Round 1: Middle Fork Elk Zone vs. Dworshak Elk Zone

This is the sixth installment on a series of posts comparing Idaho's any-weapon, antlered, general season elk hunts. For an intro to this series, go here.

For the first post in this series, read Dworshak Elk Zone vs. Bear River Elk Zone.

For the second post in this series, read Snake River Elk Zone vs. Palisades Elk Zone.

For the third post in this series, read Palouse Elk Zone vs. McCall Elk Zone.

For the fourth post in this series, read Selway Elk Zone vs. Salmon Elk Zone.

For the fifth post in this series, read Panhandle Elk Zone vs.Tex Creek Elk Zone.

Here we go comparing the Middle Fork Elk Zone to the Dworshak Elk Zone. First up, the The Middle Fork.

The Hunt

The season dates for the general season elk hunts in the Middle Fork Zone (Units 20A, 26, and 27) are pretty exciting.  Like the Selway Zone, there is an early season when the bulls are dead in the middle of their rut.  In 2011, you had to choose between the  A-tag or the B-tag.  

The A-tag ran from Oct. 1 - Oct. 31, and was any antlered elk in Units 20A & 26.  In Unit 27, only brow-tined bulls may have been harvested.  There were only 647 tags available for this hunt, and they went on sale as a first-come-first-served basis, first for non-residents on 12/1/10 and for residents on 7/10/11.

The B-tag ran from Sep. 15 - Sep. 30, and the rules were the same as described above for the A-tag: any antlered bull in Units 20A & 26, and brow-tined only in Unit 27.  The B-tag also had a second season, Nov. 1 - Nov. 18, with the same rules as above.  1,636 B-tags was the quota, and they were first-come-first-served as described above.

Location

The Middle Fork Zone sits sandwiched between the Selway Wilderness on the north, the Salmon Elk Zone on the east, the Sawtooth Elk Zone to the south, and the McCall Elk Zone on the west.  This is primitive Idaho at its finest.  Wanting to get away from it all?  This is big and wild country, and it rivals

the Selway Elk Zone in that regard.  36% of the Zone lies within the Frank Church - River of No Return Wilderness.

Access to the Zone is limited.  While it is not all designated wilderness area, roads are not plenteous going in or out.  You can access the area by going through Yellowpine or Challis, and a few other places on Forest Service roads.  But a big part of planning to go hunt the Middle Fork Zone is determining where you want to go, and how to get in and out.  Most folks will suggest horses, at least.  Flying in is also an option, along with choosing the right guide and/or outfitter.  Backpacking in is also an option, but, as we shall see shortly, this is rugged territory.

Terrain/Land Ownership

The terrain is mountainous.  River bottoms will be found at 4,000 - 4,500 ft. in elevation, and mountain tops will easily peak out above 9,000 ft.  I would say that the average draw to ridgetop elevations will be between 6,000 ft. to
8,000 ft., and it is mostly ridge after ridge after ridge of the same beautiful, remote country, over and over again.  Bring a compass.  You will feel small.

As I said earlier, a big chunk (36%) of the Zone is wilderness.  The remainder is USFS.  There is virtually no private ground here, and very little of it is used for livestock grazing.  Once you get in, the only thing limiting where or how you hunt will be your own legs (or your horse's).  But don't let me scare you off entirely.  This hunt is doable, and exciting.  It offers hunts during the peak of the rut, but you must be able to track down that bull that you heard bugle over the next ridge.  It's tough, but for the guys who are in good shape, the terrain can be more of a

motivating challenge.  Even if you pack in on horses, you'll have to leave the horses to stalk elk, and when you do, there will be some serious uphill-downhill hiking.

The Zone consists of 1,846,323 acres, or 2,885 square miles.

Heard Health/Stats

Earlier in the 20th Century, elk were not very numerous here.  It wasn't until the 1970's that the elk population really took off and established itself.  The population continued to grow until about 10-15 years ago.  Many will point out immediately that wolf introduction happened at about the same time.  This is true, and the wolves definitely have had an impact on the heard health.  But habitat is just as much, and probably much more, of a factor.

Fire suppression management is the big one.  The Forest Service manages virtually 100% of this Zone, so they are the ones to blame one way or another.  As we all know, forest fires produce excellent elk habitat.  Efforts to minimize the fires hurt the elk habitat.  Specifically in this Zone, elk populations have risen and fallen in direct parallel to fire activity.  

Units 20A & 26 have seen their elk herds decrease dramatically in the last 10-15 years, but Unit 27 hasn't been as drastic.  Herds there increased up until 8-10 years ago, and since then there has been a steady decrease.  In Unit 27, bull to cow ratios are very low, and this has been a result of poor calf production.  Yes, the habitat is a big issue, but the observed herd health in Unit 27 shows that predators are taking a toll as well.

Black bear numbers are low and steady.  Mountain lion populations are high.  Wolves are well established.  IF&G managers see the wolves as being potentially very helpful to the herd's health by keeping elk populations below habitat capacity.  But that's not a point you'd want to try to prove at the bar in Challis while talking with other hunters.  It's debatable.  On the issue of wolves, I believe the truth is somewhere in the middle.  The wolves are hurting the elk, no doubt.  But there is a perfect storm right now of decreasing habitat and increasing wolves.  The ideal, for the hunter, is increasing habitat and decreasing wolves - obviously.

Objectives are to maintain between 3,850 - 5,750 cows, 950 - 1,550 bulls (of which 600 - 900 should be mature bulls).  The 2006 survey counted 5,137 cows, and 834 bulls (of which 450 were mature bulls).  2010 was the last year that anterless elk hunts were conducted in the Zone.  But antleress harvests were minimal, and it had no significant impact on the herd health.  The main

objective is to increase cows in Units 20A and 26, and to increase bull numbers in all of the Zone.

Here's the stats.  2006 survey data was used, and I have little doubt that the population levels have decreased since then.  2010 data was used for the harvest records.  So the stats below are probably a little optimistic, but well within reason.

Elk/Square Mile: 2.0

Hunters/Square Mile: 0.4

Bulls/Square Mile: 0.29

Average Hunter Days: 5.9

Bull Harvest Percentage:  13%

Percent Spikes Harvested: 5%

Percent 6+ points Harvested: 57%

Dworshak Elk Zone

I've described the Dworshak Elk Zone here.  So go there and read about it, and then come back here to see which Zone I think gives you the better chance at harvesting a bull.

Analysis & The Winner

Elk per square mile is basically the same for both the Dworshak and the Middle Fork.  Hunters per square mile is much different, however.  There is considerably less pressure in the Middle Fork's remote wilderness, with 0.4 hunters per square mile there compared to 1.4 in the Dworshak Zone.  Bulls per square mile is similar between the two Zones, with Dworhak only being slightly higher.  

The kinds of bulls harvested finds the two Zones on opposite ends, and much of that has to do with the brow-tined only restrictions in Unit 27.  In the Middle Fork, 5% of the harvest is spikes, while 57% are 6-pointers or better.  In the Dworshak Zone, 42% are spikes, while only 15% have six points or better.  In the end, however, the bottom line stat is this.  In the Middle Fork, you have a 13% chance of filling your tag, while in the Dworshak Zone, that decreases to 7%.

Bull numbers are down in both Zones.  But the odds of you finding a really decent one reside in the Middle Fork.  The Middle Fork's terrain is certainly more difficult to hunt in, but on the other hand, it offers a lot more glassing/spot and stalk opportunities.  

In the end, as difficult as it may be to get into the Middle Fork's wilderness, the odds of harvesting a bull are greater there.  The vistas are rewarding too.  And if you make an elk trip there, I'm certain it will be an adventure to remember.  Middle Fork Elk Zone is the winner!

~ J. Bunch

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Round 1: Dworshak Elk Zone vs. Bear River Elk Zone

This is the first installment of a series of posts comparing the best Idaho has to offer for general season, rifle, antlered elk tags. For more explanation on the general elk season comparisons, read the intro here.

First, let's start off with the Dworshak Zone in North Idaho.  

The Hunt

In 2011, the Dworshak Zone had an antlered, any-weapon hunt (B-Tag) that ran from Oct. 10 - Nov. 3 (25 days).  Archery hunts preceded the any-weapon hunt from August 30 - September 30.  Only 2,380 B-Tags were available for purchase, first come, first served.  The tags were available to non-residents starting on Dec. 1, 2010, and to residents on July 10, 2011.

Location

From Kamiah up to Orofino, and then up to Elk River, the Dworshak Zone spans east until it butts up to the Lolo Zone.  Dworshak Reservoir sits in the middle of the zone.  Or, maybe we should call it a rain forest.  This part of the state gets plenty of precipitation, both in rain and snow.  Typical of most of the North Idaho forests, there is a lot of undergrowth in the zone, and that's especially important since we'll be comparing it to a much different Southeast Idaho elk zone - Bear River.  The Dworshak Zone consists of only one Game Management Area - Unit 10A.

Terrain/Land Ownership

As for terrain, much of it is wooded.  48% is private ground, much of which is private timber company land.  The timber companies are pretty good about allowing hunters.  Some require a permission slip; others don't.  As long as you're not driving behind closed gates and cutting down good timber, you're usually okay to go.  23% of the land belongs to the State of Idaho, 25% to the Forest Service & BLM, and about 4% to the Corp of Engineers (land along Dworshak Reservoir) and Tribal Lands.  All of that is to say that this is mostly a big forest, scattered with typical woodland meadows, and plenty of clear cuts.  The entire zone encompasses 995,490 acres, or 1,555 square miles.

The logging activity can make elk visibility poor in the short term, but long term, the clear cuts provide excellent elk habitat.  A lot of folks hunt this zone because of the clear cuts.  Without the logging activity, hunting here would be a uniform deep timber wilderness hunt.  Access to Forest Service, state lands, and commercial timber property is easy.

The terrain gets pretty steep and mountainous in the Elk River area, and north of Dworshak Reservoir.  The southern portion of the zone isn't as steep-crazy, but there's still hills to climb and drainages to cross.  If you like getting your shins wet from ferns as you climb mountains, and finding yourself playing twister through vast deadfalls of trees, you might consider this zone.

But it's not all hard work.  People harvest plenty of elk out of this zone, and we also know that most of the "plenty" are pretty plenty lazy hunters.  Perhaps I've described this zone as pretty hard to maneuver in.  Well, don't kid yourself.  You know the big bulls will be in the hardest places to get to - the thick underbrush that's taller than you combined with thick timber and plenty of deadfalls.  Some prefer to hunt from the boat in Dworshak Reservoir.  Fish during the midday hours, and spot for elk.  Then wake up the next morning and stalk what you glassed.  Sounds like a great time to me.  There's lots of places to camp along the shore that are only accessible by boat, so this method can get you away from other people pretty effectively.  Just make sure that as you make plans to do this, you check the water levels of the reservoir.  In the fall, the water is usually down, making some destination points pretty inaccessible.  

Herd Health/Stats

The latest hard numbers are from the 2007 IF&G survey that counted 3,236 cows.  Objective numbers for the cows sits at 2,900 - 4,300.  All good there.  Bulls, on the other hand, are down.  The survey said there were 477, which is below the objective 600 - 900.  IF&G did their latest elk count in the Dworshak Zone in February of 2011.  I don't have the exact numbers now, but word is that cows are increasing, calves are holding steady, and bull numbers continue to drop.

Based on the numbers available at this time, here are the stats for 2010.

Elk per square mile: 2.39

Hunters per square mile: 1.4

Bulls per square mile: 0.31

Average hunter days: 8.12

Bull harvest percentage: 20%

Spikes harvested percentage: 42%

6+ points harvested percentage: 15%

Now, let's turn our attention to the Bear River Zone.

The Hunt

In 2011, the any-weapon, antlered-only hunt was sold as a B-Tag, and ran from Oct. 15 - Oct. 24 (10 days).  It was preceded by an archery elk hunt from Aug. 30 - Sep. 30.  There was no capped limit of tags for the Bear River Zone in 2011.

Location

The Bear River Zone consists of three Game Management Areas - Unit 75, Unit 77, and Unit 78.  From Soda Springs at the top, the zone border on the east angles southeast through the Nounan Valley, and then south down to Montpelier.  Then it heads west over to Ovid, and then shoots straight down to the Utah line.  The west border, from Soda Springs, heads south to the small town of Grace, then lolly-gags over to Preston, and then south to Utah.

Terrain/Land Ownership

Think of this zone as two valleys that run north and south, with a mountain range in between.  That mountain range is the northern end of the Wasatch Range that extends down into Utah.  The valleys sit between 5,000 and 6,000 ft. in elevation, and the mountains climb above 8,000 ft, with some of the peaks topping 9,000 ft.  The valleys are pretty much private wheat and barley fields, and some range land.  The foothills consist of sagebrush with aspen groves and mountain shrubs.  Further on up, firs start to cover the north facing slopes, and then it grades up to high alpine trees and meadows.

In many ways, the Bear River Zone is easier to maneuver in comparison to the Dworshak Zone, simply because you can choose to hunt open areas, which are much more readily available.  Still, as you get in the dark timber, the going is rough - just like anywhere else.  This is a typical high altitude, arid, Rocky Mountain elk hunting zone.

Basically, 48% of the land here is private, and 52% is public.  The private ground is in the valleys, the public ground is mostly forest service in the mountains.  Access to the public ground is easy.  There are tons of roads in the Bear River Zone, which in many peoples' minds is one of the disadvantages of this zone.  Some have said that you basically can't get any further than 2 miles from a road in one direction or the other.  While that's not quite true, the point is taken that this is a road-hunter's paradise.  The zone consists of 567,652 acres, or 887 square miles, and there are plenty of roads to wind through it.

Herd Health/Stats

The latest IF&G survey occurred in 2010.  606 cows were counted, exceeding the objective amount of 400 - 600.  98 bulls were counted, which places that number right in the middle of the objective 80 - 120.  The elk like to winter in the valleys, and depradation tags and feeding programs are typically utilized on a small scale.  Most of the elk in the zone are fairly well spread out in smaller herds.  The elk population has been stable recently.

The stats here aren't entirely scientific.  Because there are three units in this zone, some guesswork had to be done in regard to the number of hunters and days spent in the field for the antlered-only tag.  If you're interested in the specifics of how I came up with my numbers, I'll gladly explain.  But for now, here we go.

Elk per square mile: 0.79

Hunters per square mile: 1.47

Bulls per square mile: 0.11

Average hunter days: 4.4

Bull harvest percentage: 16%

Spikes harvested percentage: 20%

6+ points harvested percentage: 19%

Analysis 

Obviously, there are many other factors to consider, such as growing elk predation problems, and past years trending. At the same time, I think I've covered most of the bases. Here we go.

Dworshak has 3 times as many elk per square mile than does Bear River.  And the same ratio holds true for bulls per square mile.  While this seems like a no-brainer in favor of Dworshak, the terrain has to be considered.  The stats show that there is 1 bull for every 3 square miles in Dworshak, and 1 bull for every 10 square miles in Bear River.  But you can glass a lot of open land in Bear River.  In Dworshak, you're lucky to find a spot where you can see 100 yards of clearing in front of you.  I give the edge here to Dworshak, simply because the odds seem better.

Hunters per square mile is a wash between the two.  I think you're probably more likely to run into a hunter in the Bear River Zone than you are in the Dworshak Zone.  In Dworshak, it is much easier to get far away from any roads.  It's basically a big forest all the way until you get part way through Montana.  The edge here also goes to Dworshak.  If my concern is to get away from other hunters, I know I can do it here.

Harvest numbers also show that Dworshak does better than Bear River.  Dworshak has a very respectable 20% harvest rate for antlered elk, while Bear River checks in at 16%.  However, if you're looking for a bigger bull, Bear River has the edge.  42% of the bulls taken out of Dworshak in 2010 were spikes, and another 33% were raghorns of some sort.  Only 15% were 6 points or better.  However, in Bear River, only 20% were spikes, 61% were raghorns, and 19% were 6 points or better.  I think Bear River gets the edge here.  If I'm only 4% more likely to harvest something in Dworshak, I'll take my odds at getting something larger than a spike in Bear River.

The Winner

Dworshak.  But I had to give that a few moments of reflection before I decided.  If I was given the choice to hunt one or the other, I'd probably choose Bear River because I enjoy that terrain more, and it is a zone that presents unique challenges (such as finding places that hold elk that are as far away from roads as is possible).  However, if you told me that I was set up with a boat in Dworshak Reservoir, and could hunt and camp from it, that would be a hard offer to turn down.

In the end, you're more likely to harvest something (and that's what this is mostly about) in Dworshak.

~ J. Bunch

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