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Ranchers air concerns about elk in Mayfield area
Ranchers in the Mayfield area are turning to state lawmakers to help contain what they say is a significant increase in the number of elk herds over the past two decades.
The issue pertains, in part, to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game's 10-year plan on dealing with elk herds in the state.
It's a statewide issue regarding fish and game's goal to increase elk herds while finding a balance with ranchers and homeowners directly affected by those herds, said Jeff Lord, whose family owns a cattle ranch in the Mayfield area.
"Their goal is to increase the elk population," Lord said regarding the state fish and game department's plan.
However, an apparent lack of transparency regarding the numbers of elk that state officials want to maintain and what is actually appropriate in areas like Mayfield "is maddening," Lord said.
"It's frustrating on where they're going with the plan," Lord said. "We don't know if they put the winter range in their plan."
The Mayfield flat includes a mixture of private and public land and serves as a pasture for livestock as well as winter range for elk, deer and pronghorn antelope that migrate during the winter months.
The numbers of migrating wildlife herds in that part of the county is raising concerns over depredation -- the loss of rangeland forage on private and public land during the fall and winter, said Evin Oneale, a spokesman with the Idaho fish and game's regional office in Nampa. There are additional concerns that herd animals could cause extra damage to crops as well as hay and other food set aside specifically for cattle on local ranches.
There's been a "huge increase" in elk numbers over the past 20 years, Lord said. Back in the 1980s, for example, there were maybe one or two elk that would migrate into the Mayfield area every year.
Today, that number is in the thousands, he said.
According to Oneale, the large number of elk in the area remain a major concern since they typically cause the most amount of depredation damage. Deer and antelope herds, which also migrate into the Mayfield area, can also impact these lands but to a lesser extent, he said.
The Pony Complex Fire that swept through the area last summer only worsened the depredation potential this winter, Oneale said.
However, Lord contends the issue isn't as significant this year compared to previous seasons. A milder winter is encouraging fewer elk to migrate into the Mayfield area, despite the loss of winter habitat due to the fires, he said.
Lord added that elk were spotted near the cabins in the Pine community. This wasn't always the case in previous years.
Following last year's range fires, fish and game officials met with landowners directly impacted by the range fire to discuss potential conflicts this winter with migrating herds, Oneale said. During those September meetings, they also identified strategies to minimize or mitigate potential wildlife damage.
For example, fish and game officials moved 163 tons of feed pellets to strategic locations in the Mayfield area for emergency winter feeding, Oneale added. They also gained approval from the Idaho Department of Lands to conduct emergency feeding on its properties if necessary.
Mild winter conditions allowed fish and game officials to hold off on emergency feeding procedures, he added.
As part of a long-term solution, more than $250,000 was set aside to rehabilitate 12,400 acres of state land as well as another 3,000 acres of forest service land.
According to Lord, many of the elk that migrate through the Mayfield area will make the yearly trek from areas as far away as Idaho City as they seek land to forage. This could be tied, in part, to a previous plan by fish and game to shut down wildlife feeding stations that were set up in the mountains during the winter, he added.
Meanwhile, fish and game uses designated hunts each year to discourages large numbers of elk from migrating into the Mayfield area. The region is located in Unit 39 -- an open hunting area designated by state officials.
However, once the hunts end, the herds come right back, Lord said.
"We're not seeing any downturn in numbers," he added.
At the same time, ranchers and homeowners in the Mayfield area contend that some of those hunters don't respect their land and are known to cut fences and chase game animals through crop fields.
Lord and other ranchers in the area have made their case with state officials regarding the elk situation. They remain optimistic that some progress will be made to find an appropriate balance.
In November, fish and game officials began flying over the region to monitor range conditions and the distribution of wildlife.
"We have been conducting aerial surveys in that location every two weeks since the first of the year and will continue to do so into the future," Oneale said.
Flights flown to date indicate that current elk numbers are below those recorded in previous years, he added.
Aerial survey conducted by state fish and game officials in late December and early January showed there were less than 1,000 head of elk in the Mayfield area, he added.
A survey flight conducted Dec. 31 showed that elk had migrated south of Foothill Road between the Ditto Creek and Blacks Creek road areas. At least two heads of more than 200 head of elk were seen as far south as Base Line Road.
A follow-up survey conducted two weeks later indicated that most of the elk had begun moving back north. However, there were still three herds of up to 325 head of elk each still reported in the vicinity of Foothill Road.
"Elk tend to band together during winter months in large groups, while deer prefer to remain more scattered," Oneale said. "Elk tend to move around the area much more than do mule deer -- a behavioral difference between the two species."
That migratory pattern many explain some of the confusion people have regarding the number of elk in the Mayfield area, he added. People may see a large group of elk in one location on a given day and see a large herd in a different area a couple of days later.
"That might very well be the same group of animals," Oneale said.