Did anybody else see this:
https://www.gohunt.com/read/news/idaho-farmer-payout-for-elk-damage-exceeds-1-million#gs.fwfz37
I'm not anti farming or anything like that, I like to eat food too... But that seems pretty excessive.
It's a really good example of what fish and game is up against trying to balance managing big game with so much pressure from big AG.
This farmer bought the ranch in the 90's as mostly dry land ag... then put in wells and irrigated over 2800 acres. He's probably created the best food source for miles around, and now the elk have flooded in, go figure. I doubt the elk are new, but since he's created a great food source now they are a problem and somebody has to pay... either the elk or F&G. Massive lethal removal may be next, in fact they already killed an estimated 80 elk there last summer.
I hunt the Weiser elk zone and it's just disappointing to see what they are doing there to reduce the elk numbers primarily in response to farmers complaints. At least that's the only reasoning I've seen for the reduction. I believe their "goal" is to reduce the elk numbers to about half of what it was, it's maddening to see this happen.
Yeah, i'm just a selfish hunter, but have a hard time believing we have too many elk!
https://www.gohunt.com/read/news/idaho-farmer-payout-for-elk-damage-exceeds-1-million#gs.fwfz37
I'm not anti farming or anything like that, I like to eat food too... But that seems pretty excessive.
It's a really good example of what fish and game is up against trying to balance managing big game with so much pressure from big AG.
This farmer bought the ranch in the 90's as mostly dry land ag... then put in wells and irrigated over 2800 acres. He's probably created the best food source for miles around, and now the elk have flooded in, go figure. I doubt the elk are new, but since he's created a great food source now they are a problem and somebody has to pay... either the elk or F&G. Massive lethal removal may be next, in fact they already killed an estimated 80 elk there last summer.
I hunt the Weiser elk zone and it's just disappointing to see what they are doing there to reduce the elk numbers primarily in response to farmers complaints. At least that's the only reasoning I've seen for the reduction. I believe their "goal" is to reduce the elk numbers to about half of what it was, it's maddening to see this happen.
Yeah, i'm just a selfish hunter, but have a hard time believing we have too many elk!