St. Helen’s elk continue to suffer

DOUG HUDDLE

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Despite an intensive late-winter emergency feeding program, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists and volunteer surveyors found nearly 150 dead elk on the Mount St. Helen’s Wildlife Area.

It’s the highest elk winterkill ever tallied in the locale dominated by large mudflow fields on the northwest flanks of the active volcano. The previous high count of 79 elk that died of malnutrition and winter stress was in 1999.

State workers and volunteers hauled in and spread more than 131 tons of hay through the late winter into spring to sustain close to 800 elk that had moved in from other areas to find food in the harsh winter conditions.

Managers estimate that the Toutle River drainage snowpack is twice as deep as in average years.

That coupled with cooler and wetter than normal weather patterns this spring have severely impacted elk bands in the area.

According to reports, winterkill losses have been observed in other bands of the herd outside the 2,773-acre Mount St. Helen’s Wildlife Area, indicating this winter’s impacts weren’t limited to just the chronic problem zone.

FEEDING IS A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD

Managers speculate that winter feeding may have contributed to the higher winter-kill rate in the survey area this year by attracting more animals than have been there in the past.

“Artificial feeding may have helped some elk through the winter, but it’s not without its drawbacks,” said Regional Wildlife Program Manager Sandra Jonker. “The main problem is that it tends to further concentrate these animals, which can spread disease and disrupt natural behavior.”

Biologists have concluded that the long-term solution for the Mount St. Helen’s herd is to reduce its numbers to a level that can be sustained by the ever-changing post-eruption forage habitat.

A five-year herd reduction program is underway that is expected to lower the herd population from 12,500 to 10,000 animals.

Also in progress are efforts to stabilize productive riparian corridors along the Toutle River and increase the nutritional value of forage through liming and fertilization.

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Friday, May. 16, 2008

St. Helen’s elk continue to suffer

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