4 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 
investigation includes collection of all available data on the natural 
history of the oik ; a review of the efforts which have been made by the 
State to protect and perpetuate the species; the losses by wolves, 
poaching, and starvation; experiments in feeding during severe 
weather; provision for summer range in the State game preserve; 
and recommendations for winter refuges where an adequate supply of 
forage may be obtained. The present publication is a preliminary 
report and deals mainly with the information collected regarding 
the condition of the elk during the past winter. It will probably 
be followed shortly by a summary of the work accomplished by the 
State, and later by reports on feeding and refuges and other problems 
concerning which data are not yet ready for publication. 
Respectfully, 
Henry W. Henshaw, 
Chief ] Biological Survey. 
Hon. James Wilson, 
Secretary of Agriculture. 
