Elk populations in BC

[Gateholio]

I need some decent numbers regarding Elk populaitons in BC.

No, I dont' want a debate about how many elk we shoudl harvest with a 3 pt season:razz:

I'm responding to an anti in a newspaper, who claims that the elk are nearly extinct. :shock:

A bit of background on the elk transplants to the Sunshine COast, Pitt meadows, Squamish woudl be great, too. I'm not muchof an elk hunter, so I'm not 100% clear on the elk populations.

[wetcoasthunter]

Post the anti's newpaper write up

[Gateholio]

It's not online yet, and I don't want to tyope it all out. And lets face it, the way I type- Noone wants that:-P

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Boy Gate! You're sure needing a lot of help lately;).

I Googled this up for you. Haven't read it yet but there are some generalizations that might help.

http://www.forrex.org/publications/jem/ISS27/vol6_no1_art5.pdf

SSS

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Another one.

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/documents/elk.pdf

SSS

[Stone Sheep Steve]

This is pretty easy.:-P

http://www.coastreporter.net/madison%5CWQuestion.nsf/CRnews/0C3E4FB30C32EE2388257428000C349B?OpenDocument

Hope you've got time to read.:smile:

SSS

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Another
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=0de834b1-eee6-47a3-8404-a94a8cf38630&k=27375

SSS

[Beardy]

http://www.outdoorcanada.ca/hunt/forecast_06.shtml The populations are healthy (at least in 2006) and this scientific paper basically concludes that the methods used for estimating numbers (often used by the MOE guys) are reliable ones, unlike what some bear activists stipulate
http://www.jstor.org/pss/3784084
If you need more info, PM me and I can hook you up with some UNBC ungulate wildlife experts (PhDs) that could provide you with some more info.

[Gateholio]

RM elk poulations 15 000 to 40 000 from 1970 to present,,,thats all I need.:tongue:

[Fisher-Dude]

It's not online yet, and I don't want to tyope it all out. And lets face it, the way I type- Noone wants that:-P

I'll second that. :roll:

[Gateholio]

Here is my letter so far, I'll try to find the original one I a m respondig to. Please let me know if I have made any errors


Neil Thompson of West Vancouver clearly doesn’t know much about hunting. He talks about killing wildlife for “fun.” The hunting part is much more “fun” than the killing part, I assure you. There really is no correlation between responsible hunting and what transpired with the bear cub at the high school. No hunter condones the dangerous and irresponsible shooting of a bear cub for no reason- It doesn’t appear to be the act of a sane person.

Mr Thompson erroneously states that elk are almost extinct, which could not be further from the truth. Elk populations (and deer, black bear, grizzly bear and wolf populations) have been growing for some time now in BC. In the 1970’s Rocky Mountain elk numbered 15 000, and now they number 40 000. The Roosevelt Elk populations on Vancouver Island have increased to the point that they can be used for transplants to areas that have lost their elk.

The Roosevelt elk that were re-introduced to mainland BC from Vancouver Island (most recently to Squamish) were transplanted using volunteers from hunting clubs. The elk that were transplanted a few years ago to the Sunshine Coast and Pitt River are thriving. There is very limited hunting of Roosevelt elk, a policy completely supported by hunters, as conservation must always be the #1 goal.

Mr Thompson objects to using public fund to recruit more hunters, but where does he think the money for wildlife research and projects comes from? Hunters and anglers have always been there to open their wallets to support conservation. Hunters and anglers are the only user groups of BC that pay for licenses before ever setting foot in the woods. Encouraging new hunter recruitment is teaching people a valuable life skill. Isn’t the being able to harvest your own food one of the most valuable life skills a person can have?

And this is something important that Mr Thompson doesn’t understand. Most wildlife is hunted for food, not to “kill for fun.” The majority of hunters in BC are hunting because it’s a long standing tradition, it’s a challenging and interesting outdoor activity and for the opportunity to obtain some Free Range Organic meat, the stuff that people pay extra for in the specialty food stores. Hunters have a reverence for the fine, lean, un-medicated and hormone free meat that they harvest themselves, in a sustainable manner.

[Fisher-Dude]

A couple of resources from the BCWF reading list:

Kerasote, Ted. Bloodties: Nature, Culture and the Hunt. Random House, NY, 1993. A thoughtful examination of the reasons why people hunt.

Murray, Allan [ed], Our Wildlife Heritage: 100 Years of Wildlife Management, Centennial Wildlife Society of BC, 1987. [available from BCWF]. Diverse collection about the history of conservation in BC.

Nelson, Richard. Heart and Blood, Living with Deer in America. Random House, 1997. Thoughtful discussion of deer hunting in North America; views hunting from perspectives of animal rights, aboriginals, as well as typical hunter. Author is a cultural anthropologist.

Ortega y Gasset, José. Meditations on Hunting. Translated by H.B. Wescott. Scribners, NY. 1972. The origin of modern philosophical discussions of hunting. Source of quote, "It is not essential to the hunt that it be successful."

Stange, Mary Zeiss. Woman the Hunter. Beacon Press. 1997. Feminist says why she hunts and argues that eco-feminism over-simplifies the nature of woman. ISBN 0-8070-4638-8

Swan, James A. In Defense of Hunting. Harper, San Francisco, CA. 1995. Well written and thoughtful discussion of why people hunt. Author is a pyschologist.

[Gateholio]

It's a letter tot he editor, not an essay!!:smile:

Still, that is a great reading list, I've read a few of those.:smile:

[Gateholio]

Too close to home, too far removed
How hypocritical our citizens are, and especially the females who howl the loudest.
The oohing and aahing over the little bear cub shot and killed outside the Whistler school: this baby orphan was the "pet of the school", how awful, how could anybody do this, etc.
Our present B.C. government, their first week in power, rescinded the previous government’s ban on bear killing for fun. Since then, the official government tally shows 1,600 bears have been killed for the fun of it.> Why no hand-wringing over this, but everybody gets all wrought up over one baby bear killed for fun?
Our government game branch promotes a full "harvest" of bears, mountain goats, mountain sheep, moose and the nearly extinct elk. They even have a special draw to see who gets the chance to kill the remaining elk for fun.
Where were all the whiners when our government asked the public for input a year ago on the proposal to use public money to recruit more females and ethnics into becoming hunters, and then instruct the newcomers in gun handling and the proper way to shoot our animals for fun? The object of course being to kill the biggest, strongest and wisest (oldest) of these species, a wonderful way to degrade the species.
In all probability, none of these sobbing females gave their opinion to government nor have they asked their MP why they support and promote this killing for fun. If we weren't so hypocritical we would be pleased the sadist at Whistler is just introducing the little kids to the fun to be had killing our wildlife.
Neil Thompson

[c.r.hunter]

Too close to home, too far removed
How hypocritical our citizens are, and especially the females who howl the loudest.
The oohing and aahing over the little bear cub shot and killed outside the Whistler school: this baby orphan was the "pet of the school", how awful, how could anybody do this, etc.
Our present B.C. government, their first week in power, rescinded the previous government’s ban on bear killing for fun. Since then, the official government tally shows 1,600 bears have been killed for the fun of it.> Why no hand-wringing over this, but everybody gets all wrought up over one baby bear killed for fun?
Our government game branch promotes a full "harvest" of bears, mountain goats, mountain sheep, moose and the nearly extinct elk. They even have a special draw to see who gets the chance to kill the remaining elk for fun.
Where were all the whiners when our government asked the public for input a year ago on the proposal to use public money to recruit more females and ethnics into becoming hunters, and then instruct the newcomers in gun handling and the proper way to shoot our animals for fun? The object of course being to kill the biggest, strongest and wisest (oldest) of these species, a wonderful way to degrade the species.
In all probability, none of these sobbing females gave their opinion to government nor have they asked their MP why they support and promote this killing for fun. If we weren't so hypocritical we would be pleased the sadist at Whistler is just introducing the little kids to the fun to be had killing our wildlife.
Neil Thompson

WOW!!! What a clueless moron!!! Hopefully they print your response Gatehouse. Perhaps Mr. Thompson should do a little reaserch before ranting about a subject he obviously has no clue about. It is easy to see how people like him can form such an oppinion by watching guys laughing and high fiving over a wounded bear on youtube.

[ruger#1]

Wildlife surge hitting crops hard

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Local farmers are being urged to cage their crops because wildlife has been destroying fields in the region with an appetite that has alarmed the provincial government enough that it has created a program to compensate growers for their losses.

The only catch is, farmers have to build cages in their fields to keep the deer, moose, elk and bears away from sample areas.

"The deer population has exploded in the past few years and they eat a large portion of the farmers' crops in some areas," said Agriculture and Lands Minister Pat Bell. "It is a big concern. It is up the Peace, it is in the Cariboo, our area as well, we've had an elk project going on in the Kootenays, bear can knock down a lot of grain when they get eating, the damage can be significant."

Farmers in particularly hard-hit areas were showing fields with as many as 2,000 deer in them at one time, lunching day and night on the expensive hays and grains. All the cost required to plant and raise the crop was lost, as was the food intended for livestock and humans.

"It is really good news," said Denise McLean, Prince George's Resource Development Agrologist. "There's not much you can do if they are taking down the crops, the numbers are so huge they pretty much have their way with your fields. That's why this is such a great program, much hoped for by farmers."

The new compensation program is specific to elk, deer, moose and bear. Some of the details of the 2008 Interim Wildlife Damage Compensation Program are:

- pays a maximum of 80 per cent of verified crop losses;

- insurable losses are not covered;

- a minimum of 10 per cent crop losses must have occurred;

- $2,500 maximum payout for 2008 claims;

- must commit to established mitigation/prevention tactics;

- exclosure cages must be in place.

According to the program's guidelines, there must be at least two exclosure cages per 100 acre fields, and you should put those cages in areas of the field where wildlife likes to be. The cages have to be constructed with 2x2-inch or 2x4-inch lumber for the frame and stucco wire for walls. The dimensions must be four feet wide by four feet long, and eight feet tall. You can build it six feet tall, but only if there is a wire lid to keep deer from jumping inside.

"Even if there's still snow on the field, I would recommend getting those exclosures out there in place now," said McLain. "Those deer are out on those fields right now and they can do a lot of damage to that developing grass, so you want to show that by having the exclosures working right away."

For more information on the 2008 Interim Wildlife Damage Compensation Program call <FONT color=#333333><FONT face=Tahoma>

[EvanG]

Talked to the Co after he inspected our kill, he said there are about 1000 elk on the sechelt penninsula, another 200 - 300 in the upper inlets, not sure about powell river, check the vancouver sun article for the squamish and pitt river numbers.

[hunter1947]

Clark talk to Kim Brunt from the Nanaimo wildlife branch ,he is the number one man for Roosevelt elk hear on the island ,he will tell you what numbers are hear on the island ,I believe that there are around 7000 ,but I could be out a bit ether way.

[Stone Sheep Steve]

I think you can certainly up that 40,000 provincial number of RME.....up to where I'm not sure. :confused:
Anyone have a clue as to the numbers of elk In7A & B?? Got to be up there especially in 7B.

SSS

[Fisher-Dude]

Try Garth Mowat for the WK and EK estimates. Probably 32,000 - 35,000 ++ now. The north has populations spread out all over the place now, and they are growing exponentially.