Elk numbers

[accurateone]

I was up near Mt Spokane this winter and we usually see 100 + elk heard come down out of the tree line into the fields on our old farm to drink in the creek, it's something we look forward to every Christmas. But this year we never saw the heard and very few elk at all.
Also know one who horse packs into Idaho each season to hunt from heard of about 300. Says last two years hasn't seen them & hasn't even heard the bugling. How are the heards here in Oregon holding up? IS all this info on saveelk.com realistic?
I would like to think we can still choose to put meat on our families tables.

Read More

 

[The Cheese]

I was up near Mt Spokane this winter and we usually see 100 + elk heard come down out of the tree line into the fields on our old farm to drink in the creek, it's something we look forward to every Christmas. But this year we never saw the heard and very few elk at all.
Also know one who horse packs into Idaho each season to hunt from heard of about 300. Says last two years hasn't seen them & hasn't even heard the bugling. How are the heards here in Oregon holding up? IS all this info on saveelk.com realistic?
I would like to think we can still choose to put meat on our families tables.

I have seen some good herds out here in the coast range, and even saw a big herd one morning just north of hillsboro. Also my wife's grandpa who lives out by Banks says the elk have moved more north away from the highway. He says its due to the use of chemicals on the grass fields and they don't like it. I know my dad who is in moscow ID had a hard time with elk hunting this last year, but if he had a moose tag he could have filled it 10x over. So go figure. Also, I don't think that he was trying to terribly hard either.

I think that the elk are doing ok overall, it could just be that their seasonal patterns have changed a bit due to encroachment farming changes. you also have to take into consideration the proliferation of those alskan wolves they re-introduce in ID and MT. They are a non native species and are significantly larger than the wolves that were previously found in the lower 48. Thusly they take a lot more large game. I saw this last winter when I went snowmobiling with my dad. Saw a couple elk carcasses torn up. Don't recall ever seeing a dead animal out there before, and I have been snowmobiling with him since I was 10 (28 now). I guess someone in the area by my dad hit a wolf and it supposedly huge. My money would be on these wolves getting out of hand. They are now teetering on coming off the endangered species list and might even become open to hunting in the not so distant future.

 

[accurateone]

Thanks for the response CHEESE Would like to see wolves come off the endangered list before they kill off too many of the undulating mountain species I so love to eat.

 

[SDR]

Elk #'s in Oregon are actually real good..Judging #'s by the amount seen in fields is not real accurate...They are a food driven critter and they want the easiest food to get to and the best quality...A farmer could have changed something or hunting pressure could have pushed them out of the area or they just simply cycled into new ground until the old one is up to snuff again...Oregon has the second largest #'s,Most of the Elk are on the coast...Oregon Rocky Mountain in the East are healthy and growing and the Rocky/Rosie mixes in the cascades are doing real good also..The mixed Are some of the biggest critters around... The Cascade Elk are my favorite...

 

[accurateone]

Thanks for your reply
Good news is always welcome

 

[nimrod243]

We went elk hunting in the coast range near Alsea, Oregon in 2009. We only made it out for a half day hunt, but we didn't see anything.

We are looking forward to going out to hunt this fall in the coast range. I know there are lots of elk out there.

nimrod243