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Show J The wapiti or elk is Utah's state animal. It is a majestic, stately member of the deer family, once found in virtually vir-tually all of the state's high mountain ranges. TOWARD THE end of the 19th century the elk had all but disappeared from Utah, except in a limited area of the Uinta Mountains. Today, the elk have made an appreciable comeback. The rebuilding of elk herds in Utah has been an effort of dedication by game managers and, in some instances, sportsmen. It has been a program which has extended its sphere of influence to practically all areas of the state; returning an endemic species to the original range-lands, range-lands, providing countless days of recreation while utilizing habitat and maintaining main-taining a desired balance in nature. THE EARLIEST report of the rebuilding program was carried in a March 1893 Salt Lake City newspaper. It reported eight head of elk being be-ing shipped, presumably by one of the land owners, to Antelope Island. It is believed that these animals were obtained ob-tained from Uintah County. The first interstate transplant was noted in 1912. Ten elk were obtained from the Jackson Hole, Wyoming area and set free in Salina Canyon, Sevier County. In the next two years (1913-14), 100 elk were purchased from Yellowstone National Park. SALINA Canyon received 39 of the animals while ten were released in Bingham Canyon and 48 elk were shipped to Mount Nebo. Sportsmen were instrumental in initiating movements to establish elk as an important big game animal in the state. Several animals died while being transported. Yellowstone provided an additional 50 wapiti in 1915. Logan Canyon, of the Cache National Forest, and East Mountain, of the Manti National Na-tional Forest, received 24 animals each. Two elk died in transit. UTAH'S ELK population was estimated to be near 700 in the fall of 1915. Sportsmen purchased ten elk from the township of Gardner, Montana, and began rebuilding elk numbers in Smithfield Canyon, Cache County. Five years later (1922), game managers brought an additional 23 elk to the state and released them in the Cedar Mountains of Iron County. BY 1923 the state's elk herd was estimated to be between 3,000 and 4,000. It was also in 1923 that Fish and Game personnel per-sonnel received the first elk damage reports from agricultural proprietors. It was during 1924 that the first elk were killed for control con-trol purposes under the supervision of game managers. Twenty-one animals were removed from Mount Nebo to reduce crop damage to farms in the area. THE following year, nine elk were released on Mount Timpanogos, and the Board of Elk Control was formed to supervise the state's elk herds. Nineteen hundred and twenty-five was also the first year sportsmen had the opportunity op-portunity to hunt the rapidly growing elk population. Hunts were held on Mount Nebo and in the Cache district. dis-trict. SOME 250 hunters participated par-ticipated in the restricted hunt and harvested 214 elk. In 1926, 302 hunters took 218 animals. Transplants continued, but now the stock for new herds was coming from Utah's own expanding elk population. LIMITED hunting was the rule from the first hunt in 1925 through 1967, when the first "open bull" type hunt was instituted. The open bull hunting was limited to five units the first year with additional addi-tional units added later. The season provided hunting opportunities op-portunities for the general public on a large scale. Today, open bull hunting is actively pursued in 27 of Utah's 29 counties. To provide even more sporting opportunities, oppor-tunities, an archery elk season was instituted as part of the management recreation recrea-tion program. FROM THOSE meager, early beginnings in 1893, Utahns have benefitted from the intense management of the state animal. For years, elk management has been a scientifically based, carefully planned program. Elk are transplanted today according to a management plan based on considerations of habitat suitability, each potential area being given an assigned priority ranking. Available habitat types, vegetation, escape cover, fawning areas and existing and potential hunting opportunities oppor-tunities are important criteria in making final decisions. THE presence of elk has provided and continues to provide many values to Utahns. Nature lovers and outdoorsmen of various descriptions benefit from the aesthetic values of having the kingly elk roaming Utah's mountains in a natural, free condition; once again inhabiting most of their natural na-tural ranges. Through planning, game managers are able to utilize . more of the state's habitat by relocating elk to suitable terrain. In so doing, much of the habitat is maintained in its proper balance. In some instances, elk enhance rangeland for use by mule deer. SINCE ELK are grazing animals and deer are browsing brows-ing critters, the two compliment the other's food needs and maintain a balance in vegetation. In 1975 alone some 18,900 elk hunters enjoyed over 87,000 days of recreation in pursuit of the elusive American stag. From 1931 through 1976, the existence of huntable elk populations has provided opportunities for more than 174,500 nunters. THE ADDED value of elk meat for the dinner table is another bonus provided by Utah's elk herds. The demand for protein is growing throughout the world, and these wild herbivores are more efficient at producing a pound of red meat from a given range area than are domestic livestock. |