Larry Tooze photo.
https://www.cranbrooktownsman.com/news/elk-numbers-down-50-per-cent-over-last-decade/
No hard data or silver bullet solution to reverse the trend, says wildlife group.
The regional arm of the BC Wildlife Federation is sounding the alarm over declining elk population numbers following the release of a government survey showing a 50 per cent decline over 10 years.
Jeff Berdusco and Mark Hall with the East Kootenay Wildlife Association received the data from the government during a presentation to a wildlife stakeholder group, which was collected through aerial helicopter counts over the winter.
The results, which ballpark a count of 6,700-6,900 elk in the East Kootenay, are alarming, considering the last count identified roughly 14,115 elk in the region ten years ago.
“That’s just way too long to be drawing a straight line between two data points, especially when we’re talking about living, wild animals that are being subject to…
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Exposing the Big Game 
“People tend to want to throw the silver bullet at predators and if we wiped out all the predators, we’d be just fine, and I’m not sure that’s true,” Berdusco said.
What a weak response. ‘Not so sure’? How about not even at the top of the list? The cavalier tone isn’t so great either.
I really, really shudder to think what the solution to this will be. If past resumes are any indication of present human behaviors, it doesn’t look good for the predators.
The wolves did it.
…or the liberal hunting quotas, perhaps.