Elk count mounts

Bruce Sterling has been counting elk from the air for 18 years, and this spring he could hardly keep up with what he was seeing.

It was an all-time record count for the standard route that he flies near Thompson Falls, in Hunting District 121, an indication of conditions for elk in other parts of Northwest Montana.

It also was an indication of a promising hunting season this fall, prompting proposed increases in antlerless elk permits.

"It was very impressive," said Sterling, a wildlife biologist with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. "We flew 121 and saw over 1,600 elk, which is an all-time record. We saw 1,074 cows, which is an all-time record. And we saw 258 bulls, which is an all-time record. These are the good times, contrary to what some people say."

District 121 and others across Northwest Montana have had steady "recruitment" in elk numbers since the hard winter of 1996-97. The spring count of 1997 in District 121 came up with an all-time low of 662 total elk.

Numbers have been climbing ever since, largely as a result of mild winters that also have helped whitetail and mule deer populations in the region, said Jim Williams, the state's regional wildlife manager.

There has been a corresponding increase in special permits - from a low of 50 antlerless permits for District 121 in 1997 to 550 in 2006.

Williams said a 45 percent increase, from 550 permits to 800, is being proposed for the fall 2007 hunting season. That proposal will be considered by the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission at its May 17 meeting, along with proposed increases in antlerless whitetail permits for seven Northwest Montana hunting districts, based on other observations.

The commissioners could tentatively adopt those recommendations, followed by a public comment period, with a final decision on permits planned in late July.

Regional big game surveys were conducted throughout April, said Williams, who noted that only a few districts are suitable for aerial surveys because of the dense forest canopy that covers most of Northwest Montana.

"We can't count in all districts because of the sea of green," Williams said.

Aerial surveys concentrate on hunting districts that have open areas where the "elk are sucked out during the spring green-up onto those open slopes."

Sterling said the count over District 121 was notable largely because "we saw a lot of bulls, and we saw bulls in a lot of places that I typically don't see them."

That is an indication of strong survival over winter weather, predators and hunters. "It's an indication of how difficult this country is to hunt," he said, referring to the rugged, forested terrain that elk use in the fall in Sanders County.

The only apparent downside of the District 121 count was the calf count of 211 that basically was the same as it has been for the last four years. But that can be misleading, Sterling cautioned, because the adult cow count includes a growing number of larger yearling calves that cannot yet reproduce.

The district is "growing a lot of young, nonreproductive cows that are still classified as adult cows," he said.

Williams said the district has a surplus population by elk management plan standards. Increased antlerless tags could lead to an over-the-counter sale of permits that remain after the antlerless drawing.

But an over-the-counter offering for permits or opening portions of the season to either-sex animal harvest is unlikely, Williams said.

Repeatedly, hunters have told the state at meetings and through written comments that they prefer managing growing populations through increased but limited permits.

That more conservative approach is considered "more predictable and palatable" to most hunters, Williams said.

Sterling and Williams noted that recent mild winters have helped big game survival not only by making conditions easier for big game, but by making tracking conditions tougher for hunters during the general rifle season.

"The one driving force, regardless of how many elk you have in the population, is snow," Sterling said. "If you get the right kind of snow conditions, particularly in the latter part of the season, hunters are going to do better."

That said, both Sterling and Williams predict a promising hunting season.

"This fall there is going to be a lot of opportunity," Williams said. "We're set up for another fun season."

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com