The Idaho Department of Fish and Game with input from the Southeast Idaho Winter Feeding Advisory Committee (WFAC) has selected additional sites for baiting/feeding efforts in Caribou, Bear Lake, Franklin, Bannock, and Bingham Counties.
During the week of January 9, baiting of elk began in the Banks Valley area and behind the Ranch Hand Trail Stop in Bear Lake County after hazing efforts were not successful in reducing elk depredations on haystacks or movement of animals across highways. In addition, Fish and Game delivered approximately 10,000 feet of panels and Tensar® fencing materials to landowners to protect haystacks from elk and deer, and even assisted with the installation of these barriers.
Since those initial actions began, elk problems have persisted and additional areas of concern have been identified across the southeast region.
“There is a layer of ice under all the snow and elk are unable to paw through it for feed,” says Jason Beck, Landowner Sportsmen Coordinator for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, southeast region. “This ice layer is not going away until everything melts, so all indications are that elk problems have little likelihood of subsiding soon.”
Deer don’t face the challenges caused by the ice layer because they tend to browse above the snow, but the severe snow depths from Soda Springs to the Bear Lake area, a previous fire in Franklin County, and other situation factors, including cold temperatures, warrant emergency deer feeding efforts in numerous areas.
In a meeting on Monday, January 16, between Idaho Fish and Game and the WFAC, the decision was made to authorize feeding at select sites. A public meeting to organize winter feeding teams was held in Montpelier the evening of January 18. Thanks to strong public turnout and volunteer contributions, Fish and Game officers have been able to immediately implement 26 emergency deer feeding stations in southeast Idaho as of Friday, January 20.
Authorized elk feeding/baiting sites (note that additional sites may be added as needed):
- Banks Valley, Trail Stop Ranch Hand, and Geneva (Bear Lake County)
- Banida (Franklin County)
- Burton Canyon due east of Grace and Swan Lakes which is 2.5 miles south of Sulfur Canyon (Caribou County)
Idaho Fish and Game and the WFAC are closely monitoring groups of elk on the southeast side of Fish Creek, 10 Mile Pass, and Georgetown but no feeding has been authorized at this time.
Authorized emergency deer feeding/baiting sites (note that additional sites may be added as needed):
- 6 sites in the Clifton-Dayton area for deer affected by a wildfire (Franklin County);
- 13 sites from the East side of the area from Georgetown to Montpelier and west side of Bear Lake (Bear Lake County);
- 1 site near the mouth of Ninety Percent Canyon (Caribou County).
Additional bait sites have been established in the Big Desert (Bingham County) and Downata (Bannock County) to draw groups of deer from haystacks too large to fence off.
Clarifications
- Recent information provided on social media and in traditional media sources has not been entirely accurate on the winter feeding process in the southeast region, so Idaho Fish and Game would like to clarify some misconceptions.
- The WFAC composed of citizen volunteers and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game has been closely monitoring the winter weather and its impacts on wintering wildlife throughout the region. Both WFAC volunteers and staff have been making observations in the field and reporting weather conditions, big game animal movements, and wildlife/human conflicts in regular winter feeding meetings.
- To address depredations on haystacks by elk and to reduce their movement across highways, Idaho Fish and Game has been helping with hazing efforts, including the authorization of depredation hunts. Snowmobiles have been used to move animals away from haystacks and off the roadways. Helicopters have not been used to haze big game throughout the region as erroneously reported in social media with the exception of one incident. A helicopter was used to direct elk from Dingle back into Banks Valley where feeding efforts were starting. Conservation officers shut down Highway 30 while the elk crossed. The helicopter was already present to assist with capture and collaring work, and use of the helicopter in this hazing action was a single event.
- Helicopter activities in Bear Lake, Caribou County, and Franklin County are part of Fish and Game’s aerial surveys and trapping efforts for big game. It is through these methods that invaluable information about body conditions, herd composition, and migration are gathered and used in wildlife management. It is a carefully-conducted, singular event that takes place over one or two days and simply cannot be compared to recreational activities repeatedly carried out by outdoor enthusiasts (snow mobiling, cross country skiing, antler hunting, etc.) over a span of weeks in a winter season.
- Fish and Game was ready to feed. Prior to the winter season, Fish and Game already had a total of 20 tons of pellets stored in water tight containers in both Preston and Montpelier (40 tons total) to be used if needed in feeding operations once an emergency situation was declared. Hay was also available to Fish and Game for feeding efforts, and more feed and hay has been ordered.
- Unauthorized winter feeding efforts by the public should not be conducted as it can create more problems than it solves if not correctly implemented. Also, unauthorized winter feeding in counties that border Wyoming is against Idaho Department of Agriculture rules due to brucellosis concerns, and can result in a citation.
Please refer to Idaho Fish and Game’s webpage for the southeast region for current winter feeding information at https://idfg.idaho.gov/southeast.