New Elk Starving Videos Mt Saint Helens.

[bbarnes]

An anti-feeding bill would starve wildlife, including elk at St. Helens, critics say
By Chester Allen | The Olympian • Published February 05, 2009

Comments (30)  Recommend (1) Photos

 For the past three winters, Mark Smith has fed hay to hungry elk near Mount St. Helens.


 
Photo Gallery:
House Bill 1885 on feeding wild animals
What's next

The House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources has not yet scheduled a hearing on this bill. To keep track of when a hearing will occur, go to www.leg.wa.gov/House/Committees/AGNR/agendas.htm

Smith, an owner of the Eco Park Resort near Mount St. Helens, said he knows that feeding is not the solution to the overpopulation of elk there.

"But I'm not in favor of using starvation as a management tool," Smith said Wednesday afternoon. He said he feeds 600 to 800 pounds of hay to as many as 100 elk each day.

Smith's winter feeding program for elk will end if a bill before the House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources becomes law.

House Bill 1885 would forbid private citizens from feeding elk, deer, bears, raccoons, opossums, cougars, wolves, coyotes, wild turkeys and skunks.

It still would be legal to feed birds at backyard bird feeders.

Elk plan

"We need fewer elk, a hunting plan that provides a regulated harvest of elk and more habitat," Smith said.

In the meantime, HB1885 — if it is passed as written — would doom some animals to starvation until the herd comes into balance with the amount of feed that the land can provide, Smith said.

The bill was introduced to stop private citizens who feed bears, raccoons and other animals that can become troublesome when they get used to humans — and to the food they receive from humans, said Rep. Brian Blake, D-Aberdeen, who is the chairman of the Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources.

"I'm aware of one person who feeds 100 pounds of dog food a week to a large black bear," Blake said. "That's inappropriate; black bears are dangerous."

Feeding wildlife is a bad idea because the animals get used to humans providing their food, and they can quickly become a problem, said Dave Ware, game division manager for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

"One neighbor feeding animals can become a problem for other people," Ware said.

Fish and Wildlife does feed wild elk at nine feeding stations on the east side of the Cascades — from near Ellensburg to near Yakima, Ware said.

Those feeding stations were created to help elk that have lost their winter range to farms, orchards and ranches, he said.

Next page >>

[runamuk]

"I'm aware of one person who feeds 100 pounds of dog food a week to a large black bear," Blake said. "That's inappropriate; black bears are dangerous."

I'm sorry but an entire bill because one doofus feeds a bear  with any luck that situation will be self resolving 

If people are so ignorant as to feed dangerous animals and then get hurt by said animal I call that evolution, survival of the fittest etc... we cannot CANNOT legislate against stupidity 

[Guns4Fun]

"I'm aware of one person who feeds 100 pounds of dog food a week to a large black bear," Blake said. "That's inappropriate; black bears are dangerous."

I'm sorry but an entire bill because one doofus feeds a bear  with any luck that situation will be self resolving 

If people are so ignorant as to feed dangerous animals and then get hurt by said animal I call that evolution, survival of the fittest etc... we cannot CANNOT legislate against stupidity 

I couldn't agree more.

[elkangel]

To all of you who still doubt my name and what we are doing at Mt.St. Helens please, Google Mt. St. Helens, and see today's story  up dates.  Or, you can check the Olympian, Longview Daily News, Seattle Times and Oregonian, just search for Mt. St. Helens, or starving elk, or HB 1885 stories. 

I hope this will help to provide you with more information and see that what we are doing is real.   Thanks to all of you who have supported us in the past and hope you will continue to support us in the future.  With your help we can continue to make things happen. 

Mark Smith.

[jackelope]

lets try and keep it on topic and keep all the childish crap off the boards.
thank you.

[Ghost Hunter]

#8 Alfalfa is $300/ton or $20/bale
 

wow hay is spendy where you are at thats for sure!

yeah it is

http://portland.craigslist.org/clc/for/1024474006.html

Price comparison?

[ELKBURGER]

Alfalfa comes in larger bales, approx. 120-130# bales. The grass hay on craigslist is probably 55-70# bales. Alfalfa has much higher nutritional value. So the local price they're getting isnt bad, for the west side.

[Ghost Hunter]

Alfalfa comes in larger bales, approx. 120-130# bales. The grass hay on craigslist is probably 55-70# bales. Alfalfa has much higher nutritional value. So the local price they're getting isnt bad, for the west side.

My point exactly

[runamuk]

Del's in Montesano currently has alfalfa on sale 13.99 bale, not sure how long that price will last but that is a good price, I've been paying 16-18 at my local hay dealer.

[colockumelk]

I would say that if he wanted to save money he should find someone to donate a big ole flate bet trailer or whatever that group can find and come over to Ellensburg and buy the hay at $130-$150 a ton.  Which is about 7 dollars a bale.

[daveenlola]

You want to point the blame, point it where it belongs, at the government, and the liberal mentality.  Elk need food, they eat grass.  Grass will not grow in standing timber, only in open areas, clearcuts, etc.....  Ban logging in this country and the elk habitat dies.  The reason elk have flourished in years past is due to logging operations clearing the land, so grass can grow until the newly planted trees grow. By the time new trees kill off the grass and vegetation, there are new clearcuts, and open areas with lots of feed.  It is funny(not really) that most of the starving elk are coming out of the National Forest?  While elk on Weyerhauser and other private timber company land are flourishing for the most part?

 

[KillzElk]

Quote:
To all of you who still doubt my name and what we are doing at Mt.St. Helens please, Google Mt. St. Helens, and see today's story  up dates.  Or, you can check the Olympian, Longview Daily News, Seattle Times and Oregonian, just search for Mt. St. Helens, or starving elk, or HB 1885 stories. 

I hope this will help to provide you with more information and see that what we are doing is real.   Thanks to all of you who have supported us in the past and hope you will continue to support us in the future.  With your help we can continue to make things happen. 

Mark Smith.

Looks like I was gone for two weeks on vacation & the talk is still about ?  Newbies , Alfalfa ,Fake Names Mark Smith is real.. I feel this post has raised a few eyes about every aspect that is going on, Great articles Mark. I also feel after I have watched the videos again I do understand what you all are hearing. The Animals have died in the past & will die again from the same problem this year. If the state would do there job, they might be able to control SOME not all of the starvation that is going on , Looks to me that they are more worried about there pocket book & driving around pointing blame ..

[KillzElk]

Looks to me BBarnes has been telling it like it is....

By GRANT McOMIE for Kgw.com

Grant McOmie: Managing wild NW elk
http://www.kgw.com/video/index.html?nvid=344842&shu=1

Mt St Helens has long been a drawing card for visitors who enjoy the volcano’s majestic beauty.
Video: Starving elk herd

But in recent years, a tragic scene of wildlife starvation has clouded the view.

It’s been a struggle to keep elk alive during winter on a state-managed wildlife refuge called the Loowit Wildlife Unit inside the Mt St Helens Wildlife Area.

One man is trying to save as many animals as he can from a terrible fate.

Mark Smith never dreamed he would have so many neighbors show up on his Toutle River property for lunch.

Smith’s acreage is located in the shadow of Mt St Helens and a lingering winter hasn’t left him much choice but to feed the eighty or so hungry elk that show up each day.

Grant McOmie

Hungry elk at Mt. St. Helens

He began feeding the elk last December and has he placed flakes of the hay out on the ground he noted: “We call it a supplemental feeding because we try to get 4-6 pounds of protein to each animal a day. I wouldn’t do this if I felt there was a choice. For me, there simply isn’t one.”

Wildlife starvation has been a fact of the “wild”-life near Mt St Helens for years.

But in 2006, it was also a terribly slow death for scores of majestic elk that starved on the Loowit Unit of the Mt St Helens Wildlife Area.

Smith said it was a winter he’ll never forget because the grisly scene changed his mind about feeding wildlife forever.

He believes that the state should do the same on the refuge as he does on his own property: feed elk in winter to prevent them from starving: “People want to see animals, they want to learn about them and if you give that opportunity, especially along this area where we have such an attraction, I think it could be a greater benefit. In fact, the benefits from that program – as they have found out at Jewell – strongly outweigh the problems.”

The Jewell Wildlife Area in Oregon’s Clatsop County is home to nearly 200 elk in the winter. It’s a place where feeding has been a daily routine for nearly forty years.

In fact, visitors can go along and lend a hand, enjoy close up views to the massive animals and learn a valuable lesson about wildlife too.

Unlike the Loowit Refuge at Mt St Helens, the elk at Jewell are fed to prevent damage on neighboring properties; that is if they weren't on the refuge, they'd be eating on neighboring private properties.”

Still, one thing is certain according to Brian Swearingen, the Jewell Wildlife Area manager, when you provide adequate habitat the elk respond and the people respond too.

“It’s a very good thing for our agency,” he said. “It's popular with thousands of people and it's one of the showcases that our agency uses to explain to folks. Plus, it’s easy to head for Jewell and see the elk.”

But Sondra Jonker, Washington Wildlife Department manager, disagrees with that strategy for the Mt St Helens Wildlife Area. She insists that winter-feeding would pose health risks to the elk.

Moreover, “You're artificially concentrating the animals, changes their behavior, increased likelihood of disease transmission and so for a variety of reasons we don't want to do that. We do understand that (starvation) may be tough to look at, but we also recognize that is a normal process.”

Jonker told KGW that they have chosen to improve the available elk habitat and grow more forage food for the elk to eat. In fact, this spring they will plant 14,000 trees to help stabilize the landscape along the river and prevent erosion.

Brian Calkins, a Washington Wildlife Dept biologist said that habitat is key to survival for the Loowit elk herd: “That’s the long term solution to erosion control - the structures that we'll be building are just to get those trees established so they’re large enough to hold the bank together.”

Still, Mark Smith argues that thousands of dollars have already been poured into habitat projects on the refuge over the last two decades – and many of the projects never took root

He said that a regular and consistent winter-feeding plan would stop starvation in its tracks and perhaps attract more visitors to the area too.

“What I’m trying to do is what I believe is the right thing, he noted. “I don’t think they need to be any more abused than they already have been.”

The Washington Department of Wildlife plans to offer volunteer work sessions on the Loowit Wildlife Area this spring. Volunteers are needed for tree planting projects.

[elkhuntingcouple]

Are you still in need of donations? Will the Rocky Mt. Elk Foundation help? Can we call at the phone@ posted oon Eco Park site?  to me it is totally sick to let animals starve. If another animal takes it as prey that is one thing but to let them die a slow death is just not right.

[Guns4Fun]

Are you still in need of donations? Will the Rocky Mt. Elk Foundation help? Can we call at the phone@ posted oon Eco Park site?  to me it is totally sick to let animals starve. If another animal takes it as prey that is one thing but to let them die a slow death is just not right.