Infrared Elk Count- The Wyoming Game and Fish Department, in its constant effort to get the most accurate wildlife counts, recently employed using infrared cameras to count elk from the air along the Snake River corridor between Grand Teton National Park and the town of Wilson. Game and Fish biologists and wardens have long believed this segment of the Jackson Elk Herd is rapidly growing, but it has been difficult to get a good count in the area because it is dominated by private land with many homes, making access limited from the ground and traditional aerial surveys are difficult because of a dense tree canopy. Plus, wildlife managers generally do not conduct low elevation aerial surveys in such areas to avoid disturbing private homeowners. The infrared aerial surveys are able to be flown at a relatively high elevation, approximately 3,000 feet in a fixed-wing aircraft, yet still detect animals through thick vegetation. The recent infrared survey resulted in a count of 840 animals. The results of the survey basically confirmed what wildlife managers suspected, that there is a significant number of elk, probably between 900-1,000 animals, occupying this Snake River corridor.
Bear on the Roof- Jackson Large Carnivore Biologists Mike Boyce and Sam Stephens responded to several bear conflicts over the course of the summer, including two black bears in occupied homes. One of the most recent incidents involved multiple black bears that were feeding on ornamental crabapples in a residential area north of Jackson. Boyce, joined by Game warden Kyle Lash and BFH Biologist Ben Wise, darted a large male black bear that ended up on the roof of the residence. The bear was successfully relocated.
Star Valley Happenings- Afton Game Warden Todd Graham responded to a call of a large bull elk that had gotten its antlers tangled in a fence and died. Graham tagged the head for the landowner near Etna.
Nice Buck…or is it?- Wyoming Game and Fish law enforcement officers from the Jackson Region conducted a deer decoy operation on the west side of the Teton Range, near the Wyoming-Idaho border, in an effort to reduce the number of hunting violations occurring there. Game and Fish officials have received several complaints of out of season deer hunting occurring in the area. The buck mule deer decoy was set up two miles from the state line on October 10 and again October 16 in deer Hunt Area 149, which had closed to Wyoming deer hunting on October 7. During the two days when the decoy was set up, a total of 13 vehicles passed by with 10 of those observing the decoy. Of the 10 that saw it, four shot at the decoy. A total of four citations and five warnings were issued totaling some $3,160 in fines. Deer Hunt Area 149 has had a history of violations due to its geographic isolation from Jackson and the rest of Wyoming. Regional Game and Fish officers have identified it as a problem area and have increased their presence there and periodically used such special operations. Similarly, in 2013, a deer decoy was used and it resulted in three citations and three warnings being issued. “We don’t use decoys a lot,” says Jackson Game Warden Kyle Lash. “But when we have certain problem areas such as this, they have proven to be pretty effective. They’re effective in that they put the wildlife, the game warden and the violator all at the crime scene at the same time. They’re just a good tool to keep hunters playing by the rules.”
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