Kudos to the Organizations and Individuals helping the deer and elk in the EK's!

[sawmill]

I thought baiting was banned in BC

For bears and other predaters.

[sawmill]

After reading stories of starving humans eating bugs, rotten fish guts, other humans etc., I can't really believe we are killing ungulates by providing food that they hadn't eaten before. Sure, some may die, but others will survive. Not feeding them seems a bad idea.

Around here the deer go nuts on garbage day ripping open bags on the curb and eating anything they find. And that`s all year long. That`s why you don`t want to eat a town deer. I`v seen them eating dirty diapers. (My neighbor has little kids)

[Comerade]

I live on land in the most eastern part of the East Kootenay and we deal with the elk herds 12 months out of the year
I am one that strongly recommends a winter feeding program...Most landowners will do the same. Hay introduced properly will cause no digestive issues and changing diet suddenly will cause a domestic cow to bloat and die and wildlife is no different.
Just get the Ranchers on side and there will be a wealth of information that could be utilized to enhance wildlife populations around here.
The elk herd around my place camp right here and feed will the livestock -so they are on a dry feed anyways.

[bigben]

The snow levels in the East Kootenay's are unbelievably deep and crusted. The snow at my place in Cranbrook is at least 3 feet deep and very crusted. It is going to be an extremely difficult year on the wildlife. Since my 15 or so years in Cranbrook, I have never seen conditions anywhere close to this bad.

Thank
God you have a snowblower lol need some hay

[j270wsm]

I live on land in the most eastern part of the East Kootenay and we deal with the elk herds 12 months out of the year
I am one that strongly recommends a winter feeding program...Most landowners will do the same. Hay introduced properly will cause no digestive issues and changing diet suddenly will cause a domestic cow to bloat and die and wildlife is no different.
Just get the Ranchers on side and there will be a wealth of information that could be utilized to enhance wildlife populations around here.
The elk herd around my place camp right here and feed will the livestock -so they are on a dry feed anyways.

Considering most ranchers in the east kootenays bitch about the elk damaging their crops.....I can't see them stepping up to help feed the elk, of course there are a few ranchers that will help.

[boxhitch]

Looks like Ma Nature is taking care of things with the warm temps and rain this week.

[Comerade]

There definitely is a divide between landowners and town folk when it comes to.wildlife issues. It seems to us that people that don't deal with these issues daily ,do not see all sides of this issue. Ranchers are a valuable source of information that can easily be used for wildlife issues, knowing how to feed and what to feed,when...to keep their stock alive
Ask any of them or help them and wildlife would benefit.Yes ,Elk can be fed hay and proliferate,it just requires a plan and it needs to be a long term plan. Right at this time elk are being killed on the tracks, highway or hung up on a fence trying to get in or out of a stack yard...hard to see. Yup ,Boxhitch the thaw can continue around here and will.help.

[J_T]

Considering most ranchers in the east kootenays bitch about the elk damaging their crops.....I can't see them stepping up to help feed the elk, of course there are a few ranchers that will help.

Let's be cautious about labeling groups from the past. I'd prefer to think positively going forward and everyone can become a part of the solution.

I'm not real fan of winter feeding, but for those who haven't seen it, this has been a particularly difficult year. The biggest 'winter' kill component, is not lack of food, it's highways and railways. Having said that, the animals this year are having a difficult time moving around to get at food. Getting any supplemental feed to the animals has been tough.

There are jurisdictions who plan for and commit to, successful winter feeding programs and frankly, maybe a more regimented approach is a good idea here. It can be carried out in such a way as to have the least impact, ensure healthier animals for spring, 'more' animals for spring, and it can be done in a way that minimizes any possibility for disease and unwanted predation. But it takes a plan, involvement from more than just hunters, money and commitment to do it right.

[j270wsm]

It's not groups from the past that I'm talking about. It's the ranchers that continue to complain to the ministry to have the elk numbers pushed back further. As I said before I realize it's not all ranchers that feel this way it there is still a lot that do.