Lamar Valley | Leslie Patten Books: Wild Places, Sacred Spaces

What the Lamar Valley has to offer in May

Posted on May 11, 2014 by Leslie

A cloudy, snowy, cold Mother’s Day. I like to head into the park on Mother’s Day and try to see babies. I’m so close to the Lamar Valley, just one hour to the Buffalo Ranch, that I usually don’t get much further, and don’t need too. All photos below are from today.

A few Mother’s Days ago there was so much activity in the valley–wolves on wolves competing with bears, coyotes and bison babies, you-name-it. Today was a different Mother’s Day. The Lamar activity has calmed down in general. With few wolves, there is just less activity. But spring is always an excellent time to see bears and today was no exception.

I saw a total of 5 grizzlies in the Lamar–a mom with 2 yearlings, and two boars. The boars had a brief face off for a few tense moments, but the bigger one just went his way. Bighorn sheep rams stood by the roadside; a coyote was on a bison calf carcass, and the bison babies and moms were all along the road. I watched a wonderful scene of a young frisky bison calf jump around, then come back and nuzzle his mom. The mom and him butted and rubbed their heads, then he was off romping again.

What strikes a person traveling through the Park is how many people LOVE to visit this area, and some many times a year. I spoke with a fellow who travels here at least 4 times a year from Rhode Island. He comes in winter to Jackson to photograph elk on the refuge. Then he returns for the antler auction, trying to match up his photos with a matched set of antlers (75% goes to the Refuge, 25% to the local boy scout troop who do the collecting of the antlers). He comes other times just for wildlife watching. Many of the people I spoke with come out every May, staying outside the Park at the gateway communities. Some people come from as far away as England. Some have even bought second homes here. And what are people looking for when they come–they all want to watch predators! “I want to see a bear” one person told me. They’d like to see wolves, bears, foxes. It’s easy to see elk, bison, and antelope. But predators are exciting for people to watch.

And the predator that is now obviously ‘missing’ in the Lamar viewing experience is the wolf. Although there is a pair there who have pups, two grown wolves are hard to spot, as compared to over a dozen in the pack just a few years ago.

From where I sit in my valley, the wolf hunt has hit the Lamar hard as these wolves travel back and forth in the winter time following the migratory Lamar elk herd outside the Park. The Wyoming Game and Fish has proposed an increase in the 2014 wolf hunt numbers. Most areas would have an increased quota–my area 2 would be increased from 4 last year to 5 this fall. In 2013 5 wolves were killed, one above the quota. There is a confirmed pack of 6 wolves here. Why is the quota most of the adult pack?

Please take a look at this sane proposal below from Brushback Guide Services. They propose Tourist and Science zones next to the Park with either 1. no harvests, depredation only or 2. extremely low quotas with a buffer of 10-15 miles around the Park, thereby tightening the areas or 3. very limited shortened seasons in these special zones.

This proposal would protect the tourist economy as well as balance with those who want to hunt wolves. A continued increase in the wolf hunt will only have continuous impacts on the Park and the wolf population and pack structures in the Greater Yellowstone area.

Wolves, and all predators, should be appreciated for their necessary impacts on ecosystems. They are needed in the ‘web’. They manage the meso-predators, they foster healthy landscapes, they provide food for other large predators such as bears, and for thousands of years ungulates have been evolutionarily healthier because of their presence.

Yet the reality today is economics and dollars drive the argument and the management policies. So here is what Brushback Guide Services proposes that I think works. Proposal #1 is what I prefer:

Proposal 1- Science & Tourism Units

Units that are important to wildlife viewing would be considered “Science & Tourism Units” to allow scientists a chance to keep ongoing wolf studies without having so many wolves taken mid-life before their full potential data is reached. The other purpose for these units is tourism. Tour companies can show people wolves in areas where they are not hunted better than areas where they are hunted. These units have good road systems for tourism and border national parks for ongoing studies. Scientifically, these units allow us to know how to manage wolves in areas where they do get hunted because we know how it should be when they are not hunted or very limited hunting is allowed.

Proposal: Science & Tourism Units- Unit 2, 6, 8, & 9
Depredation only OR extremely low quotas of 1 or 2 wolves
Depredation only is preferred in “Science & Tourism Units”.

Proposal 2- Cut Units In Half Along Park Borders

Give units bordering the national parks an approximate 15-20 mile “wolf hunt free zone”. Delegate these by nearest large landmark such as creeks. For example: Creek No Name is 15 miles from east side of Grand Teton National Park border, hunters can hunt the east side, but not the west side of No Name Creek. Another option would be to START the hunt unit 15-20 miles away from the park designated by large, easy to use and not mistake landmarks/roads.

Proposal: Start wolf hunt units 15-20 miles from park border
Keep original quotas as Game & Fish has designated
Park wolves will be less affected helping science and tourism.
Depredation still in place.

Proposal 3- Keep The Current Plan/Units, Lower Quotas & Shorter Season

I’m going to focus again on national park border units. This approach gives “Science & Tourism” people a chance to have a better experience by showing and recording wolves. This will also allow hunters a chance to hunt units away from the national park keeping hunters happy. Quotas that would have less impact to us would look like this:

Unit 1- 3 Wolves October 1- December 31st

Unit 2- 2 Wolves November 1st – November 30th (Science & Tourism Unit)

Unit 3- 7 Wolves October 1st- December 31st

Unit 4- 4 Wolves October 1st- December 31st

Unit 5- 6 Wolves October 1st- December 31st

Unit 6- 2 Wolves November 1st – November 30th (Science & Tourism Unit)

Unit 7- 1 Wolf October 1st- December 31st

Unit 8- Depredation Only (Science & Tourism Unit)

Unit 9- Depredation Only (Science & Tourism Unit)

Unit 10- 3 wolves October 1st- December 31st

Unit 11- 2 Wolves October 1st- December 31st

Unit 12- 1 Wolf October 15th- December 31st

Please get your comments into Wyoming Game and Fish regarding the proposed hunt by May 30th.

Filed under: Yellowstone National Park | Tagged: Bison, Greater yellowstone ecosystem, Greater Yellowstone Wolves, Grizzly bears, Lamar Valley, Wyoming wolf hunt 2014, Yellowstone National Park | 1 Comment »

Grizzlies and elk calves

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Leslie

Its unusual to see the Cody backcountry herd grazing every morning and night this time of year. Usually, by now, they’re headed over the passes to calve in the Lamar. But the snows in the high country are still too deep and the melt hasn’t even begun.

I’ve been watching this small herd from my window. They come early morning and evening.

Elk May 20, 2011 still in Sunlight

The other morning I spied a lone elk. I watched her for a few days going back and forth between the herd in the pasture and a patch of willows in the nearby forest. She’d disappear into the willows and the forest by the road and seemed concerned. I had a feeling she had a calf hidden in the brush there.

The lone cow with deer

But last night something strange happened which made me wonder if I was correct. Instead of just this lone cow wandering over to this marshy area, a cadre of about 7 elk wandered over there with her and disappeared into the forest.

So this afternoon I took my bear spray and cautiously investigated while the elk were grazing. In a muddy area of the creek, now widened by slash and blow downs from the logging last year, I spied a grizzly track moving in the direction of a small clearing. A few yards up from the track, there was the calf, completely consumed. Only the skin and legs remained. It had been predated right where it had lain, for it was in a heap in the grass by a freshly fallen spruce bough. I inspected the little legs and skin. The small thing was deftly and perfectly skinned. Certainly a bear, and my guess is it was that grizzly who made the track just a few feet away.

Grizzly in the Lamar feeding amongst the willows

I had hoped to spy a living calf, so I had a sicken and sad feeling.

Six out of 10 elk calves are predated within their first 10 days. They are fairly helpless for those first two weeks. Many people say the calves don’t have a scent, but I would disagree. I haven’t seen tracks in those marshy areas and this griz went directly to that calf. The calf was not too far from the road, but at the edge of a wide swath of logged forest that includes a lot of swampy areas. That bear did not wander about through the open woods looking for an elk, but clearly walked from the nearby meadow into the woods right to the calf. Handling the calf’s skin, I could smell it on my hands. It doesn’t have a strong smell, and staying on the ground low keeps it’s smell down. But it does have a smell and to a grizzly, I’m sure its pretty strong.

I was in the Lamar Valley a few days ago and within an hour saw three grizzly boars in the valley. A friend told me in 2 days she saw 20 bears just in Lamar Valley. The Lamar is becoming a favorite of the grizzlies. I have wondered if these migratory elk, who usually calve in the Lamar, might have better success here. Certainly there are bears here, but not as many as in the Lamar. That’s a question I can’t answer. Unfortunately for this little elk, it wasn’t the case.

And one more question I had: Why, last night, did I see 7 or 8 elk accompany mama elk into the willows, not a route the elk ever take around here? Was that a show of sympathy and support? After that, the lone elk has not been alone anymore, and I haven’t seen her nor any of the others wander into the willows.

My heart felt saddened for that little calf and her mother. But I can’t blame the grizzly. How could I…I went home and enjoyed a BBQ’d bison steak myself.