Winter Feeding for Elk

One of the greatest features of living in Idaho is the fact that it is paradise for people who love the wilderness and the animal life that goes along with that. Huge populations of elk and deer, more than our fair share of moose, bear, coyotes and wolves. Wolves have garnered a bad reputation because of their depredation on the ungulate populations. That said, there are those in the farming and ranching communities, that may not be so crazy about free ranging and plentiful ungulates. “I feel bad for them. It's been a tough winter but… It comes down to what's more important. It's my livelihood or feed the elk. “ Harsh winter conditions in Idaho's Upper Salmon River country have pushed big game herds into the lower valleys looking for feed. This causes problems for cattle ranchers. Elk, moose and deer have invaded dozens of haystacks. “As you can see, they have taken out all the support for the bales up top and you will have a lot more a spoiled when it falls down and a stack is built to every bale behind it supports the next one so it's going to end up with a lot of spoiled hay.” Ranchers are doing anything and everything possible to run off the problem animals. Stacks are surrounded by tall wire panels. Rancher Dan French says that once the animals arrive, nothing works. “There is no way to keep them out. Once they start coming in, they are hungry. “