Offer food, and they will come. That’s the story line for elk at the Oak Creek Wildlife Area west of Naches. Or offer elk at close range, and people will come.
Elk feeding at Oak Creek is in full swing as the state Department of Fish and Wildlife again tempts the elk to temper the damage they can do among farms and backyards.
Dealing with the Yakima herd is a combination of tough love (an elk fence) and reward (alfalfa hay).
"If we weren’t feeding them, they’d go all the way to the lower valley and eat anything they can get their mouths on," said Bruce Berry, Oak Creek assistant manager.
"That’s the main reason why we put up the elk fence, to try to stop them from getting into the agricultural areas, the fruit trees, Grandma’s rose bushes."
About 11,000 Rocky Mountain elk, the starting stock originally brought in from Yellowstone in 1912 for hunting purposes, roam the Cascade Crest before the snow drives them to the lowlands.
Elk are fed at several sites, but the most public-accessible is the main one at the wildlife area’s headquarters, which includes a small visitor’s center.
Each elk eats 6-10 pounds of hay a day; about 1,200 elk move through the main site and about 3,200 are fed, so the pounds quickly mount up to tons.
The easy-to-munch food draws enough elk so that the others have enough forage elsewhere, Berry said.
For visitors, the afternoon feeding of the elk is a chance to meet the animals, as close as 15 feet away behind a sturdy fence.
Volunteers once helped feed the herd by tossing off hay bales from the back of a truck, but those days are over, said Benge Whitney, now in her 13th year of volunteering at Oak Creek.
Last year, trucks with conveyor belts took over, moving through the herd, making at least one pass near the fenced-off spectators, Whitney said.
"The conveyor belt knocks off big chunks of hay as they go through the herd," Whitney said.
Two former military trucks have been converted for hauling visitors among the herd on 30-minute rides, Whitney said. There’s usually a guide in each truck to provide information and answer questions.
Volunteers at the interpretive center can also provide information on elk and bighorn sheep and the area’s history.
Also at the center are mounted animals (including white-tail deer, mule deer, porcupine, bear, and cougar) and two video feeds that show the elk feeding.
"Or you can sit at the window and watch the elk feed right in front of you," Whitney said.
Did you know that the ancient Egyptians were making copper hooks in 2600 B.C., or that the first full-length publication dealing with fly-fishing was credited to Dame Juliana Berners ("The Treatyse of Fysshynge with an Angle")?
It’s all in Glenn Law’s "A Concise History of Fly Fishing" ($17.95), subtitled "the most fascinating and important milestones in the history of fly fishing," which pretty much sums it up.
It’s a comparatively pricey paperback in part because Lyons Press decided to print it on slick paper, perhaps assuming the book would be read outside in the mist.
Columnist Sharon Wootton can be reached at 360-468-3964 or www.songandword.com.
What: Elk-feeding
Where: Oak Creek Wildlife Area west of Naches.
When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; elk feeding 1:30 p.m. daily through February.
Tour: Donations requested; 30-minute tours; first-come, first-served, or reserve a spot with Benge Whitney, 509-453-7503.
Tips: Bring binoculars and cameras because elk are in viewing range all day. Bighorn sheep may be viewable at the mid-morning feed at a site about 1.5 miles from the interpretive center.
Directions: Take I-5 south, I-90 eastbound to Ellensburg, U.S. 97 south, and U.S. 12 west. At the junction to Highway 410, stay on U.S. 12 about 2 miles to the feeding site.
Information: 509-653-2390.
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