What does "Elk Area" mean?

[Optimusprime]

Hey all. I was looking at the Archery Regs for elk this year and noticed that North Bend was in an "Elk Area". Can someone clarify what this means?

[Chesapeake]

Page 43

[Optimusprime]

That doesn't clarify anything. It is only maps.

[Timberstalker]

Elk Area descriptions start on Page 98.  Center column.

[Optimusprime]

Thanks but I am looking for what elk area actually means. Is it an area off limits to hunting, special permit only, etc? Sorry for the ignorance but I can't find the info anywhere.

[JLS]

An elk area is a hunt area that is either part of a GMU or a combination of one or more GMU's.  In essence it is its own little GMU for the purpose of elk hunting only, and usually has a season that is more liberal than the general seasons.

[Chesapeake]

An elk area is an area that has special regulations or seasons or both for hunting elk. It will often be some smaller area of a GMU or several GMU's. many times the areas have extra cow hunts, weapons use restrictions, master hunter seasons, ect.... For the purpose of allowing damage control type hunts.

That's just my general personal description. I don't know where to find a official one. Maybe call WDFW.

[Scottystyle]

Elk Area is a spin term for " private property , good luck finding a place to hunt " 

[Optimusprime]

Scottystyle, is it really??

[Kowsrule30]

A lot of them are...

[Skyvalhunter]

It's an area where the elk used to be at but are no longer there.

[Scottystyle]

Scottystyle, is it really??

For the most part.... Yes.

[kerrdog]

I'm glad someone asked that question, because I always kinda wondered what it meant too.

[Chesapeake]

Scotystyle is correct for as far as I've seen, but I havent seen them all. The ones I have seen are all private and those type of deals where you need a farmer set up to give you a call if the elk are in his pasture, so you can go shoot one.
If you go to just hunt, you waste your time if the elk arent in the area.

We tried hunting 4941 back in maybe 2008 when it was a general january muzzy season. I think if you had a driftboat and just fished everyday and took the muzzy you might have scored. There were elk in the area, but just out of the unit laying in the grass where they had cleared for a development, but not built yet. The farmers werent real inviting, but some were willing to let you hunt, but the elk werent in their pastures while we were there. Most seemed to have family and friends already set up to come shoot if the elk showed up.

Now days most all the Elk areas are Master hunter, or Draw hunts.

[pianoman9701]

More precisely, and please tell me if I'm wrong, these Elk Areas apply only to special draw tags for those areas. If you are hunting a general season tag, it doesn't matter if you're in an elk area, as long as you're in the correct unit for the tag you possess. It only matters for the draw tags for that elk area. If I'm hunting Unit 520 in late season archery under a Western WA general season archery tag, I could also be hunting in an elk area - it doesn't matter. However, if I draw a special tag for Elk area 5029, I can only hunt within it's boundaries during the dates specified by the special draw tag.