Scott,

The explanation I received on the timing was this. It is very easy for the biologists to determine if a cow is pregnant during this time of the year. This results in reduced handling time and lower chances of mortality. The longer the animals are "under" and are being handled, the more stress they go through. There is only one very good way to get very good data, and that requires a "hands on" inspection.

On average, most elk herds see a mortality rate of 50% in bulls, and 10-12% for cows, on an annual basis, all factors considered. We were in touch with 10 animals today, but I saw over 100. The folks who spent more time in the chopper saw MANY more.

It is necessary for the WDFW to get a number of subjects to take samples from in a study to get a good baseline of data. If they only took information from one spike bull, or a yearling cow out of the numbers of elk seen by our group today, the data would be flawed.

I always hear about folks complaining about the WDFW, and the data they collect, but I was there in person today. There were old and young cows, evidenced by their girth measurements, old and young bulls, and elk from a wide range of habitats. I was sweating, and the folks from the WDFW were too. These folks really care about the animals, and take into consideration the issues surrounding the different user groups. I asked some pretty hard nosed questions today, and I got some veyr good responses that I had not thought about.

I would highly suggest volunteering with the WDFW on projects in your area. Get involved. There were folks there today who were involved in RMEF and DU, as well.

I appreciate your question, and would be happy to answer others, but I can only answer from my experience.

Hairy Ape,

I would look up the WDFW website and check out the tab under "hunter education". You should be able to get a local contact number from there. One piece of advice on the written test, read EVERYTHING in the packect they give you. Passing the program won't make you a better hunter. Getting involved in different projects will, as you will gain knowledge you never would receive just hunting. Becoming a better hunter is a journey, not a destination.

Andy