Forest Management Practices Impact Deer and Elk Populations
Rolf Johnson, retired Deer and Elk Manager

Deer and elk need food, cover, and water to survive and prosper. Deer and elk forage quality has deteriorated in recent years as a result of forest management practices.

On the west side of the state, clear-cut logging of forests have been a precursor to deer and elk population expansion. Timber companies traditionally burned the debris left from logging in preparation for replanting conifer seedlings. Burning created a fertilization effect by getting rid of logging debris and stimulating growth of palatable grasses, forbs and shrubs that are key forage items for deer and elk. In recent years, the practice of burning these clear-cuts has been drastically curtailed. Air pollution regulations have made it very difficult for timber companies to conduct these burns and instead they have resorted to use of herbicides. Unfortunately, use of herbicides kills many of the deer and elk forage species like grasses, forbs and shrubs.

Late Successional Reserves have also had an impact on deer and elk populations. Because Late Successional Reserves manage for older, more mature timber, rotation cycles are longer and timber harvest reduced. The Gifford Pinchot National Forest estimates that deer and elk numbers will be reduced by 40 percent in the Forest Service’s Late Successional Reserves.

Hunger and malnutrition are significant behavior motivators, especially for elk. In recent years we have seen increasing damage problems as elk seek the more palatable and nutritious forage on agricultural and residential private property. Somehow deer and elk can tell the difference in fertilized plants and are drawn to them when nutritionally stressed even though human presence is a harassment disturbance. While elk populations in key forest areas are down, elk numbers in valley bottoms adjacent to agriculture and urban sprawl are increasing. Elk and deer tend to visit these areas at night to avoid disturbance and then wander back to the forest for cover in the day. This shift in elk distribution is resulting in increasing conflict between people and elk. While killing problem animals is a last resort, all too frequently WDFW is forced to open hunting seasons to reduce elk populations in elk damage areas.

The WDFW is supporting a research project funded in part by the National council of Paper Industry for Air and Stream Improvement and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Innovative new approaches are needed to identify relations between ungulate productivity, density, and forage conditions. We need to work with the timber industry to manage habitats that benefit the timber industry and yet benefit forage resources for deer and elk. The timber industry and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation are to be commended for supporting this research.