Changes are coming to how Wyoming operates winter feedgrounds, particularly for the Jackson and Pinedale elk herds. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) will begin its evaluation of the northwest elk feedgrounds, which elk have long depended upon to survive during harsh winters. Whether this means a huge change in how they’re currently operated is still to be determined; however, WGFD does have one of its major stakeholders – big game outfitters – heading into the process “with an open mind,” according to WyoFile.

“We’re going to work really hard to make sure that all the residents of the state of Wyoming know what the herd objectives are right now, and we are going to require the Game and Fish to maintain those,” said Sy Gilliland, past president of the Wyoming Outfitters and Guides Association. “That said, if the herd objectives are maintained and protected, whatever happens with the feedgrounds is kind of a moot point.”

Gilliland is mainly focused on keeping herds healthy – whether feedgrounds continue as is or not.

“Whatever they come up with,” said Gilliland. “The key is to maintain the same number of elk on the landscape that we have now.”

Feedgrounds have come under fire in recent years as chronic wasting disease is prevalent in the West – and easily spread among elk and deer that spend time congregating unnaturally at these locations. Wildlife biologists say that closing them would help herd health, yet to do so would require approval from both the governor and the Wyoming Livestock Board per a 2021 law. Further, the state’s elk feedground management plan “will require public support” to go forward with any changes, according to John Lund, regional supervisor for WGFD’s Pinedale Region. That means holding meetings and collecting public input before proposing changes. 

Both herds have utilized feedgrounds for decades with the Pinedale Herd using the Muddy Creek, Scab Creek and Fall Creek feedgrounds and the Jackson herd, which is the state’s largest elk herd, congregating around feedgrounds in the National Elk Refuge. While the refuge has tried to “wean the herd off of alfalfa pellets” per a 2007 plan, that plan has been for the most part ineffective, according to WyoFile.  

“The ultimate goal was to reduce the number of elk wintering on the refuge to 5,000,” said Eric Cole, a refuge biologist. “It was always somewhat optimistic to assume, in a five-year time span, that we were going to achieve that.”

Along with the feedgrounds in the refuge, WGFD will also be reviewing two state-run feedgrounds in the Gros Ventre River drainage also used by the Jackson elk herd.

What will be the outcome? What would be the impact on elk herds should feedgrounds no longer be available? And, if changes occur, when will they be implemented by the state?

“We’re not asking for a stop tomorrow,” said Jared Baecker, the Wyoming conservation manager for the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. “We recognize that this is a 100-year process, and it’s going to take some time. We do want the department to work with some urgency, because of the threats of diseases. We think those are significant and real threats that need to be addressed as soon as possible.”