2025 Wyoming Elk Draw/Questions

[ThorM465]

I hunted a couple of hill sides where this would have been an improvement. Assuming it was followed with over seeding it a few times.

 

[Blackcats06]

We had some locals tell us exactly this and tell us that it was just a weird year. I believe there is a lot of truth to this. However, it should be noted that we were told this from locals who had also been hunting for an elk in that unit for over a week. We talked to several people in the area and our story wasn't unique this year.


North Alabama. I often wondered if that wasn't the case as we were hunting lands void of wildlife. I'm currently pondering the question which one is normal, do we have an usual level of wildlife per sq mile in the southeast or is there something seriously wrong with the ecosystem in that area?

I wouldnt say you have an unusual level of wildlife, you have what the ecosystem supports. Same with western states. I would guess the west has about 2 elk per square mile, so when you have a group of 8 elk, that's 4 square miles which is a lot of country in the west.

 

[Blackcats06]

Honest question. When was the last time y'all asked yourselves should it be part of western hunting? With the money coming in from nonresident hunters you should be able to set up programs to remove the deadfall to some degree and bring in vegetation that would facilitate a better ecosystem with the goal of larger healthier herds.

Wildlife is managed by the state. Federal lands are not. Some states work with the federal government to fix the issue and some dont. Even if the state tries doesnt mean the federal government will do it.

 

[fngTony]

I hunted a couple of hill sides where this would have been an improvement. Assuming it was followed with over seeding it a few times.

It’s just not as easy to do in the undeveloped west plus the soil isn’t very fertile until that blowdown burns. Not saying that it doesn’t happen but where I’ve seen blowdown collected was near a very wide well graded forest road. That area burned really well about six years ago and you can see how much healthier the forest is where it burned. So removing the blowdown is removing the fertilizer.