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“To protect Idaho's hunting and fishing heritage. To fight against all legal and legislative attempts by the animal rights and anti-gun organizations who are attempting to take away our rights and freedoms under the constitution of the United States Of America. To hold all Government and State Agencies who are stewards of our Wildlife accountable and ensure that science is used as the primary role for our Wildlife management."
   




During the severe winter of 1996-1997 and until the Spring of 1998, Idaho Fish and Game didn't have a clue that they just lost as high as 10,000 elk in the Lolo Zone! The following newspapere articles prove that IDFG was completely negligent at monitoring our elk! They also claimed the following: "Aerial and ground surveys of elk in northern units of the Clearwater Region last spring showed no signs of unusual winter kill". The truth is that they did not do an aerial count of the Lolo in 1997 as they claimed they did but waited until 1998 when they finally realized the elk were gone! They called their 1997 a "Non traditional interpolated count' which translates that it was accomplished on a computer!

Concerned Sportsman were labeled as Alarmists for complaining to IDFG that the elk had winterkilled during 1996-1997 and IDFG continued to educate worried sportsman not to worry as this was an average winter kill and their experts were on the ground monitoring!

This same type of criticismn has been leveled at Sportsman who have complained for the past many years that wolves were decimating elk herds in the Lolo Zone!

 

Gross Incompetance, negligence, Lack of monitoring efforts

Big game; Harsh winter took a toll on region's elk

Bill Loftus
Published: Lewiston Tribune

1997-05-29
Page: 1C

 

 

   The elk in the Clearwater Region took a harder hit than usual during the winter just past. But the losses to the long winter marked by record mountain snows isn't outside the normal range, Idaho Fish and Game Department officials say. Jay Crenshaw, the agency's regional wildlife manager at Lewiston, said Fish and Game biologists have been monitoring conditions and the herd since January.
The agency this spring also sent biologists out into the heart of the region's elk ranges to check for the carcasses of elk that didn't survive the weather. "There's no doubt we had some losses," Crenshaw said, "but we haven't seen anything to suggest it's outside the normal range."
About 5 to 10 percent of the elk herd dies off during the winter most years, Crenshaw said, adding this year's losses might be pushing that upper end of the range. Crenshaw said most of the region's elk herd wintered at elevations low enough to avoid the deepest snows. During surveys of game units 10A and 12 along the Clearwater River's North Fork, however, it appeared some elk may have been trapped by deep snow in remote areas, Crenshaw said.


Along the Lochsa River, the worst conditions appeared from about Fish Creek upstream, Crenshaw said.

His memo outlining the health of the herd is in response to worries about the winter kill voiced by sportsmen during Fish and Game Director Steve Mealey's April visit.Tracking the number of elk that die during the late winter and early spring is difficult because of the remoteness of the wintering areas, Crenshaw said. The spring surveys along the North Fork and other prime areas did turn up some carcasses. Crenshaw said an agency technician found about 50 elk carcasses along the North Fork in mid-April.That's about equal to a local outfitter's report in the same area in 1993, a winter that was relatively uneventful for the elk herd, Crenshaw said.
Another bit of evidence that the herd survived the winter relatively well, Crenshaw said, was provided by research biologists marking cow elk for a calf survival study this spring. All of the 40 elk marked units 12 and 15 during March appeared to be in at least average body condition, indicating they should survive the winter, Crenshaw said. None died as a result of being in poor condition.
Crenshaw said hunters may find fewer elk, particularly yearling or spike bulls, in some areas during hunting seasons this fall. The losses of calves during the winter was probably greatest along the North Fork, Lochsa and Selway rivers, he said.
But the losses are unlikely to be severe enough to require any changes in regulations, Crenshaw said. Nor does he expect long range consequences.
"The long term survival of elk in the Clearwater Region is not in jeopardy as a result of the influence of this past winter," Crenshaw said.
     

 

 

1997 Interpolated Count

Associated Press
Published: Lewiston Tribune

1997-12-04
Page: 2C

 

BOISE -- Abundant moisture followed by a mild fall is good for big game but not for hunters.
The Idaho Fish and Game Department said hunter success appears to be off in most regions of the state this fall. Official hunter surveys have not been conducted yet, but indications are that fewer than the normal number of tags were filled.
High big games losses due to severe weather last winter were a factor in the Panhandle. Record snowfalls had a big impact on whitetail deer herds at higher elevations and to a lesser extent on elk. The weather, combined with a lack of snow this fall, halved hunter success from last year. More deer were found in Panhandle valleys where winter losses were less. But deer also remain a source of depredation complaints in agricultural areas.
Some Clearwater Region hunters have complained about finding fewer elk this fall, particularly in units around Dworshak Reservoir. Hunter success also was off in that region.
Aerial and ground surveys of elk in northern units of the Clearwater Region last spring showed no signs of unusual winter kill.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The truth finally is revealed after Sportsman complain for almost 2 years!

  Bill Loftus
Published: Lewiston Tribune

1998-02-26
Page: 1D

 

 

Spurred by increasing worries about one of the state's top elk herds, Idaho Fish and Game Department officials want to cut the number of hunters along the Lochsa and North Fork of the Clearwater rivers next fall.
The Clearwater Region staff proposed limiting the numbers of general rifle hunt permits for bull elk to 1,500 in the Lolo Zone, which includes game units 10 and 12.
The agency suspended sales of non-resident permits Friday until the Fish and Game Commission meets next week at Idaho Falls to set fall hunting regulations and figure out how the department will divy up the available permits. Commission member Keith Carlson of Lewiston said he expects the proposal to pass because the Lolo Zone's problems are well-known and documented.Elsewhere in the state, elk herds are prospering.In 1996, the most recent season for which totals are available, agency officials estimate 3,000 hunters pursued elk during the general rifle season in the zone east of Pierce and Lowell.
During helicopter game surveys this winter, the agency found elk numbers had dropped dramatically in unit 10 since 1994. Much of the problem was blamed on the long, hard winter of 1996-97.
Other persistent problems, ranging from predators to a decline in elk habitat caused by aging brushfields, have also been long recognized in the area.
The total number of elk dropped by nearly half, while the number of bull elk dropped by 71 percent.
The survey reinforced reports from hunters in unit 10 and neighboring 12 from the past several years that elk numbers were dropping and bulls in particular were becoming harder to find.