Historical Range of Elk

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

I always here references to there being Elk living in Washington being "native" and about introduction, or "reintroduction" and thought I would share a study I read about it...
pretty interesting, and sure it is only one version of the story, but...

Elk bones, along with those of deer (Odocoileus spp.) and pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana),
are among the most common faunal remains found in archeological sites throughout the Columbia Basin The fragmentary, and often fire-charred, remains of this species testify to the fact that elk were a major source of food for people living in this arid region. Elk bones are common in all cultural sediments throughout the last 10,000 years, even in the most arid parts of the Columbia Basin. The Columbia Basin is not included in the range of modern elk, yet its frequency in archeological sites argues that this species must have been more than a casual wanderer into this region until recent times. Elk remains from archeological sites include teeth, skull fragments, and bones of the feet. These probably would not have been transported any great distance, so they are best interpreted as having come from the vicinity of the site rather than from the mountainous region surrounding the basin proper. Daubenmire (1970) has suggested that the numbers of grazing ungulates in eastern Washington have gradually declined for at least 2,000 years: Bison became extinct about 2,000 years ago. By the time the first white men came to eastern Washington, any antelope that might still have been present were very few and confined to the driest part of the steppe. The few deer and wapiti remained close to the forest border or to riparian thickets, and a few bighorn sheep lived on the basaltic ledges of the Columbia Valley from Grand Coulee southward. Thus the niche
for grazing ungulates seems to have been fairly well occupied in late glacial time, but then became abandoned progressively. Similar climatic conditions may have applied generally to the Columbia Basin, including the lowlands immediately to the east of the Cascade crest near Mount Rainier. Reports of the first white surveyors and explorers in the area seemed to support this


Johnson, who traveled across Naches Pass in 1841 as part of the Wilkes Expedition, described the Yakima groups as follows: This tribe subsist chiefly upon salmonid and the camass-root: game is very scarce and the beaver have all disappeared (Johnson 1850). Brackenridge, who accompanied Johnson, also commented on the shortage of game, not imagining how productive the Yakima Valley could become under cultivation: Our route still lay close upon the Eyakema which flows through one of the most barren countrys it has ever been my lot to witness (Brackenridge 1931). In 1844, Father M. Demers, writing generally on what he called "the Territory of the Columbia," was apparently discussing Washington and Vancouver when he said that "Wild animals have been more abundant than they are at present; elk, deer, caribou have become rare..." (Demers 1956). Captain George B. McClellan of the Pacific Railroad Survey traveled up the Yakima Valley to Naches Pass in 1853. He and his group explored at least some of the tributaries of the Yakima and made a reasonable effort to examine the region. He reported his disappointment: The country through which we passed to the east of the Cascade range may be described as generally barren and unfit for agriculture, and poor for grazing purposes. And, later in the same report: The Indians are harmless and peaceable; with the exceptions of the Tekamas they are very poor. Their food consists of salmon, berries, and potatoes; the entire absence of game renders it difficult for them to obtain good clothing; during the whole trip I did not see a single deer, elk, or bear - nothing larger than a
wolf. Wolves, badgers, squirrels, and a few gray marmots, were the only quadrupeds. The blue and ruffed grouse, prairie chickens, and sage-fowl abounded (McClellan 1855). This particular trip was made in late August and early September (Albright 1921), when the elk, if present in the area, might have been in higher country for the summer. Gibbs, also a member of the survey, has been quoted previously on the conditions of wildlife. He observed that "deer and elk are almost exterminated throughout the country," and that the "Indians, with their usual improvidence, have slaughtered them without mercy." He seemed to be referring to the country of the Klickitat, who lived south and east of Mount Rainier. He elaborated on conditions in other areas in the same report, noting that "of game the Yakima country is as destitute as that of the Klickitats–so much so that ten deer-skins will purchase a horse" (Gibbs 1855). In another report evidently written about the same time but not published until 1877, Gibbs shifted his discussion to the tribes on the west side of the Cascades, of whom he said that "game furnishes to but few of them any considerable item... Elk and deer are hunted to a certain extent, chiefly by the bands nearest the mountains" (Gibbs 1877). In the same
report he noted that their principal foods were "fish, roots, and berries." J.G. Cooper, a naturalist on the Pacific Railroad Survey during the same period (1853-1855), was quoted
earlier concerning elk migrations. He continued his remarks with a statement that seems to imply that elk were only recently reduced in numbers: In some places the Indians formerly surrounded the herds, and by gradually narrowing their circle succeeded in killing many (Cooper 1860). Taking these accounts at face value it would appear that for some reason, presumably not long before the writers arrived in the region, native tribes greatly reduced the numbers of elk and other wildlife. Larsen (n.d.) and Mitchell and Lauckhart (1948), mentioned earlier, espoused a similar viewpoint for elk in the Yakima Valley, where they believed the animals to have disappeared before the first whites arrived. Were these early accounts based only on the personal observations of the writers they might have less credence than they do in this case because they were also based on perceived shortages of wildlife
products among native groups. None of the accounts appear to be directly based on information given the writers by the natives; no report quotes a native as saying that game was more common in the recent past. This leaves open the possibility that game had been uncommon for many years or for centuries. After all, we know that some tribes were dramatically reduced by disease late in the 1700s, thus making it even less likely that in the course of their regular activities they would have wiped out much of the wildlife in the area. Yet there remains the
possibility that the observations of these early writers were to some extent true; furthermore, the circumstances of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries do admit the possibility of long-established balances between native people and wildlife having been disturbed. Three events could have influenced the balances; the development of the fur trade, the introduction of firearms, and the introduction of domestic livestock.
C. Hart Merriam's description of "Roosevelt's Wapiti," published in 1897. In it Merriam discussed the range of the elk, particularly referring to the Cascades: But the southern limit of its range is of far less consequence than the eastern limit, for the important question is, Do or do not the ranges of the Rocky Mountain and Pacific coast wapiti come together. Apparently they do not. Some of the old reports state that the Pacific elk formerly inhabited the Cascade range in Washington and Oregon. But even in this case the Cascades are separated, except at the north, by the full breadth of the Great Basin and Plains of the Columbia (Merriam 1897). Merriam, then believed that elk were entirely gone from the Cascades by 1897. The collections of elk material made by the U.S. Biological Survey in Washington state in the late 1890s–at least those that found their way to the National Museum–contain specimens only from the Olympic Peninsula. It was presumably this collecting work upon which Merriam based his belief (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1983). Merriam had, in the summer of 1897, led a survey and collecting party from the Yakima Valley into Mount Rainier (Taylor and Shaw 1927). This party collected no elk or elk specimens on either side of the Cascades (A.K. Fisher 1897a; 1897b; 1897c; 1897d; W.K. Fisher 1897; V. Bailey 1897a; 1897b). In a 1900 map, "Range of Elk in 1900," Merriam included only the Olympic Peninsula and the extreme southeastern corner of the state within the known elk range at that date (Roosevelt, et al. 1902). Writing in the same volume with the map, T.S. Van Dyke observed of the elk that "on the great plains and lower slopes of California, as well as in the more open woods of the Coast Range and the beautiful upper slopes of the Cascades, he is probably gone forever" (Roosevelt et al. 1902).
In response to the reported slaughter of elk on the Olympic Peninsula, the Washington state legislature closed all elk hunting in 1905 and kept it closed until the 1920s (Thomas and Toweill 1982; May 1965). As early as 1916 the state's Chief Game Warden reported that the Olympic Peninsula was the only place "where the Roosevelt variety is to be found," noting that "So great in number have they become that it has been reported to me by agents of the United States Government as far back as a year and a half ago that they were dying of starvation" (Darwin 1916). Despite the convictions of these authorities, there were continuing reports–or at least continuing suspicions–of native elk in the Cascades from the time of the first introductions of Rocky Mountain elk all the way up to the present.

[Big6bull]

Intresting, thanks for sharing

[pd]

It is interesting to me there is no mention of coyote in those articles.  I wonder why that is?

The introduction (or, re-introduction) of Rocky Mountain elk into the Blues and northern Idaho seems to have built up that species throughout eastern Washinton.  This is my understanding of the history, and I look forward to learning more from others.

[Longbowz]

Interesting article, thanks.......

[REHJWA]

Where did they go.....

[motg9_6]

Tag

[motg9_6]

Look at the history of, Ben Snipes northwest cattle king.  Winters were so bad in his day it would wipe out most all his livestock. Sure this happened to elk, deer and natives as well. If there's two things we as humans should have learned by now it is you can't predict mother nature and its hard to tell what happened when we weren't around.

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

Near as I understand it, Elk herds roamed in bands from coast to coast, as the climate and habitat changed, there became a separation, and individual herds formed, associating and acclimating to geographical regions, how/why there are Roosevelt, Rocky Mountain, Tule, Merriam's (now extinct) etc..
As man, both foreign and domestic, increased in population, the fringes were pushed, the animals reduced and further isolated.
Then the fires of 1900 increased available brouse, and populations immensely, and unregulated hunting for furs and meat became popular.
Conservation was instituted by Roosevelt, and regulated hunting became the norm, with actual seasons and limits.
ever since it is habitat loss, and ease of access due to roads and vehicular access.
This allows poaching, and increased vulnerability to under regulated harvest during critical times.
Mismanagement by a dollar driven authority, and the introduction of an apex predator is not doing it any favors, especially when the act of winter feeding, the use of defoliants concentrates animals during certain times... the future is bleak for free public access and non permit seasons.
Get used to locked gates, access fees, and lots of new "No Trespassing" signs 

[motg9_6]

Well said

[ICEMAN]

How come no mention of the oldest human remains found in the columbia basin, Kennewick man?