More bad news from another gun-free zone...

[biglakejake]

 

they are going to quit irrigating-that'll fix the problem......

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Park officials seek to rid Grand Canyon of not-so-shy elk after too many run-ins with humansBy Felicia Fonseca, The Associated Press | Associated Press – 4 hrs ago

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FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - The Grand Canyon is an international destination where spectacular views are not the only thing that grab tourists' attention.

Elk, once a rare sight at the national park, now regularly jam up the park's roads, graze on hotel lawns and aren't too shy about displaying their power, provoked or not. They've broken bones and caused eye injuries in the most serious circumstances, and give chase to the unsuspecting.

Park officials want to reduce those interactions with humans by depriving the elk of the food and water sources that lured them to the area: grass along the South Rim and the runoff from a water treatment facility.

Signs tell visitors to keep their distance from wildlife and warn that the animals could get aggressive, particularly during breeding season. But getting that message out is challenging with an ever-changing audience. Some 5 million people visit Grand Canyon each year and about 2,000 live there.

Roads and campsites become clogged with elk and cars, through the animals' stubborn nature or camera-toting tourists marveling at them. A volunteer crew responded to 115 "elk jams" over 53 days last year, taking anywhere from one minute to 2 hours to clear up.

Kim Crumbo was jogging at the Grand Canyon in 2006 when he saw a bull elk rubbing its antlers against a tree. He said he screamed "like a banshee" when it knocked him over, breaking his leg in three places.

"They (elk) really don't belong there," said Crumbo, director of conservation at the Grand Canyon Wildlands Council. "In spite of my encounter, I still think they're beautiful animals, magnificent. The park really needs to deal with that issue not exclusive of public safety but from an ecological standpoint."

The bull elk in the park weigh around 700 pounds, stand 5 feet tall at their shoulders and have impressive sets of antlers. Hunting generally controls elk populations, but that's prohibited at the Grand Canyon, as is feeding wildlife.

Elk brought in by train from Yellowstone National Park helped re-establish the Arizona populations after the state's native elk became extinct around 1900.

They're now too close to the Grand Canyon's most popular areas for comfort. Last summer, a tourist standing too close to an elk was scratched in the eye by its antlers.

Officials say it would be best to replace lawns with native vegetation that's abundant throughout the park, so that the elk don't necessarily prefer the tourist-heavy areas to other spots. They're also considering using excess water from the treatment facility to expand the park's nursery instead of letting elk drink it as it flows over the landscape.

At the local school, students and staff constantly are reminded to shut the gates of the fence around the recreational field to keep elk off the grass and away from children, though the animals have gone under and over the fence.

Grand Canyon residents are told not to put animal feed, water buckets or bird feeders outside so that elk aren't tempted to wander around homes.

More than half of the 91 elk-related calls that the wildlife program has responded to since fall 2008 were over elk and people mingling in the same areas, or approaching one another, said Grand Canyon wildlife biologist Brandon Holton.

Even when visitors follow the guidelines not to approach or feed elk, to flee when they're acting aggressively and to avoid the animals' territory, accidents still happen. In 2011, a park concessionaire employee was gored in the back by an elk while she was on the sidewalk one of the hotels.

"They've completely lost their fear of humans," Holton said.

 

[Alpinebullwinkle]

For the last 10 years in Alpine up until the Wallow Fire changed things we had a herd of 23-35 bulls each year reside 24/7 within town limits. Why? Because the bulls felt safer around humans than out in the forest where they should be.........because of the wolf reintroduction program! There is no other explanation why they would prefer to be so close to humans. Even today we have a cow and calf that reside 24/7 within 300 yards of the Bear Wallow Cafe. Sure wish our AGFD would quit wasting $$$ on the wolf reintroduction program.

[Outdoor Writer]

The same problem has plagued the areas in and around Yellowstone and Rocky Mt. National Parks for decades upon decades.

[654321]

For the last 10 years in Alpine up until the Wallow Fire changed things we had a herd of 23-35 bulls each year reside 24/7 within town limits. Why? Because the bulls felt safer around humans than out in the forest where they should be.........because of the wolf reintroduction program! There is no other explanation why they would prefer to be so close to humans. Even today we have a cow and calf that reside 24/7 within 300 yards of the Bear Wallow Cafe. Sure wish our AGFD would quit wasting $$$ on the wolf reintroduction program.

If Az. has to have a wolf we got the perfect one. I believe they started the reintroduction efforts around 1998 and today there are still way less than a hundred of them. They started reintroducing wolves in Yellowstone about the same time and there are now thousands of them over several states. Pretty sure there are no wolves on the south rim yet the elk are causing problems in the park. Plenty of elk around the homes in williams, flagstaff, munds park, pine, payson, ect. no wolves. IMO elk are smart lots of good stuff around homes.

[Alpinebullwinkle]

Good point Tony. I was going to expand on my earlier comment based on my trip to Yellowstone a couple of years ago. Drove all thru Yellowstone park without even seeing an elk and only saw two moose. Really disappointing to observe almost no animals in a non-hunting preserve!! But guess what.....when we got to the town of Mammoth there were 6 bulls laying in the park mid day with all the tourists taking pictures from less than 50 feet. Same scenario as we have had in Alpine.......thanks to those lovely wolves no doubt!

 

I also hear what 654321 is suggesting but there is no other logical reason elk would prefer to co-inhabit so close to humans when they have equal feed in the woods other than...........yes the fear of predators. My personal surveys also suggest the numbers of mountain lions and coyotes is also up significantly since the ill-advised ban on trapping was passed.

[Outdoor Writer]

There might be a couple unnoticed wolves wandering in RMNP, but they likely have little to do with the hundreds of elk that wander the streets of Estes Park. As it was in YNP, there are just too many of them because there is little to control the population. That's why they have been culling a bunch within the park boundaries to help the aspen stands recover.

As for elk in Mammoth, I began taking elk photos at YNP sometime around 1975 and did that every Sept. for about 10-12 years running. That was long before the introduction of wolves, yet the elk were still wandering every where humans were with no fear at all. One herd loved the lawn in front of the church, and another wandered the square in front of the hotel. Heading into Gardner, you could usually find a bunch near the campground and another bunch among the park employee housing across the street.

 

[Alpinebullwinkle]

Interesting Tony. I don't recall our resident town bulls showing up in Alpine until after the wolf reintroduction program.

 

On a different note we visited Estes Park this last summer and all we viewed was one bull elk. More importantly we noticed the shape of the forest was terrible with bark beetle invested trees everywhere. Estes Park looks like Arizona unit #27 pre-Wallow Fire. I predict it will be the next big national forest to burn severely...........and when it does they won't have to worry about elk over grazing the aspen trees. When it burns aspen will propagate everywhere and there won't be enough elk to make a concern for the aspen..........just like what recently happened in units #27 and #1 due to the Wallow Fire

[Alpinebullwinkle]

........stated a different way the USFS "Smokey the Bear" policies of the last 50 years (putting fires out) or so have had a greater negative impact on the aspen growth than a growing elk herd, that does depend on aspen grazing for some of their subsistence

[Packer]

For the last 10 years in Alpine up until the Wallow Fire changed things we had a herd of 23-35 bulls each year reside 24/7 within town limits. Why? Because the bulls felt safer around humans than out in the forest where they should be.........because of the wolf reintroduction program! There is no other explanation why they would prefer to be so close to humans. Even today we have a cow and calf that reside 24/7 within 300 yards of the Bear Wallow Cafe. Sure wish our AGFD would quit wasting $$$ on the wolf reintroduction program.

It is definately not the wolves that caused those bulls to use the Alpine Valley, it was the feed. Before the fire the mixed conifer in the forest was so thick that the bulls could get way better nutrition in the fields of town than they could get in the forest. The only thing that has changed since the fire is the amount of feed in the forest. Now the elk can get better feed in the forest that is why they haven't been in town since other than a day or two here and there. Same can be seen in Nutrioso, Round Valley, etc. I know the wolves are an easy target but that is not the reality of the situation.

 

Aaron

[Outdoor Writer]

Interesting Tony. I don't recall our resident town bulls showing up in Alpine until after the wolf reintroduction program.

 

On a different note we visited Estes Park this last summer and all we viewed was one bull elk. More importantly we noticed the shape of the forest was terrible with bark beetle invested trees everywhere. Estes Park looks like Arizona unit #27 pre-Wallow Fire. I predict it will be the next big national forest to burn severely...........and when it does they won't have to worry about elk over grazing the aspen trees. When it burns aspen will propagate everywhere and there won't be enough elk to make a concern for the aspen..........just like what recently happened in units #27 and #1 due to the Wallow Fire

Summer isn't a great time to see elk in YNP or in Estes Park. They tend to stay higher because of the heat and insects. But as soon as the rut kicks off, and the bulls start gathering harems, you'll see them in most of the meadows in YNP.

 

In Estes Park, the golf courses usually have a couple separate herds wandering around, all with a dominant bull and several satellite bulls in search of some loving. Any other large grassy area such as the park normally have a herd or two as well. The elk that visit during the rut often hang around town for much of the winter.

[Alpinebullwinkle]

Aaron with all due respect I "definitely" agree with all your food comments that affected our elk behaviors in Alpine historically. What you may not be aware of is the "town bull herd" always used to feed in town daily but traveled twice daily back and forth to their dense bedding grounds above our residences. Coincidental to the wolves showing up these daily elk movements changed where they simply remained in town 24/7 and never returned to the forest until rutting season. I know this as a fact because the elk used to cross my property daily as mentioned but stopped doing so coincidentally when we began seeing and photographing wolves in our yards! Having said that I will also share that I have not seen a wolf in my yard for a couple of years now and also rarely see the bulls. This testimonial is "definitely" factual by the way.

[Jimmer Negamanee]

My favorite quote from the article: "Last summer, a tourist standing too close to an elk was scratched in the eye by its antlers."

 

The verb "scratch" is not what generally comes to mind when I think of elk antlers touching eyeballs. Maybe the guy was lucky.

[Alpinebullwinkle]

It struck me funny also when I read the "scratch" comment. Maybe it was just one of the many spike bulls from up north that are more customary in the area.

[Outdoor Writer]

Here is a nice assortment of Estes Park elk videos.