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,f.•· 1• ' ,' I ....' .,.. .../ ., . ""'' " ) .. ' . Aerial view of portion of the wintering elk population. 153-10(1/12/79 - JEW) ) A small segment of the Refuge bull population. Mature bulls made up 19% of the 1978-79 wintering population. 155-3(1/23/79 - JEW) ) TABLE OF CONTENTS I. GENERAL A. Introduction ..... l B. Climatic and Habitat Conditions 1 c. Land Acquisition. 3 D. System Status .. 8 II. CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE A. Construction . .. • • 8 B. Maintenance ..12 c. Wildfire. .13 III. HABITAT MANAGEMENT ) A. Croplands . .14 B. Grasslands ••. .14 C. Wetlands .24 D. Forestlands . 24 E. Other Habitat .24 F. Wilderness and Special Areas. .24 G. Easements for Waterfowl Management •• .24 IV. WILDLIFE A. Endangered and Threatened Species ...... .24 B. Migratory Birds ... •. .26 C. Mammals and Non-Migratory Birds and Others. 31 ) V. INTERPRETATION AND RECREATION A. Information and Interpretation. .44 B. Recreation. .56 C. Enforcement .64 VI. OTHER ITEMS A. Field Investigations .. 71 B. Cooperative Programs. 77 C. Items of Interest . .83 D. Safety •.. •..... .84 ,) ) I. GENERAL A. Introduction The 24,227 acre National Elk Refuge lies in the Jackson Hole area of northwestern Wyoming. The refuge was established by Congress on August 10, 1912 to acquire, preserve and manage lands for the wintering elk of Jackson Hole. Jackson Hole iR a fault trough surrounded by an extensive system of fault block mountains. While the elevation of the Refuge varies from 6200 feet to 7200 feet, the Tetons to the west rise tp 13,766 feet at the summit of Grand Teton. Thz valley and the surrounding mountains are classic examples of glaciation. Spectacular elevation surges of over 7000 feet, from an intermountain valley to cirque-cut escarpments, and glacial remnants are features that have created a wildlife and recreation area of outstanding ) importance. The National Elk Ref uge lies in a glacial valley and is in the Transition Zone. Soils at the lower elevations are alluvial. generally composed of sandy loam or loam, and are shallow and permeable. The soils at the higher elevations are also loamy but there are considerable areas of gravelly soils and cobble­ stone on the south slopes and ridges. Sheet and gully erosion is apparent on some of the steeper slopes. The northern one-half of the refuge is dissected by steep rolling hills. The southern one-half consists of glacial out­ wash material primarily, with one resistant formation (Miller ) ) Butte rising approximately 500 feet above the valley flnor. There are two major streams flowing through the refuge. The Gros Ventre River forms much of the northern boundary of the refuge and Flat Creek, flowing from east to west, nearly bisects the refuge. As Flat Creek approaches the western boundary 0f the refuge, it turns and continues southward and leaves the refuge at its extreme southwestern corner. Numerous springs emerge from the northern edge of Miller Butte and form Nowlin Creek, which flows to the northwest until it joins Flat Creek. The refuge lies within Teton County and is bounded on the north by Grand Teton National Park, on the east by the Bridger-Teton National Forest and on the south and west by the town of Jackson and mixed private and Bureau of Land Management lands, respectively. The climate is typical of high valleys in the northern Rocky .) Mountains. Summers are cool and pleasant and winters are long. Snowfall patterns and accumulations generally form quite a gradient from 6-18 inches on the lower half of the refuge up to 4 feet nn th':' n0rth end of the refuge. Annual precipitation is 15.2 WEATHER DATA 1979* PreciEitation Tem:eeratures Month Normal Snow{all Max. Min. January 1.31 1.69 19.96 Jfl -50 February 1. 00 1. 01 12.01 50 -16 March .45 1. 10 1.89 50 -12 April .04 1. 15 Trace 65 5 May 1.13 1. 47 77 16 June .42 1. 76 90 19 ) July .69 .75 89 28 August 1. 09 93 31 September .30 1.26 86 20 October 1. 39 1. 09 77 5 November .49 1.19 3. 70 42 -16 December .16 1. 73 7. 50 51 -17 Annual ° ° Totals 7. 48 15.29 45.06 93 F -50 F (Extremes) *The weather data listed above were obtained from the Bridger-Teton National Forest headquarters located at the southeast boundary of the Refuge. ) ) inches, with about half received as snowfall. Temperature extremes vary from a summer high of 92°-94° F. to winter lows n ° of 35°-40 F. below zero. Record high is 101 F. and the record low is 52° F. below zero. Much of the refuge consists of grassy meadows and marshes on the comparatively flat valley floor with the sedges, blue grasses and brome grass being important components of the communities. Near some of the springs and along the water courses, various willows are cornrnon. The flood plain forest, common along the Gros Ventre River, contains blu� spruce, narrowleaf cottonwood, red osier dogwood and balsam poplar as major species. There are extensive areas of big sagebrush north of the Jackson National Fish Hatchery. Foothills are grass covered for the most part with some sagebrush and rock outcroppings. These open areas merge with the steeper, timbered ) mountain slopes to the east where lodgepole pine, limber pine, whitebark pine, Douglas fir, and aspen are found. The vegetative cover within the refuge is as follows: woodland - 2,488 acres marsh-wet meadows - 2, 500 acres sagebrush - 4,228 acres grassland - 15,011 acres B. Climatic and Habitat Conditions The climate is typical of high mountain valleys. The high ° temperature for 1979 was 92 Fon August 4, while the low was _) ° -50 F on January 1, 1979. Precipitation was less than half of normal with only 7. 48 inches received. Snow accumulations, 45.06 inches, were also less than half of normal. This low water year resulted in markedly decreased forage production on the refuge. Forage that was produced was still available for utilization by the approximately 6000 elk on the refuge at years end. C. Land Acquisition 1. Fee Title A brief review of last year's highlights will help shed some light on our current status. In August, 1978, President Carter visited Jackson Hole for a summer vacation. Refuge and Grand Teton National Park inholders aroused the interest ) of the President's personal secretary in their fight against "dictatorial bureaucrats within the Department of the Interior - National Park Service and the llsS, Fish and Wildlife Service" The severity of the winter drove mule deer into old hay sheds in search of food. 158-11(1/31/78-JEW) ) Not all mortality in winter comes from old age or cold. This spring area has claimed a number of unsuspecting victims. ) 166-1(4/18/79 - JEW) .s who were taking their lands, their homes and depriving them of their livelihoods. As a result, President Carter intervened and ordered Secretary of the Interior Andrus to personally investigate the question of land acquisition in Jackson Hole. Secretary Andrus immediately ordered a moratorium on all land acquisition proceedings in NER and GTNP until he could visit and determine the necessity of such actions. Secretary Andrus visited Jackson Hole in November, 1978. At that time he indicated that he was not i� favor of con­ demnation of developed lands and seemed to favor life use. He did believe undeveloped land should be condemned on the basis of increasing acquisition costs to the taxpayer. Teton Wildlife Ranch - As a result of Secre.ta.ry Andrus' ) meeting with the Calkins, the Fish and Wildlife Service was ordered, with Director Greenwalt agreeing, to offer the Calkins lifetime use. Mr. Calkins informed the FWS on 9/21/78 that he would have an appraisal made and would not consider talking terms for at least 90 days. On December 28, 1979 (1 year and 3 months from his last contact) Calkins wrote Director Greenwalt and submitted his appraisal. He was now ready to discuss "life tenure basis". He also indicated that he would not "deal with Harvey Willoughby, his Denver subordinates, or those at Elk Refuge Headquarters. " It is our understanding that Regional Office and Central Office Realty now have this offer under serious consideration and will shortly contact Mr. Calkins. Mrs. Calkins has written and submitted an article to Reader's Digest, supposedly outlining the "dast­ ) ardly acts" committed by the "terrible Feds" against them in the name of land acquisition. Reader's Digest research people have contacted the Refuge, Regional Office, Director, formet Refuge Manager, National Park Service, etc. in an effort to ferret out the truth. It was scheduled for publi­ cation in January, 1980 and has not appeared in that or the February, 1980 issue. Two additional lots south of the Calkins property are owned by absentee landowners. The FWS has tried to purchase these two lots, one owned by Mr. Geier and the other by Mr. DeLeva, but they have insisted that they "will build". The FWS filed Declaration of Taking on these two undeveloped lots in 1979. Approval was received from the Secretary of Interior's office and the appropriate House of Representatives committee to pro­ ceed with the condemnation request. However, the Senate Subcommittee on the Department of Interior and Related Agencies withheld approval of 11 any declaration of t�ki�g buGcd on "inaccurate and erroneous information supplied them. In September, Mr. Geier constructed a buck and pole fence around his yet undeveloped lot. Mr. Geier has sub­ mitted an appraisal and R.O. Realty has been in touch with him. It is hoped that we can purchase this tract before he builds.

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