Statewide elk management plan for Montana, 2004 /

Abstract

History of Elk in MontanaElk were widely distributed across North America prior to the time Europeans first arrived (Bryant and Maser 1982).In Montana, elk were distributed throughout the lengths of the Missouri and Yellowstone River valleys at the time of the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1804 and 1805.However, observations of Lewis and Clark extended little beyond the vicinity of the major river valleys.By the early 1800s, subsistence, market, and hide hunting had almost eliminated elk east of the Mississippi River.This hunting continued to reduce elk in the western United States, and elk were gone from eastern Montana by the mid-1880s and were also heavily impacted in western Montana.Elk probably reached a low point in numbers in North America about 1900-1910.In 1910, it was estimated that fewer than 50,000 elk existed in North America (Thomas and Lyon 1987).About half were associated with Yellowstone National Park (YNP), Jackson Hole, and the surrounding areas.The establishment of YNP in 1872 and its remoteness was a major factor in preserving elk in North America.During the late teens and 1920s, local and national sentiment for protecting and expanding existing elk herds became stronger.Many local sportsmen's clubs were formed with a prime purpose of preserving elk.In 1910, the first transplant of elk from YNP was made to Fleecer Mountain near Butte, Montana.During the period from 1910 to 1940, a total of 1,753 elk from YNP, Jackson Hole, and the National Bison Range was…