P.re-decisional Deliberative

Material Draft Write-up of Wildlife Management Principles Applicable

to the National Elk Refuge and Grand Teton National Park Bison and Elk Management Planning Process

(February 4, 2004)

Habitat Management

.../ 1) One of the most basic principles of wildlife conservation is that wildlife populations

and communities require suitable habitat to be sustained (Leopold 1933, Burger 1979,

WGFD Staff 1995, USFWS 1999) .

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2) Another fundamental principles of wildlife management is that, if habitat in its present

condition is not producing or sustaining desired levels of wildlife populations, habitat can

be manipulated to achieve desired results (Leopold 1933, Dasmann 1964, Thomas 1979,

Yoakum et al. 1980, Peek 1986). As noted by Yoakum et al. (1980:330), "the

maintenance or manipulation of wildlife habitat is a major component of the wildlife

biologist ' s responsibility."

3)Specific to national wildlife refuges, a key principle is that refuges must provide

healthy habitat in order for benefits to be provided to wildlife and for the NWRS mission

and refuge purposes to be accomplished (USFWS 1999) .

.../ 4) To maintain or restore native biological diversity, natural habitat conditions must be

approximated, which may involve managing habitat to mimic natural systems or allowing

natural processes to shape and sustain habitat, or a combination of both (Wagner et al.

1995, Noss and Cooperider 1994, USFWS 1999, NPS 2000, USFWS 2002:601 FW 3).

Because elk and bison are native to Jackson Hole, they are part of the native biological

diversity.

Population Management

1) One of the most basic principles is that wildlife populations can be controlled by

humans through activities such as hunting (regulated harvest) , trapping, and capture and

slaughter (Leopold 1933, Cummings 1979, Bailey 1984, Peek 1986, WGFD Staff 1995).

2) In the absence of such population control measures, populations will be regulated by

other factors such as food availability and predators (Wagner et al. 1995, NPS 2000).

3) Wildlife management traditionally focuses on populations, not individual animals

(Peek 1986, USFWS 1992:70 1 FW 1.3).

4) Hunting has long been recognized as a wildlife management tool to control wildlife

populations (Leopold 1933, Cununings 1979, Bailey 1986, WGFD Staff 1995). On

national wildlife refuges, hunting is an accepted and legitimate method of controlling

wildlife populations as part of modern scientific resource programs (16 USC 668ee(4),

USFWS 1999) and is a legitimate and appropriate form of wildlife-dependent recreation

when found to be compatible with refuge purposes (16 USC 668dd(a)(3)(B)). The GTNP

elk reduction program, which is carried out by hunters licensed by the State of Wyoming

and deputized as rangers by the Secretary of the Interior, is a legitimate management tool

"when it is found necessary for the purpose of properly managing and protecting the elk"

on GTNP (Public Law 81-787, Section 6).

5) A related principle of wildlife management is that wildlife populations can be

managed on a maximum sustained yield basis. Under this principle, a wildlife population

level is maintained at a given size where the birth rate is at a maximum level and where

removals from hunting and other mortality do not exceed births (Peek 1986:281-286,

Stalling et al. 2002). For some ungulate populations, maximum sustained yield is about

60 percent of the carrying capacity of the land ( __ ). Supplemental feedin~

population to be maintained above the maximum sustained yield. ~ Winter Feeding

1) Extensive experience has shown that some species of ungulates can be artificially fed

during winter to maintain high animal numbers, prevent malnutrition losses, prevent

damage to crops and other vegetation (in places well away from feeding locations), and

retain animals in areas where they can be readily observed, especially in situations where

the amount of suitable habitat is insufficient (Dasmann 1964, Mautz 1978, Wisdom and

Thomas 1996, Williamson 2000, Peek et al. 2002). Peek et al. (2002) provide a range of

well-cited examples of feeding programs in the United States and Europe that have been

successful in maintaining higher numbers of animals with desired characteristics than

could otherwise have been sustained. As articulated by Mautz (1978), an argument can be

made for winter feeding purely from the nutritional standpoint.

2) In situations where supplemental feeding of ungulates is conducted, regardless of the

impetus, it must be carried out using the best available information (Dasmann 1964,

Mautz 1978, Olson and Lewis 1994, Wisdom and Thomas 1996, Williamson 2000). For

example, it should be initiated early enough in the winter such that animals do not

become malnourished before feeding begins (which can lead to starvation regardless of

subsequent feeding effotis) ; once feeding begins , it must be continued until natural forage

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is available in the spring; and supplemental feeding must, in combination with available

standing forage, meet the nutritional requirements of wintering elk (Dasmann 1964,

Mautz 1978, Wilson and Thomas 1996, Williamson 2000).

~) It is widely accepted that supplemental feeding many times results in unnaturally high

densities of animals being fed and that these excessive densities increase habitat damage

and increases disease transmission and prevalence (Leopold 1933, Mautz 1978, Bailey

1984, Minta and Campbell 1991 , Olson and Lewis 1994, WGFD Staff 1995, Cook et al.

2000, Williamson 2000, Smith 2001, Thome et al. 2002, Canadian Cooperative Wildlife

Health Center 2003, Peterson 2003, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources 2003).

/ (This principle has been shown to be the case on the refuge (Murie 1951 , Boye.::_~

l S_mi!h 2001, Anderson 2002, Dobkin et al. 2002, Smith et al. 2004). In general, regular or

annual feeding of wildlife is discouraged (Leopold 1933, Dasmann 1964, Teague and

Decker 1979, Peek 1986, Olson and Lewis 1994, WGFD Staff 1995, Wisdom and

Thomas 1996, Cook et al. 2000, Williamson 2000, Peek et al. 2002, Canadian

Cooperative Wildlife Health Center 2003, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

2003).

Disease Management

v l) As wildlife become more concentrated in smaller areas, the opportunity for disease

transmission rises; for density-dependent diseases, transmission and the opportunity for

epidemics are enhanced in many cases by management practices that concentrate wildlife

populations (Karstad 1979, Kistner et al. 1982, Gilbert and Dodds 1987, WGFD Staff

1995, Cook et al. 2000, Williams and Barker 2001, Disease Experts 2002, Thome et al.

2002, Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Center 2003, Peterson 2003). Conversely,

ungulates on native range that are maintained somewhat below carrying capacity on

healthy habitat are less likely to have problems with disease than animals in more

crowded conditions (Cowan 1951, Kistner et al. 1982, Nelson and Leege 1982, Jessup

and Boyce 1994, WGFD Staff 1995, Peterson 2003).

~ 2) Preventive measures are far more effective in dealing with a disease in wild, free­

ranging wildlife than attempts to eradicate or control the disease after it has become

established (Karstad 1979, Jessup and Boyce 1995, Peterson 2003).

/ 3) For density-dependent diseases, a fundamental principle is that reduced densities of

animals will reduce transmission rates and prevalence of diseases (Bailey 1984, WGFD

Staff 1995 , USFWS 2001 :601 FW 3.14.E, Disease Expe1is 2002, Peterson 2003), and this

can be done by increasing or improving habitat conditions, increasing the number of

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locations where animals can forage, manipulating other aspects of the environment, and

reducing numbers of animals (Leopold 1933 , Karstad 1979, Bailey 1984).

4) Related to Principle D.3 , but targeted for specific diseases, a basic principle of disease

management is that reducing the density of infected animals will reduce the transmission

rate and prevalence of this disease (Peterson 2003 for review), and this can be

accomplished using a variety of techniques, including vaccination, test and slaughter,

possibly fertility control, in addition to those applicable to the principle discussed in the

preceding sentence. However, for some diseases such as chronic wasting disease in elk,

there are no known methods to do this (Peterson 2003).

Cross-Jurisdictional Management

1) The distribution and movements of wildlife populations and communities are

independent of landownership patterns and jurisdictions (USFWS 1999, NPS 2000). As

an example, elk and bison inhabiting the NER and GTNP also use lands outside these

areas (Boyce 1989, Smith and Robbins 1994).

2) The conservation of a wildlife population on a particular piece of land influences and

is influenced by conservation and land-use practices on other lands occupied by the

populations (Crowe 1983, Boyce 1989, Cooperrider 2002) . Therefore, working with

surrounding landowners would facilitate the sustainability of migratory populations of

wildlife inhabiting refuges and parks and the long-term health of their habitats (USFWS

1996:052 FW 1, USFWS 1999, NPS 2000:1.5, 4.4.1.1 ).

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Turkey and Other Big Game is More Often Curse than Favor. Wildlife Management Institute, Washington, D.C. 34pp.

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from Wisconsin's Free-Ranging White-tailed Deer Herd. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Madison. 175pp.

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Society for Range Management, Denver, Colorado. 440pp.

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Wildlife Management Techniques Manual, Fourth Edition: Revised. The Wildlife

Society, Washington, D.C. 686pp.

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