Concern over elk numbers expanding across the Southwest

Editor:

I am writing this letter to express my concerns and my fellow ranchers concerns about the lack of management of the Suffield elk herd.

In the early 90s there was concern that the 1,200 feral horses were damaging the environment on the Suffield base. In 1994, these horses were removed.

In 1997 and 1998, 221 elk were released on the base. By 2014, the elk numbers were estimated at 8,000.

Major Dan Davies, Operations Officer at Suffield at this time, personally assured the local ranchers that if the elk herd reached the 800 head level, there would be a hunt to keep the elk numbers at this level. The theory was that 800 elk would not damage the environment like 1,200 horses.

Why now are there no concerns about the environment when there are seven times more elk than there were horses? There is approximately 647,000 acres in the Suffield base. A herd of 8,000 elk would give you a population density of 80 acres per help to graze 365 days of the year.

With such a high population density, there is a much greater risk of diseases such as TB, Brucellosis, Chronic Wasting Disease, and other communicable diseases to be transferred on the base and the land surrounding it.

In June 2016, Brad Osadczuk, a delegate for Alberta Beef Producers and a councillor for Special Area 2, stated: “what we are worried about is TB and Brucellosis. If we gat a positive in this herd it could hurt our cattle industry. It could cripple it. We don’t need another BSE.” These words fell on deaf ears.

On September 21, 2016, the USDA found a cow that traced back to the Jenner area surrounding the Suffield Base. We now see how TB has impacted the cattle industry.

How many elk are on the Suffield base now?

How many elk have left the base?

How many elk are there in a 100 mile radius of the Suffield base? I live at Webb, and it is common to see elk now.

Ask the ranchers who they like fixing fence, as these elk travel around. The further west you go in Saskatchewan, the elk population gets higher and higher.

One rancher north of the base stated that he had 1,000 elk on his grazing land. How much damage and lost grazing are elk costing the livestock sector?

We do not need a token hunt for the out-of-control elk herd. We need a massive herd reduction now!

Brent Cammer - Webb