Big Game Hunting > Out Of State Hunting
Wyoming feed stations are a breeding ground for disease/CWD. Thoughts?
zwickeyman:
--- Quote from: bearpaw on December 22, 2023, 11:01:23 AM ---There is a huge push to stop feeding elk and deer and to have more predators, it seems to go hand in hand with these new biologists the liberal colleges are turning out. Here's what I have observed.
In NE WA they used to feed deer when I was young, we had mule deer herds wintering out with hundreds of mule deer that could be counted every winter, they fed whitetails up at higher elevations to keep them off the valley floor where they get hit on the highway. The comment about the whitetail feeding is directly from the mouth of the WDFW employee who ran those whitetail feed stations! Today you will be lucky to see m0re than a couple dozen mule deer in the same areas even if you cover a lot more ground looking. Every time we lose whitetails to hard winter or blue tongue they never recover to their previous high most likely due to the high number of predators, dogs chasing them, and traffic losses.
Last winter where I live in Idaho, IDFG paid the next door farmer to feed elk all winter, to keep them from raiding farmer haystacks, the elk literally laid in the field all winter in a herd, why would they leave when the snow is three feet deep? I did not see one single elk that died in that field from eating alfalfa. IDFG had 23 deer feeding stations in our area, and this fall when we hunted, the units with the most feeding stations had the best deer hunting. The unit that had the fewest feeding stations last winter had the fewest deer this fall.
At least the deer and elk that got fed survived! I can't say that for a good portion of the herds that weren't fed! We had a lot better fall season than I ever expected and I feel 100% it's because IDFG has a feeding program!
--- End quote ---
This has been brought to the table by anti hunters. Let that sink in
CarbonHunter:
I don’t see this as being a political issue but instead something that is real and needs to be addressed if we want healthy deer and elk herds. I also don’t believe we will be able to kill our way out of this by culling infected herds.
If there are CWD prions on the feeding ground they are going to need to find different grounds to feed them right? Would it be wise here in Washington to spread the feed grounds out? Instead of feeding 4,000 elk in one location should we feed 400 elk in 10 locations?
Stein:
--- Quote from: sjhgraysage on December 27, 2023, 08:40:33 AM ---I am currently looking at the webcams for the Elk Refuge at Jackson WY. There is no snow at the moment down on the valley floor, and I don't believe that they have started to feed the elk yet as there is no reason to. Even still there are elk on the refuge and they are hanging out together like elk do in herds.
I don't see how not feeding would keep the elk from herding up? That is what elk do. At the family ranch in grant county the deer get together in groups during the winter even though they are not being fed by humans, more eyes are safer than one deer alone with all the predators around, probably why they hang out together.
--- End quote ---
I believe they start feeding after they eat out the local forage or at some percentage. I talked to the guy running it when I had a bison tag a few years back and I seem to remember him having a number he calculated almost every day.
If they are infected and bunched up, I don't know what difference it makes if they are bunched on the refuge or the nearest hay field. At this point it's probably likely there are prions on summer and winter range. There are truly insane amounts of elk just at that one location, it's beyond amazing to be able to go walking around in there during the winter.
hunter399:
--- Quote from: CarbonHunter on March 05, 2025, 01:46:35 PM ---I don’t see this as being a political issue but instead something that is real and needs to be addressed if we want healthy deer and elk herds. I also don’t believe we will be able to kill our way out of this by culling infected herds.
If there are CWD prions on the feeding ground they are going to need to find different grounds to feed them right? Would it be wise here in Washington to spread the feed grounds out? Instead of feeding 4,000 elk in one location should we feed 400 elk in 10 locations?
--- End quote ---
I think what your saying is wdfw needs to stop making laws for citizens,then putting in provisions that make it legal for them to break said laws.
Here in the NE
We have wolves and are over stocked with predators.
They only kill the sick ones (supposedly) .
So we are good to go to bait,it's a natural eco-cleansing.
Lol.......😂
To answer your question...
No ,ten locations would not work. The answer is if baiting is banned statewide,then it's banned for everyone. Including feeding station.
Another FYI.
Wolves can smell CWD ,can also spread it from there own scat.
bearpaw:
--- Quote from: CarbonHunter on March 05, 2025, 12:08:52 PM ---Looks like the elk are starting to drop in feeding stations this winter in Wyoming due to CWD. Have any of you changed your opinions over the last year on this topic?
https://www.gohunt.com/browse/news-and-updates/hunting-news/chronic-wasting-disease-spreads-among-elk-at-wyoming-feedground
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Elk move into large groups during the winter, you can't stop that. I sill believe feeding is a viable alternative to simply letting elk or deer die due to starvation. I can't say for sure how feeding is conducted in some states, but in Idaho feeding is only initiated when natural foraging becomes too hard due to intense winter conditions, some years like this year, we had no feeding, it was a mild winter, but the elk are still in large herds in the valleys.
A couple weeks ago a train hit a herd and the local warden had to remove 9 head of dead elk, fortunately he was able salvage most of them for consumption. We have a herd that showed up late winter and has been hanging out day and night about a half mile from my house in a big field, about 50 to 100 in that group.
It certainly makes sense to me that if animals are dieing to get them picked up immediately and potentially move a feeding site or the herd even if they aren't being fed, if the ground is considered contaminated. But if the elk are hanging out in a field on their own you may have to bait another area close by or chase them with a chopper to get them to move. Even If you move a naturally formed herd or a herd at a feed site, the animals will still group up in herds and stay in small areas, that's just how elk get through the winter.
I really question if CWD hasn't been around for centuries and it just wasn't realized what it was until recently? Hopefully there is research being done to find an answer for treating or preventing CWD.
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