Elk Refuge begins supplemental winter feeding
JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — Supplemental winter feeding on the National Elk Refuge is underway, about two weeks later than the average starting date. The first day of the feed season was Monday, February 7.
“In some years, freeze-thaw cycles, or a rain event followed by freezing temperatures, can cause heavy crusting on the snowpack, which makes forage inaccessible. But that was not the case this winter,” senior wildlife biologist Eric Cole said. “Jackson Hole has been in a dry, cold cycle for over a month, and undisturbed snowpack has remained fluffy all the way to the ground.”
Heavy ungulate traffic, especially at the southern end of the Refuge, has packed the snow quite a bit, however. That makes it tougher for elk to scrape down to forage. It’s a big reason Cole, along with Wyoming Game and Fish biologist Aly Courtemanch came to the determination to begin feeding.
Weather wasn’t the only determinant in deciding when to begin feeding. The Feeding Reduction Step-Down plan also calls for reducing the length of the feeding season.
In previous years, the Refuge would begin supplemental winter feed once average available forage declines to 300 lbs. per acre. This year, the new plan calls for waiting a week after that threshold is hit.
“The net result was that we started feeding two weeks later than the long-term average, and one week later than we would have under comparable snow and forage conditions in the past,” Cole said. “We will continue to monitor the effects of reducing feed season length on elk distribution, elk mortality and disease prevalence over time.”
Ungulate numbers in southern portion of the Refuge
As of February 6, there were approximately 7,200 elk, 120 bison, and 45 bighorn sheep on the south half of the Refuge. Within the first two days of supplemental feeding, elk numbers have been relatively stable, but bison numbers increased to 300. Typically, elk and bison numbers utilizing Refuge feedgrounds continue to increase throughout the month of February. Some 20-30 pronghorn have also been sporadically observed on the northeast portion of the Refuge.
