on elk. Also, predation on newborn elk calves by grizzly bears may limit the elk population?s ability to recover from these losses.

Drought conditions experienced during the early 2000s appear to have impacted the nutrition and abundance of forage, and may have lowered reproduction rates in some elk.

The number of permits issued for the antlerless Gardiner Late Elk Hunt declined from 1,102 in 2005 to just 100 permits during the 2006-2010 seasons. The late season hunt was eliminated altogether for 2011.

The number of grizzly bears seen on the northern range during elk calving season has decreased slightly in recent years. Also, the wolf population on the northern range inside Yellowstone National Park has dropped from 94 wolves in 2007 to 37 wolves in 2010. Biologists suspect predator numbers may be responding somewhat to the decline in the elk population.

Biologists expect the reduction in the number of wolves and the elimination of the late season hunt will result in some increase in the elk population.

The Northern Yellowstone Cooperative Wildlife Working Group will continue to monitor trends of the northern Yellowstone elk population and evaluate the relative contribution of various components of mortality, including predation, environmental factors, and hunting.

The Working Group was formed in 1974 to cooperatively preserve and protect the long-term integrity of the northern Yellowstone winter range for wildlife species by increasing our scientific knowledge of the species and their habitats, promoting prudent land management activities, and encouraging an interagency approach to answering questions and solving problems.

The Working Group is comprised of resource managers and biologists from the Montana Fish, Wildlife, & Parks, National Park Service (Yellowstone National Park), U.S. Forest Service (Gallatin National Forest), and U.S. Geological Survey-Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center in Bozeman.

- 30 -
 
lol......you been in a coma the last 10 years???



JB
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LAST EDITED ON Jan-18-11 AT 09:11PM (MST)[p]No dipshit, this is the latest release incase you are to ignorant to realize it! Just new info incase others have not read it yet! And it doesn't seem to be a disturbing trend to you how??????????? Maybe you should wake up from your coma smart ass! LOLYFF
 
Calm down wolverine, your name says it all. JB is just playing around. Once you have been on this site longer you will know how much of a smart azz he is.;)
 
Been reading it for years and didn't figure a simple post would bring out the woodtards right off the bat!
 
It is most definitely a Disturbing trend.
And way to come out swinging. Let us "WOODTARDS" now how you really feel.

ITS ALL ABOUT MEAT-IN WITH THE TAXIDERMIST
 
you posted that up like it's a revelation.....sorry if I didn't have it in me to praise you for you promptness...lol



JB
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Without cupsy poking a stick into the hornets nest often this site could get boring and we might all pretend to be buddies. :)
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They have close to 1,500 cow tags in Nov. in the units that border the NER-(National Elk Refuge).

That can change a years count very fast!

I woke up with a 'woody-tard' does that count?

Robb
 
This is the target for the enviornmentilists....

Biologists expect the reduction in the number of wolves

"and the elimination of the late season hunt"

will result in some increase in the elk population.
 
Wolverine,

Since D13 didn't point it out 'to' should have two oo's when using it to express quantity. Especially when used in front of words like 'ignorant'.
 
LAST EDITED ON Jan-19-11 AT 08:59AM (MST)[p]Hey BeanMan! As long as you're giving English lessons on here, you might look and notice that rackman did it too, LOL!!! PS: Since I'm new here on this site do I even dare to ask where the "instigator" got the nickname "cupsy"?
 
Topgun,

We're just messing with the guy as I'm sure you noticed. I believe it was BobcatBess who gave JB the 'Cupsy' nickname. You would have to ask him or maybe Be Bop about it. It may have been something about an athletic supporter...
 
Just posting the latest update on it since I did not see it posted anywhere else! Maybe you don't give a ##### so keep your Fu@&ing mouth shut! This is why I don't post on these boards because of dumb ##### like this! LOL wtf are 12 years old LOL!
 
Woodtards is more a refrence to the retards making stupid comments coming out of the woodwork.
 
Ah,I don't think I'll touch Cupsy in that case, LOL! Stuff like this is where emoticons come in handy so you can screw around with somebody and then put up a "winkie" or something to let them know you're just funnin around!!! Some people do take things to heart on the net when things are just really meant as a joke!
 
I appreciate the info. A lot of people know this has been going on for a long time but most of them didn't have specific data like you offered up.

It's really too bad that there are so many fools that think it's cute to say something stupid.
 
jeezus wolverine, clean out your mangina.

As an aside, we've also landed on the moon..just in case you missed it...
 
WTF?!?!?!?!

When the He11 did we land on the MOON!??

IS THIS A JOKE?!?!?

I think cupsy is a nickname on the D in his handle as in D cup.

Bill
 
Don?t worry too much WOLVERINE; there are just a bunch of BOTTOM FEEDERS on this site?

Live free or die ? Nevada Badger
 
There is no way Yellowstone has 37 wolves in 2010. They better re count or give us the real numbers. I grew up outside of Cody Wyoming and still go there to visit all the time. Those mountains use to have the best hunting and horn hunting around, but now wolves and bears run all over the place. Its been sad to see the decline over the last ten years.
 
D13er

"to praise you for you promptness"

should read "to praise you for you're promptness"

or wait I think this is correct "to praise you for your promptness".

We all kow how important grammar is to you.
 
The scary part is how many wolves we have in Idaho and the ongoing legal bullshit! Look how long it took to diminish this massive herd! I understand it's a little differnt with distribution of Elk and Migration, but it shows what can happen in a short time.
 

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