A new method of harvesting elk and reducing conflict with farmers is up and running today, says Environment Yukon’s manager of habitat.

Karen Clyde said Thursday the policy under the updated Elk Management Plan enables farmers to notify the department of problem elk at any time of the year.

If the department agrees action is warranted, it can authorize a licensed hunter to go out and shoot an elk at the farm as a deterrent or a form of hazing in an attempt to discourage the elk from returning, she explained.

Clyde said a priority list of hunters was created last June from the list of 500 Yukoners who applied for the three permits issued to hunt elk.

As part of the permit application, hunters were asked if they would let their name stand on a list of potential hunters who could be notified to assist with problem elk, she explained.

Clyde said there’s also a provision to include local First Nations based on the amount of aboriginal settlement land in the area.

Every fifth request for a hunter will be offered to the Champagne and Aishihik First Nation, the Ta’an Kwach’an Council, and the Kwanlin Dun First Nation, she said.

Clyde explained the hunters will be required to follow a specific set of guidelines developed by conservation officers that includes conditions such as how many days the permit is good for.

Successful hunters, for instance, will be required to remove everything from the kill site, including the gut pile, and will have strict reporting guidelines.

As part of the new management plan, hunters will still be required to gain permission from neighbours within one kilometre of the farm property, though farmers have been asked to assist in gathering the permission, as has the agricultural branch.

Clyde said the review of the 2008 Elk Management Plan began with a meeting last February, driven primarily by concerns from farmers about costly damage to fencing, hay sheds, crops and fields.

While the review is being led by the Fish and Wildlife Management Board, Environment Yukon, the Yukon’s agricultural branch, the Yukon Agricultural Association, First Nations and renewable resource councils have all been involved.

A public meeting to gather input on the revised draft management plan released last week was held in Haines Junction on Thursday night, and one is scheduled for Whitehorse Oct. 6.

Clyde said to assist with the discussion regarding the problem with elk, Environment Yukon brought up Dr. Ryan Brook from the University of Saskatchewan, who has decades of experience dealing with wildlife-farm conflict.

“What he talked about is you have to have a multitude of tools in the tool box, and this aversion plan is just one of the tools,” she said.

Clyde said reducing conflict is a shared responsibility, and everybody has a role to play.

The plan, she points out, calls for the establishment of a working group with participation from all parties that should periodically evaluate and assess options to address the conflict between elk and agriculture.

The draft plan emphasizes the overall goal of the plan is to ensure the elk population remains sustainable to provide wildlife viewing opportunities and a limited permit hunt harvest.

The plan also identifies potential population declines that may become worrisome.

The Takhini Valley herd – the problem herd for farmers – is estimated at 200 animals, with a maximum growth rate estimated at three per cent annually, says the management plan.

Should the population fall to 180 animals, growth would decline, and would fall further if the herd dropped to 160 elk.

“Although this plan does not identify a target population, a new management regime would be required if the Takhini herd declines to 100 and 120 animals,” says the plan.

Clyde said the draft plan does not identify a ceiling on the number of elk that can be shot under the elk-farmer conflict policy.

It does, however, call for close monitoring of the program, and hunters called upon to shoot an elk at a farm will have strict reporting guidelines, she explained.

Clyde said the conflict harvest will not be guided by the number of animals taken, but by the response of the elk, whether it’s discouraging them from returning.

“If we have taken 15 from the same area and it’s not working, then there is a need for a discussion,” she said.

Clyde said they know that elk historically have sustained themselves at much lower numbers than they’re at today.

The elk were originally transplanted here from Alberta in the 1950s through a joint effort between the territorial government and Yukon Fish and Game Association to reduce hunting pressure on moose and caribou.

The population sustained itself at well below 100 animals for many years. More elk were introduced in the 1990s.

The plan says the conflict harvest should be used when dealing with larger groups of elk, as the intent is to discourage the elk from returning. The program would be least effective if there was just a single animal, the plan suggests.

It says groups of cows and calves should number at least 10 ideally, and groups of bulls should number at least five.

Clyde said there is a farmer who is currently asking for a hunter to come and shoot an elk, which first of all will require permission from neighbouring properties.

This is not, she insists, a program to provide new hunting opportunities. Rather, it’s a management tool in an attempt to reduce costly conflict between farmers and elk, she said.

The draft management plan calls for ongoing monitoring of the herd to watch for winter ticks, and to maintain vigilance with highway signage to minimize the number of vehicle collisions with elk.

It also calls attention to the need to take into consideration important elk habitat when issuing new agricultural leases.

And it recommends the government maintain its compensation policy for farmers who’ve suffered financial losses from damage caused by elk.

The plan calls for the continuation of the permit hunt.

Though there were five permits issued for the Takhini herd last year, there was only two issued this year in anticipation of this new policy, Clyde explained.

There is one permit issued annually for the Braeburn herd, which is estimated at 60 elk.