Kootney elk

[Weatherby Fan]

I think a combination of some really bad winters, Predator explosion of Grizzly Bears and wolves where we’ve hunted for 25 years, lack of habitat enhancement and the liberal hunting for a few years with lots of LEH and youth and senior seasons made for a perfect storm, hard to put the blame on any one thing imho

[338win mag]

^^^^so Jared, I'm asking seriously not with any spiteful intentions, what do you think caused the decline then?? Because what I'm told is the GOS/LEH authorizations in the trench etc is what led to the rapid declines...what do you think cause the large scale declines then??

Second time I have said this......The private land owners have been allowing people on to their land and shooting the Cows, all people not just FN.

I dont understand why guys are so confused, shoot the females and you destroy any population I am aware of, this is exactly what happened to the Buffalo.
There should be so many Elk in the East/West Kootenay and in the peace that we all have ample opportunity to hunt Elk.

I just dont understand how anyone can even guess how many Elk are being shot when some guys are heading home from some big ranches with 10-15 Elk at a time, then they probably go back for another truckload.
They do the same thing in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

The only solution to the unwanted Elk on private land is to fence it off at a ridiculously high price, and who pays for that?
Elk and ranching dont go together very well, just ask any rancher.

[Wild one]

I think a combination of some really bad winters, Predator explosion of Grizzly Bears and wolves where we’ve hunted for 25 years, lack of habitat enhancement and the liberal hunting for a few years with lots of LEH and youth and senior seasons made for a perfect storm, hard to put the blame on any one thing imho

I would say you are right on point

[micus]

I know the WK hunts were on some folks radar "always".

What I meant (didn't explain it well), is that there was a time when I would be up hunting elk in the EK, where the majority of hunters (atleast half) were from "outside the EK" (from LM to Vernon).
But now, I rarely run into anybody up there that is not a local EK Resident.

Because it is so bad, many of the longtime EK elk hunters who aren't local have either headed up to the Peace, or, "did take a poke at the WK" hunts once GOS opened.

Of course any LEH is going to provide game that may grow to a fuller maturity, thus a chance to take a large antlered bull.
BUT, are we hunting for trophy in this province? or for a successful hunt with meat?
(Right now we are not doing either!!??)

What good is it, if the province becomes LEH, and 90% of us get to sit home?
I much rather harvest a smaller bull (antler wise) than wait til I get drawn for a once in a lifetime.
(Sure, we could have the odd MU on an LEH, but not the entire Region, imo)

But first, we need to push the ministry that 12,000 head in the EK is BS!
If that is the case, the Peace and WK will get hit harder than even in the past.
People want to hunt, and want a chance of success.
The EK is no longer offering that.
And we have the Ministry and Private Sectors to blame for it this time around.
Not hunters.

mmmmmmmm..... Pull up any FSR from West Creston to just north of Cranbrook come Sept 11th and all you see if 5th wheels and trucks with quad decks/trailers. Yahk main, kidd, plumbob, don't even get me started on the bull ( you could put in a set of Traffic lights and a tim hortons at the entrance in sept).

I support people traveling to hunt and us all taking advantage of hunting opportunities as BC residents. BUT, as an EK resident, I can tell you this place fills up with the mass migration from LM / Vancouver/ surrey, van isl, etc etc in Sept.

[RobU]

I understand there are pockets of excellent elk populations in the Kootneys ,but not sure of hunting access.Any local information would be appreciated...

Im a long time Kootenay hunter. Very passionate about the koots.
Region 4 ungulates in big trouble. Wolves, cats, bears, coyotes, resident hunting and our favourite elephant in the room... unregulated hunting are huge pressures being placed on our elk , deer, sheep, moose and goats.
You will find good information hard to find these days and my recent trip to the symposium in Cranbrook can verify there are very few pockets of good elk hunting left in the once magnificent region 4. Just pick a few likely areas and put in some effort... you may find one or more of these spots. Keep in mind many others will be searching too. Just enjoy the outing and you will find great wild places to hunt now and hopefully in a brighter future when region 4 rings with bugling bulls again.
My 2018 elk hunt in koots revealed mountains and valleys once thriving with elk now reduced to mere ghost towns. But a great time hiking and glassing had by all.

[HarryToolips]

Second time I have said this......The private land owners have been allowing people on to their land and shooting the Cows, all people not just FN.

I dont understand why guys are so confused, shoot the females and you destroy any population I am aware of, this is exactly what happened to the Buffalo.
There should be so many Elk in the East/West Kootenay and in the peace that we all have ample opportunity to hunt Elk.

I just dont understand how anyone can even guess how many Elk are being shot when some guys are heading home from some big ranches with 10-15 Elk at a time, then they probably go back for another truckload.
They do the same thing in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

The only solution to the unwanted Elk on private land is to fence it off at a ridiculously high price, and who pays for that?
Elk and ranching dont go together very well, just ask any rancher.

That's really sad, so you're saying there's a lot of poaching happening as well and not just by FN?

Didn't we have a petition going around not long ago asking our prov. govt to put all of our hunting and hunting tag revenue back into wildlife? Because we need it bad, when we finally get it one day, aside from pred management maybe one of the first issues they should address with the $$ is putting up fencing around ranches in in parts of reg 4 like you mentioned...

[HighCountryBC]

mmmmmmmm..... Pull up any FSR from West Creston to just north of Cranbrook come Sept 11th and all you see if 5th wheels and trucks with quad decks/trailers. Yahk main, kidd, plumbob, don't even get me started on the bull ( you could put in a set of Traffic lights and a tim hortons at the entrance in sept).

I support people traveling to hunt and us all taking advantage of hunting opportunities as BC residents. BUT, as an EK resident, I can tell you this place fills up with the mass migration from LM / Vancouver/ surrey, van isl, etc etc in Sept.

Who cares where people come from to hunt? No different than everyone heading to the coast to fish. That’s just a NIMBY attitude and has nothing to do with the population challenges.

[micus]

Who cares where people come from to hunt? No different than everyone heading to the coast to fish. That’s just a NIMBY attitude and has nothing to do with the population challenges.

Not sure what NIMBY means.. but as I stated. I have no problem with people traveling to hunt. Which is why I stated "I support people traveling to hunt"

But to answer your question of "who cares where people come from the hunt"?

LOTS of people around here do.

[Kootenaykid85]

98% Of people posting on here or that come over to the kootenays from the coast/interior are lazy incompetent hunters. You come over here towing your trailers and quads, drive around shooting anything that is legal. Go home log on here rub your hands together and then start complaining about population numbers and predators..... asking for new areas to hunt. Its hilarious.
I am honestly glad the ungulate poplation is at a low makes it a tad harder for me, makes me go a little deeper. See some new country some new animals, the best part will be not having to see the crowds anymore!!. If your literally just coming over here to animals for "meat" when you know there is a problem in our wildlife managemt, then you are no worse then the people trying to stop hunting. If you have the money to buy the stuff for "fancy hunting" then you have the money to support the cattle industry.
You shouldnt be asking "hey where are the rest of the animals that havent been shot or eaten or hit by cars and trains living so i can finish them off"?? you should be starting threads like... " What can we do to help the situation over there".

[j270wsm]

I call bullsh*t on the theory that hunters are the primary reason that ungulate numbers are down. Between Fernie and km128 north of Elkford( almost 100km ) there was 300 cow elk tags given out per yr for 10yrs. I’m going to guess that there was 2500 cows taken during that time. Are people that blind that they think a heard of 8000 elk will be reduced to their current numbers( maybe 1500-2000 ) by hunters alone in 10yrs?????

In a herd of 8000 elk, 5000 are probably cows. If 3500 have calves( pretty sure this number would be higher ) of those calves 2275 are cows( basing this off a guess that 35% of calves are bulls ) let’s say 35% of the calves survive to breed. That gives us around 800 cows.....that’s a lot more than my guess of 250 cows per yr being killed by hunters.

I guarantee my math isn’t perfect and my percentages are off but it paints a good picture that in my part of the east kootenays it’s not just the hunters. Trains, vehicles, poaching, and predators take just as many or more elk than hunters alone.

Maybe someone with better computer skills could find and post numbers from a government source that shows survival numbers and cow/bull ratios for calves.