A farmer along the Takhini River Road says something has to change with how the government manages the elk it introduced to the Yukon.

Since November, Mike Blumenschein has seen scores of the animals digging in his hay fields, and coming around his yard.

“I could have opened my bedroom window several times and reached out and touched them,” he said in an interview Wednesday at his home about a kilometre up from the river.

Blumenschein says he’s seen 50 elk in one field and 35 or 40 in another at the same time.

Most recently, in the last two weeks, the elk have been robbing his two hay sheds, even after he installed electric barbed wire fencing to deter the animals.

Pallets placed against the open side of one shed to block access are kicked or pushed away by the elk when they visit at night.

The electric fencing is either broken, pulled down or stretched, with tufts of elk fur hanging off. The thick eye hooks anchoring the barbed wire to hefty wooden support posts are bent over at almost 90 degrees, as though they were made of straw.

Blumenschein says he’s had to repair regular field fencing damaged by elk in past years, but never has he had field damage or elk getting into his hay sheds.

He’s not certain how much crop he’ll lose this summer because of the elk, but he wouldn’t be surprised if it were upwards of 20 per cent. His annual revenue from hay sales is $70,000 to $80,000, Blumenschein estimates.

The elk like to paw through the snow to forage, and then they lay down.

Blumenschein suspects some of the damage will be caused from their body heat thawing the ground a bit, which freezes again when they leave.

He suspects the hay in the foraged areas will be somewhat stunted by the exposure to the elements, but by how much he’s uncertain.

Greg Paquin farms just down the road from Blumenschein, right along the river.

It’s the first year he’s seen elk dig through his fields in any great numbers. Like Blumenschein, he too is wondering how his summer hay crop will be affected.

A director with the Yukon Agricultural Association, Paquin believes what they are seeing is a permanent expansion of the elk’s winter range, for whatever reason.

Blumenschein says the Yukon government has to come up with a solution, or be prepared to compensate farmers because the elk were introduced by the government.

Perhaps it’s time to expand hunting opportunities on elk that roam outside what has been defined as the core area where no hunting is allowed, not even permit hunts, he says.

Hunting, Blumenschein adds, would help reduce the size of the herd, and may also serve as a deterrent to elk visiting farms.

He said while this is the first year he’s been overrun by elk, farmers along the Alaska Highway on the other side of the Takhini River have been dealing with it for a decade or longer.

Some may say a sturdier game fence around the farm may be the answer, along with closing in his hay shed, Blumenschein says.

He’s says it’s easy to say if you’re not paying for it.

“Why should I take money out of my pocket?” he asks. “It is an introduced herd. It is not a natural species here.”

Blumenschein points out he has three kilometres of fencing, or just under 10,000 feet, and game fencing runs about $7 to $8 a linear foot.

Under a federal agricultural program administered by the Yukon government, he was able to recover $1,400 last year for materials required to repair fencing damaged by wildlife.

But nobody covered his four days of labour, he says.

Historical records show the government initially introduced elk to southwest Yukon in 1951, under the encouragement of the Yukon Fish and Game Association (YFGA).

It was seen as a means of eventually providing hunters with an alternative while reducing pressure on indigenous animals, such as moose and caribou.

Another 30 were transplanted in 1954.

It wasn’t until 1989 when the next elk were introduced. From 1989 through 1994, another 119 were brought in, essentially re-invigorating two distinct herds – the Takhini valley herd that roams in Blumenschein’s neck of the woods and the Braeburn herd.

The first permit hunt was held in 2009, when 40 permits were issued, resulting in 20 elk being harvested.

Another 71 permits were issued in 2010, resulting in 32 elk being killed; 72 permits were issued in 2011, resulting in 34 elk being harvested; 21 permits were issued in 2012, resulting in nine elk shot.

For both the 2013 and 2014 seasons, six permits were issued, resulting in six elk harvested each season.

The most recent estimate by Environment Yukon put the Takhini valley herd at approximately 200 animals in 2013, and the Braeburn herd at 60.

Senior conservation officer Ken Knutson says complaints of elk from farmers are not new.

Nor is it surprising the animals have taken to farmers’ fields, given the availability of food and general lack of predators around populated areas, he adds.

The manager of conservation officers for Environment Yukon says they’ve tried numerous tactics to deter the animals.

They’ve even tried putting up a silhouette of a wolf accompanied by automated wolf howls, but that too gets old with elk after a while, Knutson says.

Knutson points out the government is well aware of the issue with farmers, and it’s one of the reasons the review of the elk management plan developed in 2008 has been bumped up a year to this spring.

The first meeting of the elk technical team and the numerous interested parties, including the agricultural association, is scheduled for the end of the month.

Knutson said there is a variety of interests to be taken into consideration, including the concern being raised by farmers.

But there are also the interests of the YFGA, which has been behind the elk transplant from the beginning, and the interest of those who see elk as providing a valuable wildlife viewing opportunity, he says.

Knutson says the review of the elk management plan is intended to take into consideration all concerns and points of view, and recommend how best to move forward.

Blumenschein says he doesn’t know how big the Takhini valley herd is getting. But he’s also not sure the government knows.

He goes on to point out how the transplanted bison herd has grown way beyond the government’s desired population target.

Perhaps, he suggested, the elk are expanding their range because they’re outgrowing the habitat available in and around the core area. “My stand on it is you can have all the elk you want, just keep them in the core area,” he says. “The second they come out of that core area onto agricultural land, we should be able to hunt them.

“... Or they just have to start biting the bullet and paying for the damage.”