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South Fork and Middle Fork Units 

 Winter 1941-1942 

 Introduction: 



This unit consists of the drainages of the 

 Middle Fork and South Fork of the Flathead 

 River. The lower portion of the Middle Fork drain- 

 age is rough, precipitous, and many snowslides 

 occur in this area during the winter months. The 

 upper drainage is rough to rolling, with many- 

 windswept ridges. The South Fork drainage rises 

 from an elevation of 3,200 feet at Coram to 5,400 

 on the low divide at the head of Danaher Creek. 

 The valley floor is from one to two miles wide 

 on an average; however, it narrows to a gorge 

 type at several points. The vegetative cover va- 

 ries from mature forest to thickets of lodgepole 

 reproduction and brush. This latter type has come 

 in on burned over areas. 



The first authentic records of elk in this 

 unit were furnished by Colonel Seevers in 1876. 

 He reported having killed elk near the upper end 

 of the Spotted Bear River. The first record of elk 

 having been killed in any number was recorded 

 in 1911, when 115 elk were taken from this area. 

 No detailed study was made of the Flathead elk 

 herd until after the severe winter of 1931-32. A 

 crew making a trip through the area in the late 

 winter of 1932 reported many elk had winter 

 killed. They found over 500 dead elk while trav- 

 eling from White River Flat to Cayuse Creek, a 

 distance of less than ten miles. They reported 

 that the remainder of the herd was in very poor 

 condition. 



There is no farming or stock grazing within 

 the unit. Logging operations on the lower reaches 

 of the drainage have no apparent effect upon 

 the game or winter ranges. Other than watershed, 

 the primary value of this area lies on its recrea- 

 tional resources, including wildlife. 

 Procedure: 



By November 1, 1941, all necessary outpost 

 camps and main stations had been fully stocked 

 with provisions and equipment. Six men con- 

 ducted the survey work that was carried on con- 

 tinuously until May 1, 1942. One two-man crew 

 worked the Middle Fork drainage, one crew the 

 lower South Fork, and the third the upper South 



Fork. During the six-month period, these men 

 traveled a total of 4,106 miles over winter game 

 ranges, the majority of this travel being on snow- 

 shoes. Because of the mild winter, light snows, 

 and lack of heavy game concentrations, the men 

 were required to cover much more country than 

 would be necessary under more severe winter 

 conditions, with elk concentrated on restricted 

 winter range. 



The census work indicated the numbers of 

 elk in the South Fork drainage to be 2,870 and 

 in the Middle Fork 750. The survey and classifica- 

 tion of 119,000 acres of the 135,000 acres total 

 winter game range rated 11,000 acres as under- 

 populated, 49,000 acres overpopulated, and 58,- 

 500 acres as properly used by game. The condi- 

 tion of the forage on the winter ranges was used 

 as a basis for determining the above informa- 

 tion. The heavily used areas indicated a serious 

 amount of damage among such important species 

 as willow, aspen, mountain maple, and even in 

 some cases the conifers, as lodgepole pine and 

 Douglas fir. The elk in the Flathead unit are pri- 

 marily dependent upon the use of shrubs through- 

 out the winter months, because this damage to 

 this class of forage drastically curtails the car- 

 rying capacity of the range. 



In order to obtain an appraisal of the im- 

 portant winter ranges in the South Fork and 

 Middle Fork units, areas that were found to be 

 properly utilized were used as guides in esti- 

 mating the proper number of elk that should be 

 carried on adjacent winter ranges of similar char- 

 acter. All of this information was summarized 

 and the findings indicated the possibility of in- 

 creasing the numbers in some portions of the 

 range, and the necessity of decreasing in others. 

 The final figures show that for the Middle Fork 

 a safe stocking would be 660 elk. This closely 

 approximated the determined number in the area. 

 In the South Fork it was determined that the 

 available winter forage would support approxi- 

 mately 1,800 to 2,000 head of elk, which indi- 

 cates a desired decrease of between 800 and 900 

 head. For the entire Flathead unit it was deter- 

 mined that 2,500 head of elk would be a safe 

 number to maintain. (Please turn to page 95) 



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