Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1938-09-24

Montana has in it's F1athead river
wilderness a depleted winter range
graveyard for big game which the
famed Selway area in Idaho will duph-
cate within 10 years unless its elk and
deer herds are brought within bounds
through hunting, says DR.. A. B. Hatch,
assistant professor in charge OF game
management at the University Of
Idaho.
DR.. Hatch spent 10 days in the South
Fork drainage southeast of Kalispel
as an invited neutral member of a
Montana game survey party. Acute
range conditions he observed SO re-
sembled problems confronting the Sell
way elk and deer herds that he de-
scribed them in letter to I. j. Longe-
teig, Craigmant, president OF the Clear
water wildlife federation. Parts of his
letter follow:
THE Flathead elk problem is one of
winter range, and differs in no essen
tial way, except IN age, from our prob
lem in the Selway. Cattle and sheep
are wholly excluded !. so there can
be no question but that the damage
is caused by game only. Summer evil
denceS of serious winter overgrazing
of browse species are extremely diff
cult to recognize; indeed, they have
even escaped the scrutiny of range ex-
perts. 1t is little wonder, therefore,
that most summer visitors and fall
hunters-and even some packers and
guides-are willing to swear that game
is scarce, when actually it is over
abundant.
Winter Range Depleted
TN contrast to the Selway, the
shrubs in the Flathead forest, because
of less rainfall, are relatively scattered
and therefore afford less winter feed.
But on the winter ranges even these
shrubs are today largely dead or dying
because of browsing Over
grazing in the Selway represents mere
ly an incipient stage OF damage as it
exists in the South Fork. Over all the
favored south slopes the shrubs have
been so heavily eaten that there re-
main only dead and naked stools.
Shrubs still alive resemble weird witch
es' broomS from which each winter
every inch of new growth Is gnawed.
Their complete death is only q matter
Of few more winters.
1.-THE bottomlandS, normally covered
with dense thickets of juniper, willow
and aspen, are literally bare Of all
palatable browse from the ground to
eight or 10 feet in height. This stu
alton is disastrous for game on well /
ranges, these bottomlands re-
main untouched during average win
ters, thus accommodating large amount /
of food which serves as buffer during
severe winters.
"Strangest Of all is the appearance
Of the dense lodgepole pine reproduc-
ton. On young stands, nearly all the
needles and shoots have been eaten
off; on older trees the branches are
stripped as high as 10 feet, from snow
line to the reach of the tallest bull.
LodgepOle Pine Diet
Incredible as it may seem, I would
judge roughly that pitchy lodgepole
pine represents as much as rs percent
Of the late winter diet Of elk in the
South Fork This is more serious than
would first appear because twigs Of
pine do not regenerate as do those of
leafy shrubs, and the almost complete
exhaustion of the present winter food
supply Is thus in sight.
@Overgrazing, judging from the age
and extent Of the damage, apparently
has been in progress well over
decade Today, although there are
rs many acres of winter range. In the
South Fork as the Selway C75.000) It
IS heavily overstocked by only $500
TX and few hundred deer In contrast
% 1000 elk and 1000 deer IN the
5eiway.
even last winter, which was quite
Mid. these 2.6O0 elk cleaned up every