Elk Friend or Foe? – The Feedground Debate Continues

Elk Friend or Foe? – The Feedground Debate Continues

By Brandon Mason

The debate over the existence of Wyoming’s elk feedgrounds continues between wildlife managers, ranchers, and sportsmen.

I read a well-written recent article from a Wyoming journalist discussing projections from eight biologists from various state and federal agencies on the topic. From the perspective of the panel experts, continued feeding paints a bleak picture for the future of Wyoming’s elk herds.

On the other side of the coin, one could debate whether their statistical modeling used in predicting the bleak future of elk herds in Wyoming is legitimate or not. Not only could one debate the topic, but people are…vehemently.

The congregation of wildlife on feedgrounds can be concerning, giving the appearance of artificially congregated animals in search of feed and potential increased disease transmission. 

To play devil’s advocate and provide some food for thought, migratory big game populations “herd up” in large numbers in the winter in search of food regardless of whether a feedground exists or not. Stopping animals from congregating could just be wishful thinking.

In the midst of the “draconian projections” of continued artificial feeding from some of the biologists on the panel, USGS disease ecologist Paul Cross admits, “There’s no analogous case that we can look at. In the absence of that, I think our best option was to convene a scientific panel.”

The challenge with basing long-term wildlife management planning on statistical modeling is that the modeling is just that…it is a potential outcome based on mathematics and not based on actual experience and past performance. According to the journalist of the Wyofile.com article, “Nearly a decade ago, Wyoming’s wildlife agency hung its hat on research that suggested that there would not be catastrophic consequences if the state kept feeding in the face of CWD.” 

Thus the conundrum.  What’s the opinion going to be a decade from now? Will the scientific models change again? If so, will we look back on where we are today and scoff at how we had a knee-jerk reaction to the feedground situation. Or will we look back and say that more should’ve been done?

I’m genuinely curious to hear your thoughts on the topic. Comment below and weigh in on the future of feedgrounds in Wyoming.

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