Snow Has Hungry Elk Arriving Early For Dinner Reservations

Providing nourishment for hungry elk at the earliest starting date in the history of the feeding program has put workers at the Oak Creek Wildlife Area near Yakima under almost as much stress as the animals.

Because of heavy snowfall that buried the Yakima region in late November, the elk-feeding operation had to be activated to assist hundreds of animals who were prematurely forced down off their winter ranges in higher elevations.

“Once all that snow hit us - boom, the elk were right down here for food,” said John McGowan, manager of the sprawling Oak Creek reserve that covers nearly 95,000 acres. “The large number of animals that are here is quite impressive; we’ve never had that many elk here this early before.”

McGowan estimates that a massive group of some 1,400 elk is roaming around the feeding station. The public is invited to view the feeding, which is conducted daily at 1:30 p.m. at the Oak Creek headquarters site on Highway 12 about 10 miles west of Naches.

In a normal winter, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife runs through from 600 to 800 tons of hay to feed elk. This year, nearly 150 tons of hay had already been used for the department-sponsored meals by mid-December, two weeks before the feeding usually starts.

“We’re feeding out 12 to 13 tons daily (about 8 pounds of hay per elk), and just the logistics of that workload is keeping everyone constantly on the go,” McGowan said. “It’s a real battle to keep everything running around here.

“If the heavy snow stays around and there’s no break in the winter mode, we’re going to need more feed than we have in storage, and arrangements already are ongoing to put that into place,” he added. “We shouldn’t even be feeding yet - that’s the scary part.”

The department also has eight other feeding stations in the Yakima area, the Wenas Valley and around Ellensburg.

Fishing advisers wanted

Folks experienced in fish management issues can get involved in one of two Washington Fish and Wildlife Department advisory groups.

The Anadromous and Marine Resources Sport Fishing Advisory Group advises the department on cold-water sport fisheries and habitat issues for salmon, steelhead, marine fish and shellfish. The Commercial Fishing Advisory Group deals with commercial salmon, groundfish, shellfish, and fish processing issues.

Twenty one-year positions will be selected for each group. Interested? Send nomination letters and resumes to: Phil Anderson, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 600 Capitol Way N., Olympia WA 98501-1091.

, DataTimes