OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — Helicopters will fly low over high places to count Roosevelt elk this week.
Olympic National Park biologists also will capture about 15 elk to fit them with collars containing Global Positioning Devices, said Barb Maynes, park spokeswoman, in a statement Friday.
Park staff will count elk from a low-flying helicopter over such high-elevation areas as the Bailey Range, Mount Olympus and the High Divide between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. each day Monday through Friday, if the weather permits, Maynes said.
Catch and collar
Helicopters also will be used when biologists with the park and U.S. Geological Survey catch and collar elk with the GPS devices.
Live capture flights will be conducted between 7 a.m. and sunset Monday through Friday in both high elevations as well as lowlands in the upper Hoh, South Fork Hoh and Queets valleys.
Elk census information is expected to be released by the end of the month.
The last elk census, conducted in March, found more than 300 elk in selected low-elevation winter ranges, Maynes said.
Fall elk censuses were conducted during September 2007 and 2008.
During those flights, biologists identified between 47 and 52 bulls and between 33 and 36 calves per 100 cows.
Forty percent of the bulls were branch-antlered, meaning they were mature animals.
Data analysis on population trends is still under development, Maynes said.
One goal of the survey will be to determine how group size and vegetation influence elk “sightability,” or the likelihood of detecting elk groups during the survey.
The park had previously used radio transmitter collars to track the animals’ movement throughout the park and to plan population surveys.
Help with counts
If an elk was not sighted during an aerial census, the transmitter allowed biologists to identify the animal’s location — whether it was inside the survey area and simply missed, or if it had ventured outside of the area, Maynes said.
New-generation GPS technology, acquired with support from Washington’s National Park Fund, will provide detailed animal location data without the need for flying, she said.
“The upgrade will reduce impact to wilderness resources and increase safety, both for wildlife and park staff,” Maynes said.
The Lower Elwha Klallam tribe has contributed additional GPS collars, Maynes added.
Park and tribal staff also are working together to gather data on elk use of the lower Elwha River and the Lake Aldwell and Lake Mills reservoirs prior to dam removal.
The Glines Canyon and Elwha dams on the Elwha River are to be removed beginning in September 2011.
The National Park Service Aug. 26 awarded a $26.9 million contract to Barnard Construction Co. Inc. of Bozeman, Mont., to decommission the two dams as part of the $351 million Elwha River Restoration Project.
‘Important tool’
SDLqThe annual elk survey is an important tool for wildlife managers and park staff to learn as much as possible about the park’s resources and will provide valuable information about the status of Roosevelt elk in the park,” said Olympic National Park Deputy Superintendent Todd Suess.
“Protection of Roosevelt elk herds was a primary reason for the establishment of the national park in 1938,” Maynes said.
“In fact, Olympic was almost named Elk National Park,” and protection and monitoring of the largest unmanaged herd of coastal Roosevelt elk remains a major priority for park staff.
