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Show Many Yellowstone Elk Dying; Deep Snows Cause Starvation Alarrnlng reports of conditions which threaten decimation of the Yellowstono elk hords aro beginning to reach tho department of agriculture, agricul-ture, both from Jacgsnn's Hole region re-gion and from Gardiner, Montana. Tho (lunger la said to bo duo to an exceptionally heavy winter snow fall and lato coming ot spring. Deep crusted snow is preventing tho elk from obtaining their usual feed and the weakened nnlmals, especially tho calves, are reported to bo dying rapidly rap-idly In spito of tho largo supply of hay provided by tho federal government govern-ment for such emergencies. This supply, however, has been exhausted, and it 13 Impossible to get hay to the herds as tho roads are Impassable. Tho elk which winter around Jackson's Jack-son's Hole, in Wyoming, aro known as the southern or Jackson's Hole herd and number more U&n 20,000. The northern or Park herd Is estimated esti-mated by the park authorities to contain con-tain over 30,000 animals. Accord-mi Accord-mi f fng to the reports received by tho " V.v-orest service tho losses In tho southern south-ern herd may reach as high a figure as one-third the entire number, with practically an entire loss of last year's calves. In tho northern herd conditions appear to be less critical, but an Immedlato spring break-up Is eagerly hoped for by those Interested Interest-ed In seeing tho elk preserved. Mr. Charle3 Sheldon, the explorer and naturalist, who was selected by the government to ropresent tho ' sportsmen in tho elk census this spring, states that the forest service has either prohibited or greately re stricted grazing on about two million acres of tho national forest3 of the Yellowstono region In order to provide pro-vide feed for tho elk. This, ho states, Includes by far tho larger part of tho remaining available winter win-ter elk rango on these forests which can bo reached by the elk. Tho most serious featuro of tho situation, according ac-cording to Mr. Sheldon, Is that In tho past tho elk have been In tho habit of wintering largely in open country outside the national forcst3 and tho Yellowstono park on land which Is now In homesteads. Working Work-ing out tho right policy calls for expert ex-pert study of tho wholo subject along tho lines already undertaken by 'the officials in charge. Officials ot tho department of agriculture ag-riculture point out that, deplorable as aro the losses which tho elk herds aro now suffering, tho situation is not essentially different from that created among domestic livestock by seasons of unusual severity. Tho natural increaso will, they say, gradually grad-ually bring tho herds back to their former slzo if they aro properly protected. pro-tected. Both the forest service and the national parkservlce are deoply Interested In the perpetuation of the elk, and arc working together In an effort to find a consistent, workable conservation policy. |