Bow Valley elk population on a downward trend

In the mid-1990s there were too many - the "700 pound antlered squirrels of Banff" were a common sight on town streets and a frequent participant in human wildlife conflicts.

Peaking at nearly 1,000 animals for years, Parks Canada began re-locating them within the parks and around the province.

But after a period of stability, the population has continued to drop.

"Over the last five years we've noticed a downward trend in our elk numbers, our last classified count last fall was at 139 animals," says Blair Fyten, Parks Canada human wildlife coexistence specialist for Banff.

The count covers the roughly 75 kilometre long stretch between the East Gates and Lake Louise - and about one-third of the total number of elk from five years ago and well below the target population for the Bow Valley.

"We don't really know exactly why," Fyten says. Disease, predators and collisions with vehicles and trains all take a few elk - 25 documented cases last year - but not numbers that a healthy herd can't sustain.

The leading guess may be hiding in plain sight.

"What we see is some of these meadows growing in," Fyten says. Fewer open areas means less feed as forests enjoy longer growing seasons and the natural wildfire cycle is kept in check.

Prescribed burns are being used more often to open up forests and encourage better food - the meadow along the Banff airstrip was burned last year - but many others are in remote corners of the park where the risk to development is limited.

The Fairhome Range bench, which runs on the north side of Highway 1 between the park gates and the town of Banff, burned decades ago. But managers are starting to consider another burn to re-fresh the landscape.

"There's a point in time when a burn - once all those trees start to fall down - that it's not much use to wildlife, you've got to go back in and re-burn it," says Fyten.

Provincial biologist Brett Boukall says while the exact trend isn't quite the same, many provincially managed lands in the foothills are also seeing smaller elk populations than in years past, something he attributes to increased predator populations and maturing forests.

"What we tend to find is that our elk populations tend to vary quite a bit with habitat, the less grass habitat there is as we move into the mountains and the forested area, the less elk we find," Boukall says.

"Elk are grazers, and so they're they've adapted for early secessional-stage forest where there's a lot more grass available," Boukall says. "We often hear of old growth, but not all species benefit from an old close forest. And some species such as elk, even grizzly bears need more open habitats in which to forage."