Brownlee Zone Elk
(GMU 31)
This information is to supplement the proposals for the 2017-2018 big game season. Please review the proposals and make your comments online.
Summary of Proposed Changes:
Add short-range weapons “greenfield” hunt that overlaps general archery season. Increase controlled bull hunt tags from 50 to 75. Convert two landowner permission hunts to extra tags. Add landowner permission hunt in January and February. Reduce controlled antlerless tags in the early October hunt from 200 to 100.
Reasons for Proposed Changes:
Brownlee elk objectives call for 550-850 cow elk and 125-175 bull elk in the Brownlee Zone. Surveys dating back to 2007 indicate that cow numbers are near the top end of objectives, and bull numbers exceed management objectives. The large and growing elk population has led to an increase in private land depredations, particularly during late summer and winter.
Beginning in 2013, IDFG increased controlled hunt cow elk tags in the Brownlee Zone. In 2015 and 2016, nearly 500 hunters harvested over 150 antlerless elk. Recent harvest success has been very high – between 37% and 39%. Despite this, depredations have continued to increase. Bull harvest on the general archery hunt has also consistently exceeded management objectives – harvest rates are consistently over 20%, with high numbers of adult bulls in the harvest.
On average, about 500 people hunt the Brownlee A-Tag hunt. Because the general cow hunt is limited to “within 1 mile of private lands,” this change is not expected to result in a significant increase in the number of people participating in this hunt. However, some additional harvest should be focused on or near private lands, which will help alleviate depredation problems. All population and harvest statistics suggest that this population can support additional bull harvest in this zone. Converting landowner permission hunts to extra tags will increase participation in these hunts. Harvest is expected to increase, but this increase should be mostly offset by the reduction in controlled hunt cow tags. All together, these changes should better focus harvest on elk involved in private land depredations.