The group held its first meeting last week, the same week public comment closed on FWP's draft elk management plan.

The plan would revise the current elk management plan, which was adopted by FWP 12 years ago. The draft plan would call for a decrease in elk numbers in the upper Bitterroot River watershed. But one local group has said elk numbers should grow, not decrease.

The Ravalli County Fish and Wildlife Association came out with a plan to increase elk numbers, pointing to a boost in habitat caused by the catastrophic wildfires of 2000 that burned over 300,000 acres on the Bitterroot National Forest. The FWA would look to increase the number of elk tallied during spring elk counts from about 7,000 to about 10,000, according to their plan.

The Fish and Wildlife Association presented their plan publicly in October at a Hamilton FWP community meeting held to discuss the agency's new plan. Because of the two different ideas of elk management, Long decided to form the citizen's group to gain input from a wide array of interests in the valley.

"What's important to us is the public input," said Long. "The goal is pretty simple and that's basically to develop a consensus for elk management in the upper Bitterroot."

There are nine people in the group, and the first meeting last week was a good start, said Jack Pfau, who represents the agricultural community on the group.

"I think everybody came away from that last meeting with a good feeling that we would be able to reach some kind of solution," said Pfau.

The elk population has tripled since 1980, according to FWP Bitterroot biologist, John Vore.

The increase in numbers has not only increased hunters' opportunities to shoot elk, but also increased the conflict between elk herds and landowners, said Pfau, who hopes the group will address the situation.

"They need to try and reach some kind of solution to the elk problems with crop damage," he said.

The first topic the group will tackle will be elk population objectives - how many elk there should be.

"That's probably the most urgent issue," said Long.

But there's not likely to be any one right answer, said John Ormiston, wildlife biologist on the Bitterroot National Forest.

"It's more art than science," he said. "I think we have to have open, honest, candid conversations about what it is that we can do for the elk that contributes to the overall good of the valley and there's no one answer to it."

The state's elk management plan will be important to the Forest Service, because they will need to regard that in their current forest plan revision process, said Ormiston who represents the Forest Service in the citizen group.

The forest plan will have to consider the state's elk management plan in the way they look at forage, cover and hunter access, he said.

"I want to be able to provide a national forest perspective into the elk plan because it's important that we get it right from both agencies' view point," said Ormiston.

The first meeting was essentially an introduction for the members, said Craig Thomas, a private forester in Stevensville. But the idea of having a group to influence FWP's decision process is important, he said.

"It was a very positive meeting," he said.

The prospect of having a hand in how FWP decides to manage elk in the future is exciting, said Thomas.

Long received about 25 applications for membership in the citizen's group. He wanted to put together a big enough group to cover as many viewpoints as possible, but still small enough to have good meaningful exchanges.

"Because the group was small we had one representative from each interest group," he said.

As a result he had to turn down some qualified applicants, he said.

"It was kind of a tough thing to do actually," said Long.

There is still one more spot open on the group.

"We don't have a current and active outfitter on the group, so we're still kind of soliciting that position," he said.

He sees the group as a long term influence in the dynamic nature of elk management in the Bitterroot Valley. The group is going to be an important piece of how decisions get made, he said.

"I have a lot of hope for the group," said Long. "I appreciate them for being involved."

Reporter Greg Lemon can be reached at 363-3300 or at glemon@ravallirepublic.com

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