I imagined the feeling of finding her calves someday. The female elk calf was tagged as “#304.” They determined she was born within the last 12 hours. From there, Scott checked the gender, weighed the calf, placed a collar on it, tagged its ears, placed a chip, checked how old it was. The calf laid still as we surrounded it slowly and Scott put a hood over her eyes to help it stay relaxed. I felt extremely blessed to be a part of something so special. I felt an immediate attachment to the elk and the volunteer work itself, as if it was something I was meant to do all along. At first, I wasn’t sure if I was looking at a whitetail or an elk, but after staring at its big and beautiful black eyes, I realized I was looking at the first elk calf I had ever seen. We quietly flagged the group down, and they made their way toward us to circle the calf. I had already come to terms with the fact that we wouldn’t find any calves, but within 10 minutes, we spotted something lying in the tall grass along the hillside. Once again, we lined up, and began walking. We walked off a paved path and into a stand of pines. This search took us to Wazee Lake County Park, in Jackson County.Īgain, Scott went in to see if he could tell if the cow had given birth yet, and shortly after, he called us over. The DNR team was less confident that she had given birth, but decided we would check in on her anyway. I became less confident we would find a calf that day.Īnother cow was located further north. We searched the area six or seven times, without luck, and my heart sank. We were instructed to line up while others in our group acted as “anchors” to help keep an equal distance and pace. He thought the cow gave birth and suspected the calf would be nearby. It felt like hours before he gave us the “go ahead” to walk in. He went alone so he could tell if she was still pregnant or not. Scott was the first to walk into the area where she was located. The DNR kept tabs on a cow that, according to her tracking device, hadn’t moved much in several days. I hadn’t even thought about the “if” part. He told us where we were going, what his plan was, and what we would do if we found a calf. Upon arrival, we huddled around DNR biologist Scott Roepke. Like the excitement leading up to an adrenaline rush, my hopes and emotions were extremely high. The morning of my first calf search, I felt the same jittery feeling I get during hunting season. I would feel as though I’d left my proud footprint in the world of conservation. I thought about how large the population would be when I have children, and when my children have children, and how amazing it would be for them to see elk regularly in the wild. The thought of assisting in establishing a sustainable elk population made me feel like I could make a difference, and even make history. Having never seen an elk in the wild, let alone a calf, my heart was set on it. The first opportunity was searching for elk calves to collar and tag for further research. Soon after I reached out to other members, I received a flood of emails, welcoming me and telling me about different ways I could be involved, from volunteering to being a part of my chapter committee. In addition, elk have been changing their seasonal movement patterns and wintering in different areas in recent years.I’ve been involved with Whitetails Unlimited for more than 20 years, so The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s presence in Wisconsin was intriguing.Īfter eyeing the RMEF webpage for more than a year, and researching the organization and Wisconsin’s elk population, I decided to become a member and volunteer. Since the Jackson Elk Herd migrates over such a large area and contains so many animals, management and conservation can be challenging.The majority of the herd spends the winter on the National Elk Refuge next to Jackson and in spring migrates and spreads out to various summer ranges from Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks to the Teton WIlderness, Gros Ventre Mountain Range and private land along the Snake River. Elk also provide hunters with a sustainable food source and outdoor experience, as well as support local hunting outfitters, hotels, and other businesses during the fall.
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