Elk and the Smoke

[MT.PERCHMAN]

I tryed to sit outside this morning in Helena ... and drink my coffee. the smoke is so bad I have a headach already.
What is this going to do to the animals ???
Will they move out ??

MT.PERCHMAN

 

[Bulldog0156]

They're mixing up a big batch of Kool-aid right now!

I just hope that we get some significant rain before archery season gets into full swing.

 

[ric]

Smoke will not bother them or move them.

 

[MT.PERCHMAN]

I knew this day was coming ..with all the dry timber ...
lets hope for rain .
The wind has picked up here and its getting worse . Cant see the.mountains anymore.
the sun has a hazey look .

MT.PERCHMAN

 

[Nameless Range]

Early this morning I drove from Jefferson City to Flathead Lake. Smoky as hell, with the worst being right around Bonner.

I saw the usual herds of elk on the way - MacDonald Pass, the Jens herd, a few in the belly of Tyler Creek, and a few elk bedded down on the Bison Range.

They didn't seem to care.

 

[ric]

Seems to us living here, all of central Idaho is on fire. Unless things change, there may not be an archery season here. We have had days in the last week that you could only see 100 yds.

 

[sra61]

We found elk before right in burns, like right after the fire went through. They were black and covered in ash. We would be covered in it. The elk seemed real happy going about their rutting activities. Needless to say we didn't have much crowd to deal with, nobody would have guessed they would be in there! We didn't end up connecting that bow season, but after that I would definitely not rule a fresh burn out.

 

[roadhunter]

It's a shame that there is not more thinning and logging to help control these fires on overgrown forests and reduce the time all these folks spend risking their lives trying to put them out. I was up in Bozeman last week and couldn't believe how overgrown everything was everywhere I went except a chunk of state land not far from town that had been recently thinned. That was the only recent logging activity I saw on public land. I asked a USFS employee how many logging projects they typically have going on and he said it was pretty rare. That's a big waste of something that could be of great benefit to many in the region.. Sounds like there are more logging projects going on federal land in NW Nebraska than there are on the massive amount of federal land around Bozeman. Only a matter of time before it goes up in smoke with nothing but a massive firefighting bill to show for it IMO. Hopefully no more lives are lost this season, we already lost a firefighter from the Rapid City area who was working in California, I'm sure there are others.

 

[TheTone]

It's a shame that there is not more thinning and logging to help control these fires on overgrown forests and reduce the time all these folks spend risking their lives trying to put them out. I was up in Bozeman last week and couldn't believe how overgrown everything was everywhere I went except a chunk of state land not far from town that had been recently thinned. That was the only recent logging activity I saw on public land. I asked a USFS employee how many logging projects they typically have going on and he said it was pretty rare. That's a big waste of something that could be of great benefit to many in the region.. Sounds like there are more logging projects going on federal land in NW Nebraska than there are on the massive amount of federal land around Bozeman. Only a matter of time before it goes up in smoke with nothing but a massive firefighting bill to show for it IMO. Hopefully no more lives are lost this season, we already lost a firefighter from the Rapid City area who was working in California, I'm sure there are others.

A bunch of the big problem ones in Idaho right now have mainly been burning on private lands that are frequently logged and heavily grazed, weird huh. The one I was helping with over the weekend had most of its rapid growth on private land that was logged within the last two months with a ton of slash left behind. Of course that really doesn't fit the agenda though...

 

[hank4elk]

60 something going in MT&ID now.......military called up for fire training,1st time in yrs.
The elk will go where they want.....

 

[MT.PERCHMAN]

Natures way of cleaning the forest up...
the new growth will help all he critters.
this fall hunting year will be interesting .

MT.PERCHMAN

 

[mtmander]

The elk move around the fire when it is close , the smoke does not move them

 

[the nikster]

Where would they go? Disney, Paris? No, they are still there, moving around the heat and trying to stay comfortable. They may be more skittish but it is hard to imagine them being more alert. Nothing really changes. Look at the 10,000 times folks have asked "where will I find elk?" On this site alone. The dominant answer is always " elk are where you find them". After and during the fires the answer will be exactly the same.

 

[PatrickK]

A bunch of the big problem ones in Idaho right now have mainly been burning on private lands that are frequently logged and heavily grazed, weird huh. The one I was helping with over the weekend had most of its rapid growth on private land that was logged within the last two months with a ton of slash left behind. Of course that really doesn't fit the agenda though...

What agenda are you referring to?

 

[TheTone]

That the feds are doing an awful job managing our public lands and we need to log, thin and graze the heck out of them