Ingwe and Greenhorn
I agree with both of you about access being the problem. Actually, they have had these special seasons in the past and they didn't work then, even when we were having more severe weather then to move the elk down to where they were somewhat more accessible. But, FWP can't do a whole lot about access when people like the Wilke brothers (hope I spelled that right, not going to go look up), and the Gault ranches controlling many square miles of elk range.
I don't think the solution is to have the ranchers start charging for access, because it is a short step from there to a Texas type situation where almost all hunting is paid. That progression to paid hunting is more of a concern to me now that there is a push to sell off all public land.
I wasn't trying to advocate towards special seasons, I was just trying to point out a couple of areas that I knew of where there were "too many elk", the definition of "too many elk" according to someone's definition.
The solution, whatever and whenever it comes about, will probably have to be statewide, not on just a few individual ranches. One rancher over near Helmsville does allow access, and they killed 160 elk on his ranch last year, and this year, he has more elk than he did last year. The elk have apparently learned to move onto the ranches that have very limited hunting as soon as hunting season begins.
Wouldn't surprise me if we saw something as radical as FWP going onto these ranches at the invite of the land owners and culling a few hundred head of elk every year and giving the meat to charity. Scary thought, though.
Royce
