2023 Annual Report (PDF)
Starting in early 2023, wildlife biologists are working on a multi-year project in the Lower Clark Fork near Noxon in Sanders County to better understand what is influencing elk populations.
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks biologists are partnering with researchers at the University of Montana W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation to carry out a comprehensive study of elk populations in Hunting District 121.
The project will focus on:
Survival, recruitment, and pregnancy rates of elk;
Predator-prey interactions between elk and wolves, bears, and lions;
Seasonal distribution patterns on public and private lands;
Habitat needs and land-use practices that could benefit elk;
Wildlife management strategies for northwest Montana.
“We are hoping to better understand elk population dynamics in northwest Montana by studying the top-down influences like predation and the bottom-up influences like habitat,” said Dr. Kelly Proffitt, FWP research lead for this project.
“FWP will use this information from the field to develop an adaptive management plan for elk in this region. It will also help FWP and land managers continue to collaborate on forestry practices that benefit wildlife.”
In order to properly manage any wildlife species, biologists and managers must have a good understanding of the animals and habitat conditions in an area. This new project will gather valuable local information about the drivers of elk populations, including predator-prey interactions and changes in forest management.
Biologists and researchers will capture elk, mountain lions, wolves, and black bears. The goal is to catch 60 elk, 10 mountain lions, 10 bears, and five wolves and fit the animals with GPS radio collars to track their movements, help evaluate population numbers, and identify the different causes of elk mortalities. Female elk received implants that detect when and where calves are born so biologists can capture and collar the young animals for tracking survival and mortality rates.
Elk captures involve helicopters and ground traps and will continue through the duration of the project to maintain 60 collared elk.
To learn more about where and how animals are using the landscape, remote triggered cameras will be distributed throughout the area and collect observations of wildlife for abundance estimates.
Another part of this project will include studying effects of timber management on elk habitat and distribution. This will include surveying the types of forage and forested habitats that elk are using throughout the year.
Research will also try to better understand how hunting pressure drives elk movements on public and private land throughout hunting season.
Wildlife Research Biologist
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
Wildlife Biologist
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
Boone and Crockett Professor of Wildlife Conservation
University of Montana W. A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation
Project funding was provided by revenues from the sale of Montana hunting and fishing licenses and matching Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration grants to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Additional funding was provided by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
As part of a Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (MFWP) initiative to identify elk migration corridors and winter ranges and work cooperatively with partners to conserve these important habitats, there is a need to collect and assess elk movement data in eastern Montana.
Our first goal is to delineate migration corridors and seasonal ranges of the Custer and Missouri Breaks elk populations. These areas have been selected based on the local needs identified by MFWP management biologists, and where considerable community, conservation partner, and agency interest in elk habitat conservation exists.
Our second goal is to evaluate the effects of hunter access management and other important factors on elk habitat selection using location data from GPS collared elk in the Custer and Missouri Breaks study areas. Our objective is to identify important landscape and environmental factors affecting elk habitat selection in these areas, particularly during the fall hunting seasons. If factors such as security, forage, and hunter access can be identified and related to habitat selection, managers may use this information to manipulate these factors to increase the amount of time elk spend on public land, thereby furthering opportunity for hunters using public lands and reducing game damage incurred on adjacent private lands.
Wildlife Research Biologist
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
Research Technician
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
Professor
Department of Ecology
Montana State University, Bozeman
M.S. Candidate
Department of Ecology
Montana State University, Bozeman
Funding was provided by revenues from the sale of Montana hunting and fishing licenses and matching Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration grants to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Funding was also provided by the Bureau of Land Management.
The purpose of this project is to evaluate the effects of a recent, large-scale wildfire on the elk population in the Blackfoot Clearwater area of west-central Montana. In August and September of 2017, the 160,000-acre Rice Ridge fire burned the majority of the historical summer range of the Blackfoot-Clearwater elk population. Fire severity varied across the area, with low, mid, and high severity wildlife burning approximately 80% of the elk summer range. Our goal in this project is to evaluate the effects of low severity and high severity wildlife on elk forage and distribution to better understand the effects of wildfire on elk populations. To assess post-fire effects of a large-scale wildfire on the elk population and habitat over the first four years post-fire, we are evaluating elk movements using a combination of GPS collared individuals and camera traps positioned across the study area. We are also evaluating the forage quality, abundance, and phenology within the Blackfoot-Clearwater elk range to better understand the seasonal effects of low severity and high severity wildfire on forage in the years shortly after fire.
Wildlife Research Biologist
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
Research Technician
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
Area Wildlife Biologist
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
Professor
University of Montana
M.S. Candidate
University of Montana
Project funding was provided by revenues from the sale of Montana hunting and fishing licenses and matching Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration grants to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Additional funding was provided by the Campfire Foundation and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
The purpose of this project is to evaluate the effects of changes in travel management and hunter access on male and female elk movements and hunting-season distributions in the North Sapphire Mountains. This project follows the North Sapphire Elk Research Project, which produced several important findings on the effects of forage, security, and hunter access on elk migratory behaviors and hunting-season distributions. Since the completion of that project in 2016, there have been substantial changes in travel management on public lands, hunter access management on private lands, and hunting regulations. Our goals in this project include the following:
Wildlife Research Biologist
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
Area Wildlife Biologist
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit Leader (Retired)
University of Montana
M.S. Candidate
University of Montana
MPG Ranch
MPG Ranch
Project funding provided by revenues from the sale of Montana hunting and fishing licenses and matching Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration grants to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Funding also provided by MPG Ranch, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Ravalli County Fish and Wildlife Association, and Back Country Hunters and Anglers.
Evaluating the summer landscapes of predation risk and forage quality for elk (PDF)
Integrated Carnivore-Ungulate Management: A Case Study in West-Central Montana (PDF)
Simulation-based validation of spatial capture-recapture models: A case study using mountain lions (PDF)
Carnivore Management and Elk Recruitment Bitterroot Summary 2020 (PDF)
Land management alters traditional nutritional benefits of migration for elk (PDF)
Native forage mediates influence of irrigated agriculture on migratory behavior of elk (PDF)
A century of changing fire management alters ungulate forage in a wildfire-dominated landscape (PDF)
Elk Forage and Risk Tradeoffs during the Fall Archery Season (PDF)
Project Final Report (PDF)
Fall 2015 (PDF)
Spring 2015 (PDF)
Fall 2014 (PDF)
Spring 2014 (PDF)
Bitterroot Elk Study (PDF)
Wildfire extends the shelf life of elk nutritional resources regardless of fire severity (PDF)
Annual elk calf survival in a multiple carnivore system (PDF)
Linking landscape-scale differences in forage to ungulate nutritional ecology (PDF)
Annual elk calf survival in a multiple carnivore system (PDF)
Montana Outdoor Report (Video)
Autumn resource selection by female elk in a recently burned landscape in western Montana (PDF)
Non-invasive monitoring of multiple wildlife health factors by fecal microbiome analysis (PDF)
Deer and Elk Hunter Recruitment, Retention, and Participation Trends in Montana (PDF)
Evaluating elk summer resource selection and applications to summer range habitat management (PDF)
Effects of Elk Archery Regulations on Elk Hunter Effort and Harvest (PDF)
Elk and Grazing on Wall Creek Wildlife Management Area (PDF)