With 21 feedgrounds, Wyoming is the only state with an extensive elk feeding program.
The Jackson and Pinedale areas in northwest Wyoming are home to three herds each.
The specifics of how to exactly run the statewide feeding program have long been at the center of a debate: how much to feed the local elk, which keeps populations artificially high.
Feeding upwards of 25,000 elk across the Cowboy State, and propping up the keystone species, dates back a century. The initial aim was preventing property damage, though today’s focus is largely staving off encroaching disease between elk away from cattle.
Feeding, however, has brought elk into what experts say is too close of contact. The neurodegenerative Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) spread to hunt areas around Pinedale and Jackson in recent years where it had never before been detected.
In an unexpected move, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department shared a draft plan in 2023. By and large it aimed to reduce elk dependence on feedgrounds given the encroaching risk of disease spread from cattle to elk. That fear again hit home when CWD struck a herd north of Pinedale last March.
As the conversation continues, Game and Fish will host workshops to take public feedback into consideration. It aims to finalize feed plans for six specific herds after adopting the new long-term management plan in 2024.
The Jackson workshop takes place at 1 p.m. on Saturday Feb. 28 at the Teton County Library. The Pinedale workshop is 6 p.m. on Thursday Feb. 26 at the regional game and fish office.
