Fish & Game capture elk on INL as part of ongoing Unit 63 monitoring project

In late July, Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) began placing collars on elk on Idaho National Laboratories (INL) lands within Unit 63. A total of 15 elk were successfully captured and fitted with GPS collars that will track their movements and give biologists a window into where they spend their time and how they utilize the landscape. These elk are part of a Unit-wide elk collaring project that was initiated over a year ago, with the first captures being focused on elk using lands off the INL and these latest captures filling in the data gaps with elk on the INL.

Projects like these allow wildlife managers to make more informed population management decisions. The goal in this area is to provide continued opportunities for elk hunters while also strategically addressing significant agricultural depredations.

"We see elk numbers and elk distributions change throughout the year across unit 63," says Curtis Hendricks, Wildlife Manager. "This collaring effort will provide a better understanding of the seasonal movement and habitat use patterns of these elk herds. In simple terms, where do the elk that we see in Unit 63 spend their time throughout the year?"

IDFG and hunters suspect that unit 63 supports elk that spend all season there, as well as elk that winter in the unit, but likely spend summers in adjacent units at higher elevations. "Finding the perfect time to capture elk during the summer is challenging,' says Hendricks. "We want calves to be as big as possible while at the same time we are trying to give some buffer before hunting seasons. The best time frame to accommodate these two goals is sometime during the last week of July."

Additional collaring efforts are planned to occur sometime this winter after the hunting season is over. "Fish and Game really appreciates the collaboration and support from INL staff to make this capture and monitoring possible," says Hendricks. "Collaring different groups of elk at different times of the year will give us a more complete picture of their movements."

For more information or if you have questions, please contact the Upper Snake Regional Office at 208-525-7290