Sask. Wildlife Federation cites ‘growing concerns’ over new elk hunt

(AP Photo/ Daily Camera, Sammy Dallal)

The Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation (SWF) is calling the province to the table over its recently announced extra hunting season on antlerless elk, citing “growing concerns.”

Last week, provincial Environment Minister Travis Keisig announced the hunt, open in certain southern wildlife management zones from Nov. 20-27. Keisig said the hunt will help address concerns around the animals damaging farmers’ crops.

Now, the federation that represents hunters and conservationists across the province is raising concerns of its own.

The SWF says the move has created “frustration among licensed hunters.”

In a news release on Wednesday, the wildlife federation criticized the province for failing to follow its own elk management plan and encouraged the government to come to the table for “meaningful consultation” with outside groups.

“The hunt overlaps with the regular white-tailed deer season, raising serious safety concerns,” the statement said.

Running two major big-game seasons concurrently will increase the risk of accidents and create an overwhelming imposition on landowners, the SWF says.

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This is the second time this year the Wildlife Federation has taken issue with the province’s ad-hoc approach to managing the province’s elk population.

When the province approved a limited spring antlerless elk hunt in March, the wildlife federation joined other critics in calling the move unethical, as it put nearly full-term pregnant elk in the crosshairs. The SWF refused to open any of its trust lands for the hunt.

The Ministry of Environment said that hunt was intended to conduct testing for bovine tuberculosis — and due to concerns from farmers about property damage.

‘We’re having an elk problem’

That announcement aligned with the annual meeting of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, and in the bear pit sessions, some rural officials made clear they saw elk as a nuisance.

“We’re having an elk problem, and I mean, this has been going on for years,” said Dwayne Kitzan, a councillor with the Rural Municipality of Insinger, which is located in a zone where many of the spring hunt licences were issued.

The province’s elk management plan acknowledges the high demand for opportunities to hunt the animal, especially in the south, where they are more likely to nibble into farmers’ bottom line.

The demand for opportunities to hunt elk has steadily increased over the last 10 years, it says.

“Elk are complex to manage as they are highly valued for hunting, ecotourism and wildlife viewing, and also pose potential for conflict due to agricultural damage, disease transmission and vehicle collisions.”

It’s also an animal that doesn’t tend to migrate much through the province — with home ranges varying in size from three to 245 kilometres-squared.

“Elk often exhibit a high degree of home range fidelity,” the plan says, “although a number of factors such as hunting pressure, snow depth and forage availability may influence or disrupt home range selection across a landscape.”

Demand outweighs supply: province

According to the province’s management plan, elk populations are considered slow-growing compared to deer and herds on the prairies are vulnerable to overhunting.

“Outside Saskatchewan’s boreal forest … elk are vulnerable to overhunting and the demand for elk far outweighs the supply.”

Outside the boreal forest, they’re also a lot more likely to opt for crops over native grasses due to the “higher protein content and digestibility of crops,” the province says.

“Alfalfa, barley, oats, peas and corn, when found in close proximity to available cover, are known to be preferred forage for elk.”

Notably, the plan also cites research showing that vegetation regenerated after wildfire provides nutrition of similar quality to forage from irrigated agriculture.

Given the large swaths of Saskatchewan forest that burned over the summer, the province’s boreal elk herds could be eating well come spring.