Our Perspective on the Elk Habitat Debate.
“We have elk calving grounds, and deer, and we’re trying to protect all that.”
John Baden – KBZK Bozeman MT News (Published Jun 20, 2023)
Our accusers, armed with assertions and devoid of empirical evidence, have portrayed our farm site – the future location of our gravel pit – as a critical habitat and migratory path for elk. This claim, recently echoed in an interview with KBZK Bozeman MT News by our neighbor, falls apart under the weight of our extensive experience. In the many years my father, brother, and I have stewarded this land, not once have we witnessed the miracle of an elk calf birth within the confines of the proposed gravel pit site. The reality is starkly different; the area offers minimal shelter, hardly a nurturing environment for the birth and growth of elk calves.
Furthermore, the notion that this site serves as a safe haven for elk is contradicted by the very nature of its current use. The heavy machinery that dominates these fields for cultivation in spring poses a potential threat. Any elk calf born amidst these fields stands a high risk of being inadvertently crushed. Furthermore, the wide open landscape contributes to wildlife stress rather than a shelter from surrounding activity.
The environmental dynamics in the Gallatin Gateway area are complex and evolving, particularly due to the burgeoning wolf population in the higher elevations. This natural pressure has reshaped the migratory patterns of the elk over the past four years, driving them toward the lower regions, including the Gallatin River bottom area, adjacent to our farm fields. The proximity of the elk to the proposed gravel pit site has sparked an outcry among environmentalists, a group that rightly holds elk in high esteem. However, their fervent arguments overlook a critical detail – the current state of this area is far from conducive to the wellbeing of the elk. In its present form, the land lacks the sheltering and nourishing environment essential for elk, and the crops cultivated here can even cause digestive issues during the harsher months of late fall and early winter.
Elk have four chambered guts that change their bacteria with the season and what’s available to eat. In the spring and summer, bacteria colonies adjust to digest green shoots and high-protein feed. But, in the fall and winter gut bacteria are essentially programmed to eat big quantities of dried twigs and grasses with a lower energy.
“The bug is clostridium perfringens,” Colin Gillin explains.
“It’s a bacteria that all ruminants carry in their guts, it’s just you don’t want that clostridium to get out of control,” Gillin says. “And it’s when you throw corn in there, it starts to have a party.”
In this case, the corn is alfalfa hay.
The bacteria break down the walls of the stomach and intestines, so an elk can starve to death with a belly full of alfalfa.
Colin Gillin – State Vet for Oregon’s Department of Fish and Wildlife | See Northwest Public Broadcasting Article
Our vision transcends the current narrative. We aim to revitalize this land into a sanctuary teeming with life. Our goal is to reclaim and transform our cultivated fields into an area where elk and a myriad of other wildlife can be safe and flourish. Through this endeavor, we hope to establish a legacy of coexistence, proving that human enterprise and natural ecosystems can continue to thrive side by side.