Elk Hunters In Their Glory In Panhandle

Hunters are buzzing with conjecture about elk populations.

Last week’s column about proposals to curb declining bull numbers in Idaho’s Clearwater Region brought a predictable response from readers:

What’s going on with Panhandle elk?

“We’re a long way from major hunting changes,” said Jim Hayden, Idaho Fish and Game Department wildlife manager for North Idaho. “The big question is whether we get a major influx of hunters from other areas.”

Some hunters likely will avoid the Clearwater Region if proposals are approved. Some would resent spike-only restrictions. Others would balk at requirements to buy tags that allow them to hunt in only one area, and with only one type of weapon - muzzleloader, bow or modern firearms.

Fish and Game officials figure such restrictions could prompt an additional 1,500 hunters to look for less restrictive hunting in North Idaho.

Currently, Panhandle bull-to-cow ratios are excellent, ranging around 25 bulls per 100 cows, Hayden said. Better yet, plenty of these bulls are big.

Bulls with six or more points on each antler made up 32 percent of the harvest this year.

Dense underbrush and difficult hunting conditions could be the major reasons Panhandle bulls are faring better than elk farther south in Idaho and in Eastern Washington, Hayden said.

Hunter success rates are only 8-10 percent for bulls in the Panhandle. Overall, however, North Idaho elk hunters average 15-17 percent success.

“That’s because this is one of the last places where there’s an open season for cows,” Hayden said. “We’re even considering a one-week extension of the bull season in units 2, 3 and 5.”

Statistics indicate that Panhandle elk hunters are in the glory days of their sport. But woe is me if an influx of people is the only potential threat to the relatively unrestricted hunting in the Panhandle.

That’s not a possibility. It’s a sure thing.

Case for spikes: Another common question from readers after last week’s column: What are the results of rules that allow elk hunters to take only spike bulls?

“In 1988, before we went to spikes-only hunting in the Blue Mountains, we had a bull-cow ratio of about 5 per 100,” said Pat Fowler, Fish and Wildlife Department biologist in Walla Walla. “All the cows were not getting bred.”

By 1991, just two years after limiting hunters to shooting only spike bulls, the ratio had improved to at least 15 bulls per 100 cows, he said.

That allowed the department to begin issuing limited numbers of permits for branch-antlered bulls.

“A lot of hunters complained that spike-only hunting was restrictive, but in Washington the rule didn’t make any difference,” Fowler said. “About 90 percent of the bulls being harvested in the late ‘80s were yearlings, because that’s virtually all that was out there because of high hunting pressure.”

Now big bulls are much more common in the Blues.

“If you draw a tag, you have a decent chance of taking a trophy bull,” Fowler said.

As expected, this boost in the ratio of big bulls increased cow pregnancy rates from a dismal 65 percent in the late ‘80s to 90 percent in the mid-‘90s.

But there’s a catch. The number of elk has not rebounded.

“Now we’re having problems with calf survival,” Fowler said.

A five-year research project The Spokesman-Review covered in detail last year was started in 1992. Coordinated by research biologist Woody Myers, the project calls for putting radio collars on calves in the spring, then monitoring them to determine why a high percentage of calves are dying before their first winter.

Preliminary data indicate that predators such as bears, cougars and coyotes are a major factor. But it’s not clear why they have become a major factor or whether predator control would help or exacerbate the problem.

“Back in the ‘80s when the bull-cow ratio was declining, we had better calf survival and hunters were able to kill 3,000 more elk a year,” Fowler said. “The Wenaha herd had 2,500 elk compared to 800 now. Lick Creek had 1,200, compared to 800 now. Mountainview had 800 compared to 400 now.”

This population decline has caused a 60 percent drop in harvest rates.

“That’s pretty traumatic to hunters and wildlife managers alike,” Fowler said. “I know some people think we should start predator control. We’ll know more in a year or two. Sometimes these things have to cycle through.”

Patience isn’t a virtue in our culture. A 10-year wildlife cycle can seem like eternity.

, DataTimes MEMO: You can contact Rich Landers by voice mail at 459-5577, extension 5508.

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