The elk herd at Canadian Forces Base Suffield near Medicine Hat, continues to grow, and ranchers say their requests for action are falling on deaf ears.
The animals damage fences, eat livestock feed and potentially can spread disease
CFB Suffield public affairs officer Michelle Hauck said Nov. 6 that a question and answer session is planned at the base later this month, in co-operation with the provincial environment and sustainable re-sources development department.
What began as a herd of 600 to 800 elk on the base has grown to 6,000 to 8,000 because of lack of control and management, said former Cy-press County reeve and rancher Bob Olson.
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“They were going to keep it down to six or 800 head, which wouldn’t have been so bad, but they just never did that. They never followed through on the plan, and that’s where the problem is.”
Now the elk break fences on their journeys off the base, where they eat feed intended for cattle.
Brad Osadczuk, who ranches near Jenner, Alta., near the army base, said fencing on community pastures in Special Area 2 is a major cost.
“Our range rider, we have him keeping track of labour, and he says it’s an average of two hours a day that we spend fencing because of these migration routes the elk use to pass back and forth,” Osadczuk said at an Oct. 30 Alberta Beef Producers meeting.
Ranchers also worry that dry years could force elk off the base, which has no developed water system. Then they would compete even more for available water and feed, and the high numbers could result in disease spreading to cattle.
Attempts to reduce numbers through additional hunting tags haven’t made a difference, said Osadczuk. The elk have learned that hunters cannot follow them onto the base because of access restrictions.
Jeff Lewandoski’s property borders the base, and this year elk have eaten standing corn and swathed oats that he intended for cattle feed this winter.
The rancher has made it his mission to bring attention to the problems created by such a large herd and has voiced his concerns as far up the chain as prime minister Stephen Harper.
Lewandoski is the fire chief in Jenner and in addition to issues of property damage, he is concerned that the nocturnal movement of so many elk present a traffic safety hazard.
“We know it’s going to happen that we’re going to respond to an accident, its going to be some young family and we’re going to have to pick an elk out of the front seat of somebody’s mini-van and there are going to be dead people,” he said.
“Do we have to let it get to that point before we do something about this?”
