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Idaho Fish and Game

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Fish and Game begins to feed elk at the Bullwhacker feed site west of Ketchum

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The site was established with the intention of keeping elk away from the communities of Ketchum and Sun Valley.

Fish and Game, Magic Valley Region has announced that they will begin feeding elk at the Bullwhacker feed site starting the week of January 5, 2025, as snow has started to accumulate, and temperatures are dipping.

Historically, the site feeds over 125 elk each year.

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Fish and Game staff put feed into troughs at Bullwhacker feed site.

Residents and visitors are asked to stay away from the feed site in order to not disturb the elk.

It is anticipated that feeding will continue until April 2025.

Located west of Ketchum, the Bullwhacker feed site is a Fish and Game Commission-sanctioned annual feed site. Feeding at Bullwhacker has occurred on an annual basis since the 1980s, with periodic feeding beginning in the 1950s. Depending on winter conditions, feeding typically begins in late December or early January.

The site was established with the intention of keeping elk away from the communities of Ketchum and Sun Valley. While many think that feed sites supplement food on winter range, the Bullwhacker feed site purpose is to lure elk away from local communities where conflicts can occur.

A large number of deer and elk have become year-round or seasonal residents within communities throughout the Wood River Valley, leading to an increased number of human-wildlife conflicts in the wintertime. Big game that remains in and around communities run a higher risk of getting hit on roads and highways, caught in fences, falling through thin ice on decorative ponds and into household window wells, as well as getting chased by off-leash dogs, and tangled in swing sets and hammocks.

Feeding wildlife by residents is strongly discouraged since unauthorized feed sites can lead to unintended consequences of attracting wildlife into close proximity of towns and neighborhoods. (Please read Feeding elk and deer in town does more harm than good.)

For more information about how to reduce human-wildlife conflicts and suggestions on how to live and recreate safely around wildlife visit the Wood River Valley Wildlife Smart Communities website.

Contact the Magic Valley Regional Office for more information about winter feeding at (208) 324-4359.