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Hungry elk raid Nevada rancher's haystacks
By JEFFRY MULLINS, Elko Daily Free Press
3/8/02
WELLS, Nev. (AP) - Steve Boies stands beside his haystack at dusk and watches a small herd of elk wander down from the hills.
They stop a short distance away and wait patiently on the snow-crusted ground, looking back at him. As soon as Boies gets into his pickup and heads home they will descend for dinner.
Tomorrow night, they'll be back.
This is the worst problem Boies has had with elk in the decade since they were introduced by the Nevada Division of Wildlife. The numbers have expanded to more than 1,100 in the Wells Resource Area where his ranch is located.
Boies, who serves on the county's elk advisory committee and recently became president of the Nevada Cattlemen's Association, said the elk don't have enough to eat during this harsh winter, which followed two years of severe drought.
So now, the hay he purchased for his cattle is being consumed by the wild animals.
"It's not their fault," he said. "They're just trying to survive."
He doesn't think the Division of Wildlife is negligent, either. The agency has been helping him and promises to reimburse ranchers for lost feed and damaged fences.
But wildlife managers shouldn't plan based on ideal, summertime range conditions, he said. They should base decisions on what conditions the animals will face when nature is uncooperative.
Between the drought, recent wildfires and this year's heavy snow and subzero temperatures, wildlife are competing for what little forage is available. And elk, the largest species in the county, might have an unfair advantage.
"They're supposed to keep the numbers at 100 head, just on this range," he said. Hunting has been stepped up to keep the numbers in check.
"They've had a lot more tags this year than they've ever had before," he said.
But the animals have been a problem for some ranchers. Bull elk can grow to more than 5 feet tall at the shoulder and weigh more than 1,000 pounds. Normal livestock fences don't pose any barrier to them.
Boies doesn't know how many elk are living in the area. The most he has counted at one time is 32.
"They come in at night," he said. "You never see them during the daylight hours."
Boies' haystack was invaded Jan. 19, a Saturday. By the time he reached someone at the Division of Wildlife the next week, the elk had eaten or damaged more than 100 bales.
He said the agency sent someone out to assess the damage and place fence panels around the stack to protect it. But the unframed panels did little to stop the elk.
Boies set up a camera on a timer and took photographs showing the elk pushing through the square openings and forcing their way into the forage. Others bent the panels and reached over them, searching for the tastiest bales containing clover.
Division of Wildlife spokesman Joe Doucette said the agency would try another technique, perhaps adding plastic netting over the panels.
Meanwhile, cleaning up after the elk adds about an hour to the day's schedule.
"Well go in there this afternoon, pick that hay up, take it out, put the panels back up and start over tomorrow morning," Boies said.
"It's a little like having somebody come in and drain your gas tank every night."
By JEFFRY MULLINS, Elko Daily Free Press
3/8/02
WELLS, Nev. (AP) - Steve Boies stands beside his haystack at dusk and watches a small herd of elk wander down from the hills.
They stop a short distance away and wait patiently on the snow-crusted ground, looking back at him. As soon as Boies gets into his pickup and heads home they will descend for dinner.
Tomorrow night, they'll be back.
This is the worst problem Boies has had with elk in the decade since they were introduced by the Nevada Division of Wildlife. The numbers have expanded to more than 1,100 in the Wells Resource Area where his ranch is located.
Boies, who serves on the county's elk advisory committee and recently became president of the Nevada Cattlemen's Association, said the elk don't have enough to eat during this harsh winter, which followed two years of severe drought.
So now, the hay he purchased for his cattle is being consumed by the wild animals.
"It's not their fault," he said. "They're just trying to survive."
He doesn't think the Division of Wildlife is negligent, either. The agency has been helping him and promises to reimburse ranchers for lost feed and damaged fences.
But wildlife managers shouldn't plan based on ideal, summertime range conditions, he said. They should base decisions on what conditions the animals will face when nature is uncooperative.
Between the drought, recent wildfires and this year's heavy snow and subzero temperatures, wildlife are competing for what little forage is available. And elk, the largest species in the county, might have an unfair advantage.
"They're supposed to keep the numbers at 100 head, just on this range," he said. Hunting has been stepped up to keep the numbers in check.
"They've had a lot more tags this year than they've ever had before," he said.
But the animals have been a problem for some ranchers. Bull elk can grow to more than 5 feet tall at the shoulder and weigh more than 1,000 pounds. Normal livestock fences don't pose any barrier to them.
Boies doesn't know how many elk are living in the area. The most he has counted at one time is 32.
"They come in at night," he said. "You never see them during the daylight hours."
Boies' haystack was invaded Jan. 19, a Saturday. By the time he reached someone at the Division of Wildlife the next week, the elk had eaten or damaged more than 100 bales.
He said the agency sent someone out to assess the damage and place fence panels around the stack to protect it. But the unframed panels did little to stop the elk.
Boies set up a camera on a timer and took photographs showing the elk pushing through the square openings and forcing their way into the forage. Others bent the panels and reached over them, searching for the tastiest bales containing clover.
Division of Wildlife spokesman Joe Doucette said the agency would try another technique, perhaps adding plastic netting over the panels.
Meanwhile, cleaning up after the elk adds about an hour to the day's schedule.
"Well go in there this afternoon, pick that hay up, take it out, put the panels back up and start over tomorrow morning," Boies said.
"It's a little like having somebody come in and drain your gas tank every night."
