{"id":455456,"date":"2026-02-08T01:07:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T01:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/455456\/"},"modified":"2026-02-08T01:07:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T01:07:11","slug":"idaho-fish-and-game-plans-to-relocate-or-harvest-elk-causing-1-2-million-in-crop-damage-near-emmett","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/455456\/","title":{"rendered":"Idaho Fish and Game plans to relocate or harvest elk causing $1.2 million in crop damage near Emmett"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

EMMETT (KIVI<\/a>) \u2014 Hundreds of elk are eating into farmers\u2019 livelihoods near Emmett, causing more than $1.2 million in crop damage last year, prompting Idaho Fish and Game to develop plans to relocate some animals and remove others.<\/p>\n

A herd of 350 non-migratory elk stays on five private properties west of Emmett year-round, creating significant problems for area farmers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was approximately $1.2 million in damages. And we only paid out about 35% of that,\u201d said Brian Pearson, regional communications manager for Idaho Fish and Game\u2019s Southwest region.<\/p>\n

The agency has been actively trying to address this ongoing issue for the past five years using various management tools.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have several tools in our toolkit \u2014 non-lethal tools \u2014 that we use in situations like this. We\u2019re statutorily obligated to address depredations from wildlife when they occur,\u201d Pearson said.<\/p>\n

\"Multiple<\/a>Multiple elk run across Lucas Budell\u2019s property near Emmet, Idaho. | Courtesy Lucas Budell <\/p>\n

Emmett neighbor Lucas Budell has witnessed the ongoing impact on agricultural operations.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the elk were out there just in the hay fields, and they were just probably eating food, but at the same time, you know, they\u2019ve always been there,\u201d Budell said.<\/p>\n

Budell worked with Fish and Game to install fencing on his property, which has been effective in protecting his crops.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey came out and did a study, and they actually shared costs with a fence, and we put up a fence, and it actually helped. It kept the elk out of our farm, and all the other neighbors, they put up fences also,\u201d Budell added.<\/p>\n

Traditional hunting and some non-lethal management steps haven\u2019t reduced the herd size despite significant efforts. The landowners have allowed around 150 elk to be harvested by hunters just in the past year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve been going above and beyond, in terms of getting hunters onto their property and trying to allow hunters to help address the issue, but so far that\u2019s been unsuccessful,\u201d Pearson said.<\/p>\n

The problem is complicated by the elk\u2019s behavior patterns. Through GPS collaring, Fish and Game has confirmed these elk do not migrate and remain on private property year-round.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re on private property, and they have nowhere to go because they feel safe, you know. If you feel safe somewhere, you don\u2019t wanna go anywhere, and so they\u2019re not gonna leave,\u201d explained Budell.<\/p>\n

Budell believes increased hunter access could help address the problem more effectively.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere the elk are at right now, it\u2019s private property, and the owner has to give permission to let people go hunting,\u201d said Buddell. \u201cI think if you would allow more people to go, then, you know, it wouldn\u2019t be such a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

He explained that hunting pressure could change elk behavior patterns.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you allow people to go hunting and go out there, it\u2019ll kind of maybe stir them up and move them around more, and they probably wouldn\u2019t be there as much,\u201d Budell said.<\/p>\n

Budell described seeing around 100 elk regularly on neighboring properties, noting their intelligence in avoiding hunters. \u201cThe elk know where to go, they know where to hide \u2014 the elk all have their spots, they come and go.\u201d<\/p>\n

The damage primarily comes from elk consuming crops that farmers depend on for their livelihood.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what pays the bills. So that\u2019s the problem out there. But by us putting up a fence on our property, it solved a lot of the issues,\u201d Budell said.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>The aftermath of elk eating Lucas Budell\u2019s crops on his property in Emmet, Idaho. | Courtesy Lucas Budell \"The<\/a>The aftermath of elk eating Lucas Budell\u2019s crops on his property in Emmet, Idaho. | Courtesy Lucas Budell <\/p>\n

Strong calf survival rates and easy access to food sources keep the numbers growing despite the aforementioned management efforts.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, the herd is at a point where recruitment, or the number of calves that are being born, is keeping pace with the number that are harvested, and that\u2019s pretty astounding when you\u2019re talking about, you know, 150+ elk that are being taken out of the population, in a given year,\u201d Pearson said.<\/p>\n

Idaho Fish and Game has developed a two-pronged approach to address the overpopulation issue. The agency plans to relocate about 40 elk to areas where populations are below management goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re proposing a combination of translocation, moving these elk to areas to elk zones where elk are below objectives,\u201d said Pearson. \u201cIn the case of the Weiser River zone, where these elk currently reside, we are above objectives.\u201d<\/p>\n

The remaining 60 elk will be lethally removed, but the meat won\u2019t go to waste.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re pretty lucky to have a partnership with Idaho Hunters Feeding the Hungry. All of that meat will be going to Idahoans in need,\u201d Pearson said.<\/p>\n

\"Multiple<\/a>Multiple elk run across Lucas Budell\u2019s property near Emmet, Idaho. | Courtesy Lucas Budell <\/p>\n

However, Budell remains skeptical about the long-term effectiveness of the management plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think you need to go slaughter 100 elk either. But the problem is, it\u2019s still gonna be there, you know, the elk are not gonna go nowhere. They\u2019re still gonna be there, they\u2019re still gonna repopulate, they\u2019re still gonna come back. So it\u2019s just an ongoing issue,\u201d Budell said.<\/p>\n

The goal is to reduce the herd to a size that can be managed effectively through hunter harvest without requiring additional interventions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re really trying to accomplish here is to get this elk herd to a size where it can be managed effectively with hunter harvest, and there aren\u2019t additional interventions necessary,\u201d Pearson said.<\/p>\n

Idaho Fish and Game says they will finalize relocation sites in the coming weeks and plan to begin action this spring.<\/p>\n

\t \t \t \t=htmlentities(get_the_title())?>%0D%0A%0D%0A=get_permalink()?>%0D%0A%0D%0A=htmlentities(‘For more stories like this one, be sure to visit https:\/\/www.eastidahonews.com\/ for all of the latest news, community events and more.’)?>&subject=Check%20out%20this%20story%20from%20EastIdahoNews” class=”fa-stack jDialog”> \t <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EMMETT (KIVI) \u2014 Hundreds of elk are eating into farmers\u2019 livelihoods near Emmett, causing more than $1.2 million…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":455457,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[79,201],"class_list":{"0":"post-455456","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-science","9":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=455456"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455456\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/455457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=455456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=455456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=455456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}