Issued December 21, 1911. U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE BIOLOGICAL SURVEY-BULLETIN No. 40 HENRY W. HENSHAW, Chief REPORT ON CONDITION OF ELK IN JACKSON HOLE, WYOMING, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, BUREAU OF BIOLOGICAL SURVEY, Washington, D. C., November 1, 1911. SIR: I have the nonor to transmit herewith for publication as Bulletin No. 40, a Report on the Condition of Elk in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in 1911, by Edward A. Preble, assistant in the Biological Survey. At the last session of the sixty-first Congress an item was incorporated in the appropriation for the Biological Survey "for the feeding, protecting, and removal of elk in the country known as Jackson's Hole and vicinity, in the State of Wyoming. Steps were immediately taken to obtain the information necessary to enable the Biological Survey to undertake intelligently and effectively the solution of the elk problem in Wyoming. Mr. Preble was directed to proceed to Jackson Hole, and Mr. D. C. Nowlin, formerly game warden of the State, was appointed as his assistant. They were instructed: (1) To make a thorough examination of existing conditions, to ascertain approximately the number of elk which perished by starvation, and to collect all available data respecting the life history and local distribution of the animals; (2) to cooperate with the State in feeding the elk and to arrange for obtaining a supply of feed for the winter of 1911-12; (3) to investigate the feasibility of transferring a few animals to other parts of the State or to game preserves in other States where nucleus herds might be established under Federal or State auspices. Upon arrival in Jackson Hole Messrs. Preble and Nowlin found that the State had already purchased and was feeding all the hay available and nothing further in this direction could be done except to make arrangements for the following winter. On account of the lateness of the season and the impassability of the roads it was practicable to make only one experimental shipment of elk, and 12 animals were successfully transported across Teton Pass. Seven of these were shipped to the National Bison Range, in Montana, and 5 to the Wichita National Game Refuge, in Oklahoma. All of them arrived in good condition and are doing well. The Biological Survey has undertaken not merely temporary relief during one or two severe winters, but an investigation, in cooperation with the State of Wyoming, of the broader problem of the maintenance of the elk herd of Jackson Hole as one of the important resources of the State and as a permanent source of income. Such an 3 investigation includes collection of all available data on the natural history of the elk; a review of the efforts which have been made by the State to protect and perpetuate the species; the losses by wolves, poaching, and starvation; experiments in feeding during severe weather; provision for summer range in the State game preserve; and recommendations for winter refuges where an adequate supply of forage may be obtained. The present publication is a preliminary report and deals mainly with the information collected regarding the condition of the elk during the past winter. It will probably be followed shortly by a summary of the work accomplished by the State, and later by reports on feeding and refuges and other problems concerning which data are not yet ready for publication. Respectfully, Hon. JAMES WILSON, Secretary of Agriculture. HENRY W. HENSHAW, |