Fund Helps Save Elk, But Raises Questions About The Future Feeding Called Short-Term Solution

A citizens’ campaign to feed hungry wild elk near Stanley has raised questions about how the elk and their environment should be managed.

Almost 400 elk are getting food through the “Save Idaho’s Elk” fund, begun in late January after news reports of starving elk within sight of the resort town of Stanley.

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game has a $600,000 fund for feeding wildlife, but manages it conservatively, using the money only for food to ensure there is a reserve in case of severe winters.

Fish and Game personnel started feeding the big game animals on Jan. 28 after the snow depth and temperature reached the agency’s criteria for feeding big game.

But wildlife biologists say feeding is a short-term solution that does not address the long-term challenges facing the Stanley Basin elk herd.

Biologists are trying to determine how many elk the area can naturally sustain, how many hunting tags to issue and whether or not to feed the elk next year.

Some of the Stanley Basin elk are being moved.

Earlier this month, Fish and Game captured 40 of the animals and moved them to another area, Clear Creek, along the Salmon River northwest of Salmon.

The operation is part of a long-range plan to thin out the wintering elk in the basin.

The agency said the area can support only about 450 elk.

Biologists also hope to continue the pace of feeding that the “Save Idaho’s Elk” campaign helped start.

“Once you start, you’re in it,” said Gary Power, regional Fish and Game supervisor in Salmon.

In the Stanley Basin, that means feeding through March and early April, Power said.