EVERYTHING ON HUNTING

The most prized game bird of upland game hunters in the northern belt of states is the ruffed grouse, one of a large family of birds that inhabit North America. In the same family is the pinnated grouse commonly known as the prairie chicken. Other members of the family include the dusky grouse of the west, Franklin’s grouse of the Pacific states, the Hudsonian grouse of northern Canada, sharp-tailed grouse of the western plains states and their numerous subspecies.

The grouse is almost impossible to raise in captivity, so its restocking is much more difficult than with other birds. Mother Nature, then, is the grouse’s only guide, with man its best friend and protector. Nature takes care of the grouse by constantly varying the cycle of abundance.

When the birds become too crowded in a certain area, she steps in with a disease which all but eliminates the species. Then, for a few years, the number of birds gradually increases again. Most conservation authorities have tried to follow these natural cycles in an effort to keep the birds at a more even level.

Grouse are readily identified by the black and brown-banded fan-shaped tail, the two tufts or ruffs on each side of the neck and the crested head. Both male and female are colored alike. There are two general hues of color, one gray and the other rust-red.

The most interesting time of the year is in the spring, when they are in the mating mood and when they can be seen and photographed while drumming on a log to attract a female. The whirr of their wings can be heard for some distance in the woods, as they vibrate their flight feathers in a terrific dance to impress their mate-to-be. At this time it is possible to approach with the camera for some excellent photos of the courtship.

Their flight when aroused is quick and erratic. They explode from the brush and quite often the gunner or observer is shocked momentarily because of the sudden sound coming from almost beneath his feet. The course of flight from there on out will be one of zig-zags through the leaves and branches as the bird tries to put as much natural cover between himself and you.

No two grouse ever rise in the same way, so there is no characteristic flight to study in order to be a better shot. Hunters who are successful on grouse shoot instinctively. Somehow or other their shotgun barrels seem to point in the right direction, with enough lead to deliver the shot pattern on target. They are even harder to photograph because their course in the air is so unpredictable.

Grouse are best hunted with dogs, preferably a springer spaniel or perhaps an English setter. These dogs should be trained for grouse specifically, since grouse act entirely differently than pheasants or other game birds. A good quail dog is often at a loss, due to a strange and complicated terrain.

The perfect experience is enjoyed with a good dog who is able to locate a grouse on the ground and hold it on point until the hunter moves up to flush it. If the bird is shot, its coloration blends so perfectly with the forest floor that the dog, with his keen sense of smell is relied upon to fetch it.

Grouse usually live to an age of about six years and are able to stand the severe winters of the northern climes. They are smart too, and in recent years boldly hold out in the face of real estate developments and advancing civilization. The key to their survival is food, mostly berries and seeds, and a good supply of unpolluted water. They prefer to live near the hemlock and pine forests where they can dodge their predators and take flight into the thick trees. Near their protective haunts, they must have a generous food supply year-round.

With these pointers in mind, the hunter and photographer alike should enjoy the beauty of the grouse.

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Deer hunting, an art and a sport, has many tricks which the novice should try to discover as soon as possible. Some of these essential tips and tricks are outlined below.

In the mountain area of the west, the white-tail deer gives way to other species. The former have never learned to make the annual migration that is necessary in a region of heavy snow fall and as a result the mule deer is in possession of the area. In the few localities where the Virginia deer is found, it is necessary to use slightly different hunting methods.

Difficult travel conditions and greater visibility in the more open woods force the successful hunter to use glasses for spotting game at a distance, and long-range guns equipped with telescope sights are needed in order to shoot deer which are often in, or across, ravines where any chance of a close approach would be almost impossible.

Similar conditions exist in the open, near desert country of the southwest where most of the deer will be found in the brush-filled ravines, and cover for successful stalking is almost nonexistent.

I know that the cry of a fawn will call a doe during the summer months, yet I have never heard this call in the hunting season. The fawns are large enough to be on their own at this time and the doe has other things on her mind. I have halted running deer by imitating the cry of a fawn, but I have also stopped them by making other sounds. I have found that if a deer hears any sound that it cannot immediately locate and identify, it will stop and make sure that it is not heading into danger.

I have never used any of the commercial scents to attract deer, but any scent that is based on sexual attraction should be effective if properly prepared and used.

The use of deodorizers to remove or disguise the man scent can do no harm, unless the substance used is something that is repulsive to deer.

I have tried to conceal my odor by adding the odor of deer and I am sure that this practice has aided my hunting at times. I usually add the deer odor by obtaining the glands that are located on the inner side of the back legs of a doe and rubbing these glands on my clothing. The odor from these tufts of hair is strong and distinctive enough to hide the human odor, and, as it is a natural deer odor, it is not offensive to the deer.

While bearing this scent, I have had bucks follow my trail for long distances and nothing except lack of patience prevented me from shooting some of them. I would lay a trail and then I would fail to wait long enough for them to overtake me.

I am sure that it was not just a coincidence that they followed my trail, for on one occasion, a buck followed me across an open field to within two hundred yards of my house before he decided that he was wasting his time. I had waited for him for over an hour and then I had left the stand to go to the house for something to eat. The big disadvantage in making a scent trail, such as this, is that a man can never be sure that a buck will find and follow the trail.

With time and experience, you will add to the information I have outlined above, and become an even more effective deer hunter than you are now.

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The real purpose of any big-game hunting trip is to have an enjoyable and rewarding experience in the great outdoors. In addition, every hunter hopes to climax such an experience by taking a prized game animal. That is the unsurpassed thrill of any hunt.

It is wise to do some thoughtful and early planning. Careful preparation not only assures your own enjoyment, but it is the best guarantee for the success of the hunt and the safety of yourself and your hunting companions.

The Hunting Partner

Perhaps the most important is the wise choice of a hunting partner. Solo hunts, or occasionally taking off into the hills alone to enjoy getting back to nature, are fine experiences. But in big hunting country, where the remaining concentrations of our big-game supply are found, hunting alone is not sensible.

It is far safer, especially when after the larger species of game, to hunt with a partner and it is less laborious to be able to share the necessary heavy chores. But most important, a hunting trip, like any satisfying experience, must be shared with someone to be completely enjoyed.

Unless the partner has been on previous hunts, good questions to ask about him are: How stable a person is he? How does he react to unavoidable inconvenience? How dependable would he be if the chips were down and someone’s life depended upon his decisions and courage?

The partner who qualifies in such vital respects, and loves the outdoors, is apt to have the numerous other qualities which will make him a prized companion. And, of course, he has the right to expect the same overall sportsmanship and dependability from you.

Choosing A Hunting Area

The game one wishes to hunt is, of course, a fundamental consideration. No hunter should ever plan a hunt with the simple hope that he will bag anything that jumps up, or that he is “out after everything.” Well in advance of his hunt, he should determine what species he wants most, then route the hunt into a region where he is most apt to find that species. Additional species should be regarded as a bonus.

Broadly speaking, the best areas for any game species are those regions where game has been hunted the least. There the biggest trophy heads will be found. Competition with other hunters will be less keen. Danger will be less all the way around. And the game itself, in proportion to the degree it has previously been in contact with man, will be less wary.

Sources of Hunting Information

In choosing a region in which to hunt any game species, one of the hunter’s best tools is a good map. Some of the best maps for the purpose are the hunting maps published by the state game departments especially for hunters. These usually are available free by early fall in states having shootable numbers of any game species. The interested hunter may obtain one simply by writing the Fish & Game Department at the capital of the state or province in which he wishes to hunt.

Outfitters and Guides

Some states and provinces require the services of a licensed guide for the nonresident hunter. Such a service is considered by the game commissions to be necessary not only as a measure to prevent game-law violations but, equally important, to keep hunters unfamiliar with the country from becoming lost.

In primitive country, the lost-hunter situation each fall is a serious business. The Forest Service, Fish & Game Departments, mounted posses, and state flying organizations have to donate time, money, and effort to retrieving lost hunters from rugged, remote mountain terrain. Requiring the nonresident hunter to employ a licensed guide or outfitter largely eliminates this problem.

He can lead the hunter to the best trophies. And as part of his services, the guide does much of the prosaic camp work, such as tending horses and pack mules, logging up wood, setting up camp, and lugging things around. This leaves the hunter all his time to hunt and enjoy himself.

Plan your hunting trip well and you will be more successful and enjoy yourself more.

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Thousands of deer hunters head for the woods every hunting season with the avowed intention of bagging a deer. Most of these hunters are indifferent as to how this is accomplished, but the true sportsman likes to know that the kill is the result of his own efforts and that it is not merely the result of an accidental encounter. The highest goal which he can aim for is the unaided stalking and killing of a deer, preferably one that is resting in a bed of its own choosing.

Unfortunately there is no hard and fast rule which the hunter can use in order to locate these resting and bedding places. There is nothing to prevent deer from lying down anywhere they happen to be and they do this very thing during the night after feeding. During the daytime rest period, they seek seclusion where they will be safe from enemies and, to some extent, be protected from the weather.

It is seldom possible to stalk a resting deer by following its track to its bed, for it invariably watches its back trail. The hunter should use his knowledge of the area to which the deer seems to be heading, in order to judge where the animal might be located and then stalk that area or the most promising locations in that area.

Deer seem to be partial to low ridges when choosing bedding grounds and will often use them even when they are near well-traveled roads. Such places are almost impossible to approach from the road without detection by the deer. These locations should be approached from the opposite side, or the stalk should be made along the top of the ridge if wind or other conditions make the former approach undesirable. It is always best to try to approach any bedding area from an unexpected direction.

As a rule, deer do not use the same bedding place day after day. They have many of these places over their range and use one that is near the area where they are feeding. If they stay several days in one part of their range (which is unusual) they might use the same bedding place while in that area. If I should jump a deer from its bed on one day and if the signs indicated that the same deer was in the same section on the following day, that bed would be the first place that I would look for him.

When stalking deer, the most important thing for the stalker to avoid is the possibility of his scent alarming the animal. The only sure way to do this is to face the wind while hunting.

Noise is the next thing which the hunter must avoid if he expects to stalk deer successfully. Some hunters think that noise will alert a deer as quickly as scent, and perhaps they are right; but I am sure in my own mind that deer can identify an odor with more certainty than they can a sound.

The sound of footsteps can be reduced by wearing the proper footwear. It is almost impossible to travel quietly in the woods if shod in hard-soled shoes. Rubber is the quietest practical material for hunting footwear, but the soles should be soft enough so that minor irregularities in the ground may be felt with the foot.

The true woodsman walks with the knees slightly bent so that there is no solid thump when the foot hits the ground. The ball of the foot touches the ground first and the whole foot comes in contact before the weight of the body is transferred from the other foot.

The successful stalking of bedded deer is a task for the expert – the specialist of the hunting fraternity. The novice will have more success in stalking feeding deer. This should not deter the novice, or restrict his stalking activity. He should attempt all types of hunting, for this is the only way that he can improve his ability to the point where he becomes an expert.

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In order to enjoy the sport of deer hunting fully, a hunter needs a thorough understanding of the animal and, to a lesser extent, of the country to be hunted. This knowledge cannot be obtained in one short hunt, but must be acquired by years of hunting, by reading or by listening to other hunters who have this knowledge.

A very successful hunter once told me that deer hunting was ninety percent luck and ten per cent good marksmanship. He had hunted for a good many years and should have known what he was talking about.

‘All that a man needs to do to shoot a deer,’ he said, ‘is to be in the right place at the right time and to be able to hit any deer that he sees.’

This man believed it was luck that placed him at the right place at the right time, but I am sure that the knowledge that he had unconsciously acquired about the habits of the deer in the territory where he hunted had a lot to do in enabling him to shoot most of his deer. While luck certainly plays an important part in deer hunting, the man who depends entirely on it is very apt to be disappointed at the end of the hunt.

The need for hunting knowledge varies with the method used while hunting. It requires little knowledge to shoot a deer in the nighttime with the aid of a light.

This is nothing but butchery of a bewildered defenseless animal. On the other hand, the man who enters the woods armed with a bow and a few arrows, who attempts to outwit an animal in full possession of all its faculties, must have a thorough knowledge of that animal to be successful.

I am not in favor of bow-and-arrow hunting for everyone, for, although the hunting arrow is deadly in the hands of an expert, the average hunter is too unfamiliar with the weapon to make clean kills – a necessary part of good sportsmanship.

A hunting method favored by many is to walk the woods roads and trails as quietly as possible, usually against the wind, with the hope of jumping a deer to shoot. I enjoy this type of hunting in the less heavily populated areas. By traveling quietly while constantly watching for game, a man will see many wilderness sights that will often repay him for the walk even if he fails to bag a deer.

I have killed quite a few deer by using this method and have seen many others that I did not shoot. On two occasions I have seen sleeping deer before they awoke. I permitted one of these to make a successful escape without firing a shot, but I killed the other – a nice eight-point buck – as soon as it started to run. I have always considered that these two hunts were equally successful, although a memory was the only reward for one of them.

One of the most important requirements for this type of hunting is good eyesight. Not necessarily 20-20 vision, but the ability to evaluate the constantly changing scene and to distinguish the difference between shadow and concrete objects. The ability to pick out one of the best camouflage of animals in its natural habitat. This hunting vision is not a thing that we are born with. It must be acquired and cultivated by hunting experience.

Hunting deer is an art as well as a sport, and with the right attitude and skills can be one of the most enjoyable of all. Good hunting!

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The archer has a choice of methods of aiming, or sighting. They may be loosely classified into three groups: direct, indirect or point of aim, and the hunting aim.

The direct, or bow sight method of aiming has in recent years become increasingly popular on the target range and has gradually supplanted the indirect, or point of aim method of aiming.

The hunting aim, generally employed in combination with the high anchor, is favored by field shooters. This method of aiming, erroneously referred to as the instinctive method, is comparable with the wing shot’s method of pointing a shot gun when gunning for grouse or other fast flying birds. Neither shooter depends on mechanical sights of any kind. Both keep their eyes fixed on the target, fit the weapon, be it a bow or a shot gun, to the position indicated by this line of vision, and discharge the weapon.

Just as a good grouse shot cannot write out a step by step diagram on how to hit a grouse, neither is there a short course of instruction which will enable the archer to master the hunting aim. The grouse hunter acquires proficiency only through constant and repeated efforts to kill grouse. Note: The expert still misses lots of them. The archer will acquire the ability to judge unknown distances and to deliver an arrow to the mark only through continued practice. Once an archer has acquired this ability, he can draw and release an arrow quicker than by any other method. This is a distinct advantage when game is flushed from hiding by the hunter.

Using the high anchor, the hand is raised along the side of the face, and the head is tilted a bit to the right, to bring the right eye directly over the arrow. The arrow shaft is then lined up with the target. The top of the bow is also canted slightly to the right. Keep both eyes open and focused on the center of the target while shooting. As you draw, indirect vision will permit keeping the arrow in proper alignment.

The scores of target archers have shown consistent improvement since a sight has been adapted to use on the bow. Similar, in principle, to an adjustable rear sight on a rifle, the bow sight can be adjusted for elevation and windage, or horizontal deflection. The sight is affixed to the back of the upper limb of the bow, just above the grip. It permits the target archer to sight directly on the target, instead of using the former method of sighting over the point of the arrow at a point of aim. Since the anchor is a fixed point, raising or lowering the bow sight will incline the shaft of the arrow at an angle with the horizontal, and the trajectory of the arrow will be lowered or raised in relation to the horizon accordingly.

Manufactured bow sights range in price from $1.25 for the simpler type, to $6.00 for a bow sight designed for one of the well-known makes of metal bows. Regardless of the type of bow sight, it is wise to disregard any provisions the manufacturer has made to attach the sight to the bow with screws. A screw, inserted in a wooden or metal bow, creates a weak point. Disregard the screws and bind the sight to the bow with scotch tape. Adhesive tape will also serve well for this purpose. Attaching the sight in this manner, avoids the danger of damaging the fibers of the wooden bow, or creating a plane of weakness in the cross section of the wood or metal bow.

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The trail lead through a frost-touched multicolored forest, the oak and maple trees a riot of crimsons, deep reds and browns. A golden autumn haze filled the valleys, and if you listened you could hear quail calling lonesomely for the lost summer. Grant Hartwell and I were walking this ridge trail, as men should be doing each autumn, our minds on deer, light overnight packs on our backs, wholly content with the world.

While deer was the prime objective, a couple of grey squirrels for a stew wouldn’t be amiss, or for that matter a blue grouse.

Swinging around a bend we flushed a big old buster of a blue grouse. It angled up through the trees with a frantic beating of wings and perched on an oak limb about thirty yards away, neck outstretched, its nervousness reflected in its constant stepping about as it watched our every move. We remained perfectly quiet for a space of a few moments, knowing that the least untoward movement would touch off our hair triggered game at once. When it quieted down a bit, Grant eased over a few steps toward the huge mossy bole of an oak, rested his forearm against it for the shot.

I waited intently, my pulse surging just as strongly as if he had a big buck under his sights. The silence was shattered by the roar of his .30/30 Model 99 Savage. The grouse tumbled from its lofty perch into the deep mast under the trees, drummed frantically for a moment then lay still. I walked over and picked up our quarry. Its head had been neatly severed by that 170 grain slug, an excellent bit of small game field shooting.

Small game field shooting has problems of positions which merit a lot of study and practice by hunters. Fortunately there is no essential difference between small and large game shooting, and what is learned in the small game fields is directly applicable to big game coverts. Each places emphasis on the time element, practical accuracy and range picture.

Quite often the decision as to shooting position is made by the game itself. A squirrel alerted by your careful stalking, waiting for a tip-off from you before taking to the security of its den tree, has so compressed the time element you have in which to get off the shot, you must take it from the position in which you find yourself more often than not a snapshot off-hand.

When Art Richardson and I were hunting ground squirrel that early June morning, taking them “field run” each shot was governed by the game itself, to a great extent. Squirrels scurrying toward the protection of their burrows had snap shooting written all over them. Those which stood up momentarily to inspect their surroundings had the same urgency in their attitude.

Essentially, there are three basic field shooting positions which are practical, and used for more than ninety-eight per cent of all field shooting. These three positions are: standing, sitting and kneeling. The prone position can sometimes also be used in long range woodchuck sniping and in mountain hunting. But a too slavish use of the prone position tends to deliberateness wholly at odds with field accuracy because of the time element usually interjected by the game itself. Modifications of the three prime field shooting positions: sitting, standing and kneeling, are almost infinite in number.

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The South Rainier Elk Herd is one of ten elk herds living in Washington State. This herd’s range covers around 1,100 square miles, and is located in parts of Lewis County, Thurston County, and Mount Rainier National Park. The herd area is bounded on the east be the North Cascade Crest Trail. On the west and south, it is bounded by major highways, and on the north, by highways, the Nisqually River and Mt. Rainier National Park. Land ownership in the area is a mix of public and private holdings. The majority of the land is owned by the U.S. Forest Service, which has the administration of around 400 square miles of land, primarily composed of Gifford Pinchot National Forest and the southern boundary of Mt. Rainier National Park. Private holdings are located mostly along the Cowlitz River. There are small tracts of state land in the area. The remainder of the land is held by industrial forestry interests. Elevations within the herd area are between 250 feet and 14,400 feet (the summit of Mt. Rainier). Level and gently rolling terrain is rare, occurring mostly along major drainages such as the Cispus and Cowlitz Rivers. The elk occupy almost all of the herd area below 6,500 feet, except for areas that are extraordinarily steep or rocky.

Humans make extensive use of the area in which the South Rainier Elk Herd is located, mostly for recreational purposes. For instance, the visitor usage of Mt. Rainier National Park was over two million in the 1990s. Hiking, backpacking, skiing, and other recreational activities are common, as well as trapping, fishing, and hunting. These activities occur both in the park and on adjacent lands that are privately owned.

The area along the Cowlitz river has been developed extensively, both for agricultural and residential purposes. This has significantly affected the wintering area of this herd. There has been a significant loss of important winter habitat for these elk, as well as a rise in elk/human conflict. In addition, intensive clear cut logging has changed almost all of the forests not in the bounds of the national park. Originally, this area was made up almost entirely of old growth forest. However, the area is now covered in second and third generation growth reaching to approximately 3,300 feet in elevation, and covering almost all of the elk’s winter range.

The greatest influence humans have had on this herd, however,has been through direct elk mortality. The annual regulated hunting harvest removes around forty to sixty percent of all bull elk. The population of the South Rainier Elk Herd has varied widely. For instance, in 1994, there were as many as four thousand individuals in this area. By 1997, that number had fallen to 1,500. It is estimated that the current population of the herd is around 2,100 animals. Management goals for the South Rainier herd include increasing the numbers of elk to a level of about 3,000 animals. In general, elk population levels will be maintained or increased, depending on the area, except in locations where they are causing a lot of damage or having conflict with humans. The current population ratios, when assessed before the hunting season, are fifteen to seventeen bulls per hundred cows, a figure which has stayed steady since 1996, and forty-six to forty-eight calves for every hundred cows.

Harvest strategies for this herd have varied significantly over the past forty years. They have included permission to take any bull, to spike-only bulls with a general permit, and branch antlered bulls taken by special permit. In some cases, only three point bulls or greater have been permitted. The three point minimum rule has been more common in recent years, and is the current method of regulating the elk harvest for the South Rainier Elk Herd. Antler point restrictions normally mean higher bull to cow ratios after the hunting season, but fewer older animals survive. Before 2000, it was legal to harvest antlerless elk during the archery season, or with firearms by special permit. However, antlerless harvest has not recently been permitted.

Current goals for the maintenance and management of this herd include an increase in the estimated elk population, while paying attention to habitat limitations and problems landowners may experience. The maintenance and improvement of elk habitat on U.S. Forest service lands is to be encouraged, and hunting is to be kept to a limit which will allow all herds to reach the state requirement of twelve or more bulls for every hundred cows.

Scott Peters is an avid deer hunter, outdoorsman and rifle scope retailer. For more information on scopes please go to http://www.theriflescopestore.com/nikonscopes.html

The Olympic Elk Herd is one of ten that have been identified in the state of Washington. It’s located on the Olympic Peninsula, west of Hood Canal, and north of the Chehalis River. This herd, unlike many others, has a similar modern distribution to the one it has held historically. The herd’s numbers were the highest in the late 1970s. A conservative estimate put the number of elk in the herd at that time at around 12,000 members. Currently, based on a number of data sources, including telemetry studies, mark-resight surveys, and harvest data, the population is estimated to be at around 8,600.

Much of the land used by elk in this area is publicly owned. There are over 922,000 acres in Olympic National Park. Additionally, the Olympic National Forest lands near the park make up another 643,000 acres. Through the Department of Natural Resources, the State of Washington manages 368,000 acres of forest lands in this area. Another 255,000 acres are part of Indian Reservation lands. The remaining land belongs to private residents, agriculture, and industrial timber companies. The central core of the area is made up of the Olympic Mountains. They are surrounded by very low lowlands nearly level. Strips of lowland vary between two and ten miles wide on the east side, ten to twenty miles wide on the west side, and thirty miles wide along the peninsula’s south side.

Human impact on this elk herd has occurred both directly and indirectly. Commercial timber harvesting and management of the forest land afterwards have had the largest impact, opening up areas with abundant forage for elk. Numbers of elk increased, resulting in the highest population during the 1970s. As more intensive management in logged areas has begun recently, the amount of forage available to elk has decreased. Since burning clear cuts has been curtailed, less ideal environments for the development of forage for elk have been created. Instead, timber companies have chosen to spray herbicides, removing plants that are eaten by elk. Road construction for logging activities has also had an impact, as elk avoid roads, and these roads also give more access to legitimate hunters and to poachers.

The biggest source of mortality in the Olympic Elk Herd is harvesting by hunters. The increased availability of roads has encouraged this, as easier travel makes finding animals and transporting them a simpler task. Bigger clearcut areas mean hunters have an easier time seeing animals in the field. Overhunting in the 1980s produced a major decline in the numbers of this animal. The most likely reason for this decline is a large harvest of antlerless elk during the late 1980s and early 1990s. A low reproductive rate, coupled with overharvesting of cows, can cause the population to decline speedily. However, the current numbers are up thirty-four percent from the mid-1990s estimated population of 6,000 elk. This means that recent restrictions on human access to the animals is replenishing their population.

Currently, goals for management of the Olympic Elk Herd include cooperating closely with affected Native American tribes, as well as managers of private and public land. Maintaining adequate elk habitat on lands controlled by these groups is an important part of managing these animals. Additional goals include increasing the combined numbers of elk to at least 11,350 individuals outside of Olympic National Park, maintaining a proportion of twelve bulls to every hundred cows after the hunting season is over, and increasing and improving habitat where it is a limiting factor in achieving the population goals in the management plan.

Since elk can be a nuisance to private landowners, minimization of damage caused by elk is also a concern. Work with landowners to minimize road densities in areas where too much traffic is a problem is planned, as well as work to enhance available elk forage and habitat on private land. Better survey accuracy is also desired, so as to have a more accurate idea of the current elk population. Generally, the management plan calls for the reversal of the Olympic Herd’s decline in numbers, in order to ensure that populations in the Olympic Peninsula will be huntable for the foreseeable future.

Scott Peters is an avid deer hunter, outdoorsman and rifle scope retailer. For more information on scopes please go to http://www.theriflescopestore.com/nikonscopes.html

The North Cascade, or Nooksack, Elk Herd, is the smallest of the ten herds living in the State of Washington. It is also the northernmost herd in the western part of Washington. However, despite its size, this herd is of considerable benefit to the citizens of Washington, in both aesthetic and economic arenas. It also provides recreational value, in the form of animals hunted and the opportunity to view wildlife in its natural habitat. The North Cascade herd also is important to Native American tribes in the area, providing subsistence, cultural resources, and ceremonial uses.

This herd was reintroduced into the state, resulting from successfully imported animals placed in the area in 1946 and 1948. The peak population of this herd occurred in 1984, at 1,700 elk. However, a sharp decline has occurred, and now the herd numbers no more than 300 individuals.

The core population of this elk herd in the Nooksack game management unit occupies an area of about 492 square miles (1,230 square km). In addition to this core population, another 125 elk live in agricultural land bordering the Skagit River. These elk mostly live in small, relatively isolated pockets of habitat. Remaining members of the herd live north of the Skagit River, in higher elevation, forested areas, and have been known to cause nuisances and damage to property. Expanding urban development is threatening the continued existence of these elk.

Data collected on the population and growth trends show that this herd has good potential. Although the survey data was limited in the sample size possible, it showed good production of calves. However, these favorable conditions have not been enough, since the herd has remained static at low population levels. Although the hunting season has been closed on this herd, unaccounted mortality may be preventing the population from rising.

Although the habitat changes caused by timber harvesting should have favored growth in the herd’s population, increased human access may be resulting in additional deaths. There have been some problems with damage caused by elk on agricultural lands. However, the private lands along the River are important elk habitats, and should be protected and preserved to maintain the population of this herd.

This area is covered mostly by coniferous forest below the timberline. Three major zones of forest exist, depending on elevation and available moisture. They are the western hemlock zone, Pacific silver fir zone, and mountain hemlock zone. The western hemlock zone is the most important in timber production, and is likely to be effected by timber harvesting. Intensive logging, especially the practice of clear-cutting, has compromised the herd’s ability to survive in the winter range and breed in the summer range. Heavy road traffic and human disturbance are the largest causes of this. Unfortunately, most of the winter ranges for elk are also within this zone. Some parts of this zone, in the foothills along the southern and western perimeter of the elk’s range, are used for agricultural purposes.

The current management plan for the North Cascade Elk Herd calls for increasing the population in the Nooksack unit to around 1,450 animals, with an addition 200 in the Sauk unit. The goal for the entire herd area is around 1,950 individuals. The expansion of this herd into the available range south of the Skagit River, in the Sauk unit, is to be promoted. Both tribal and non-tribal hunting seasons would be able to be reestablished if there are enough animals to support them.

To help decrease mortality from human action, and to help people understand the value of their natural resource, public awareness of elk should be promoted. This includes photographic and viewing opportunities. Damage from elk on private property should be minimized to promote better public opinion of the elk management plan and of the herd.

The plan also calls for management of hunted units to acquires post-season bull ratios that are consistent with the state guidelines. These call for more than twelve bulls for each hundred cows. Mortality rates for bulls are to be less than fifty percent. To help preserve an adequate population, the forest service, state, and private lands should all be encouraged to maintain or increase their current capacities for providing elk habitat. Critical areas used by elk should be preserved and enhanced when possible.

Scott Peters is an avid deer hunter, outdoorsman and rifle scope retailer. For more information on scopes please go to http://www.theriflescopestore.com/nikonscopes.html