Yellowstone National Park News

Yellowstone elk herd numbers decline

Posted: Mar 6, 2013 4:22 PM by MTN News
Updated: Mar 6, 2013 7:32 PM

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - An aerial survey of the northern Yellowstone elk population conducted last month found elk numbers continuing to decline.

The count of 3,915 elk was six pecent lower than the 2012 winter count of 4,714.

Looking back further, between the winters of 2007 and end of winter 2011, elk numbers ranged from 4,635 to 7,109.

The Northern Yellowstone Cooperative Wildlife Working Group conducted its annual winter survey of the northern Yellowstone elk population on Feb. 18. The survey, using three airplanes, was conducted by staff from the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks and the National Park Service. The survey counted 3,915 elk, including 915 elk (23%) inside Yellowstone National Park and 3,000 elk (77%) elsewhere north of the park.

The Working Group will continue to monitor trends of the northern Yellowstone elk population and evaluate the relative contribution of various components of mortality, including predation, environmental factors and hunting.

The Working Group was formed in 1974 to cooperatively preserve and protect the long-term integrity of the northern Yellowstone winter range for wildlife species.

The Working Group is comprised of resource managers and biologists from the Montana Fish, Wildlife, & Parks, National Park Service (Yellowstone National Park), U.S. Forest Service (Gallatin National Forest), and U.S. Geological Survey-Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center in Bozeman.