Elk fence in the blues?

[bhomma]

I was up hiking around the blues south of pomeroy last weekend and noticed that the elk fence borders what is seems like that while northern border of the NF. Anyone know why they have to put that fence in? I've never seen anything like on NF land before.

[elkboy]

Just one more sign of a lack of tolerance for free-ranging big game in this state. 

[bhomma]

No kidding man does it encompass the entire NF?

[meatwhack]

That fence has been there a loooong time.

[huntnphool]

@jackelope

[jackelope]

Pomeroy is agriculture land. Not wildlife land. That’s why the elk fence is there, and has been there for a really really long time.

[Ridgeratt]

I know it's been there since the middle of the 1970s.
Folks used to cut large sections out of it. 

[Slenk]

Pomeroy is agriculture land. Not wildlife land. That’s why the elk fence is there, and has been there for a really really long time.

It was there in the real early 70s when I hunted up there. Also when I hauled feryilizer and chemicals to the farmers there.

[elkchaser54]

Its an attempt to keep them off farm fields. Where if they destroy crops farmers get tags to remove them, which is another piece to the decline in the blue mountain herd.

[Skyvalhunter]

Its unfortunate that it is done that way. Guess you cant blame the farmers too much but some think the elk are their own private animals.

[Hot Lunch]

The wdfw uses helicopters to push the elk into the forest around September. Not sure what type of management plan this is but it has been documented. When confronted they say they are counting the elk. No one who lives out there has any respect for the wdfw and their elk plan.

[bobdog86]

There used to be a couple days of either sex, which if you ever encountered it, you’d never believe it....cars lined up along the roads for miles, watching the fence. Quite the show, portable concession Shacks. Crazy

[LDennis24]

The fence is only there in sections. It's just like Jackelope said. To stop crop damage. I hunted there before during March with land owner tags for elk. You had to immediately report where you shot the animal and how many elk you saw so they could go out and chase them back into the forest from the farm areas. They were getting out into the fields because they cut the fences in several places during the wildfires so the animals wouldnt be trapped but then they kept getting into the fields and damaging crops again. It was the dumbest hunt I've ever been on for elk. We just sat on the edge of a green field that was covered with tracks and eaten down and the elk came out at dusk like clockwork two days in a row and we tagged out both days then went home. Felt almost like a high fence hunt! I would never turn down elk meat so it was offered and I took the opportunity.

[csaaphill]

That fence has been there a loooong time.

yeah! me and a friend got in behind the darned thing and followed it for a while thinking it would end and we'd be able to get out, but NOOOOO! lol stupid thing... We had to end up climibing over the darned thing or hike back to where it wasn't and more likely end our hunt.
This was in the 90's so yeah that Elk drift fence as they call it has been there a long time.

[mtncook]

It runs from the Tucannon River East to Beyond Charley Creek.  Poorly maintained in places.  THe School fire in 2005  took out big sections that were replaced. A few 1 way gates are installed to allow return off private land.