VALUE OF ELK. . 11 



level. These are mostly devoid of trees, but support a few groves 

 of aspen poplar and an occasional juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) , 

 nut pine (Pinus fiexilis), or Douglas spruce. These hills, especially 

 during moist seasons, produce a growth of grasses and other her- 

 baceous plants which are excellent for forage and, as their steep slopes 

 are early bared of snow by the action of sun and wind, they furnish 

 fine feeding grounds for both stock and game. 



In this fertile vaUey, with its luxuriant growth of forage and 

 comparatively mild climate, most of the elk which summer in the 

 adjacent mountains and in the great area of high country extending 

 northward into the Yellowstone National Park have lately spent 

 the winters. 



In former years large numbers, probably the great majority of those 

 which summered in the high ranges of northwestern Wyoming, win- 

 tered on the Red Desert and other parts of the comparatively low 

 country lying to the southward. Occupation of these tracts by 

 sheep, with its attendant persecution and gradual depletion of the 

 range, has forced the elk to confine their southward movements within 

 ever-narrowing limits. Within the past few years the further march 

 of settlement into the higher valleys, with the attendant utilization 

 of the range for cattle grazing, has caused a serious diminution in the 

 natural food supply available each winter for the elk. 



Thus, although elk probably became more numerous in Jackson 

 Hole after settlement began, it is painfully evident that during the 

 past few years the encroachments of civilization and coincident 

 unfavorable winter conditions have resulted in serious inroads on 

 their numbers. 



VALUE OP ELK TO THE REGION. 



Some of the most intelligent residents of Jackson Hole have esti- 

 mated that the value of the elk to the region is equal to the revenue 

 derived from stock raising, which is the principal industry. Others, 

 while considering this estimate excessive, admit that the value of the 

 animals is very great, and that without them the region under present 

 conditions would not support nearly so large a population as it now 

 does. Whatever the opinion of individuals on this point, it is evident 

 that elk have played a very important part in the development of the 

 region. Probably a majority of the more successful residents owe 

 their start to the presence of these animals. Many trappers and 

 hunters who were first attracted to this part of the State by the 

 abundance of game, and later by the opportunities which it offered 

 for acting as guides to visiting sportsmen, have now extensive stock 

 interests and have abandoned then former pursuits, while others 

 still guide hunting parties. 



The amount of money which the elk are instrumental in bringing 

 into the country is very large. During the hunting season of 1910, 



