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RCW__ __.__ __.__ __ __ and e-mail them to us.
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WINTER FEEDING
In 1913, a group of landowners, sportsmen and county officials
introduced Rocky Mountain elk from Yellowstone National Park to the
Yakima area of eastern Washington.
Rocky Mountain elk are migratory by nature and may travel as
much as 70 miles from the spring-to-fall habitat in the
upper-elevations of the Cascades to their wintering areas at lower
elevations.
When the snow covers the mountains, the elk are forced to
migrate to the foothills to find food. Here, they come into
conflict with man whose orchards, ranches and homes occupy land
that the elk need for winter range.
In the mid-1940's, the Department of Fish and Wildlife (then the
Deptartment of Game) built almost 100 miles of 8-foot-high fences
to keep the elk from damaging private property in the Tieton,
Naches and Wenas Creek valleys, as well as on the south side of the
Kittitas Valley. In 1939, the department established the Oak Creek
Wildlife Area to find winter homes for the Yakima elk herd. A
supplemental winter feeding program maintains the Yakima elk herd
on department lands during the winter.
Wintering elk may eat from 3 to 10 pounds of hay per day, most
of which is grown and harvested on department lands. During a
severe winter, as many as 8,000 elk may use the feeding areas. Elk
begin arriving as early as mid-November, with the largest part of
the herd arriving in January. As the snow melts in the spring, the
elk follow the snowline back to higher elevations.
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