The National Elk Refuge's annual supplemental feeding program is underway. Alfalfa pellets are used to boost the amount of food available to the animals when forage levels drop too low in the winter.
Spokeswoman Lori Iverson says the refuge is taking steps to reduce the transmission of disease during supplemental feeding, due to the elk eating in close proximity.
"We try to hold off on feeding as long as we can, and then we really monitor it in the spring when spring green up starts, and we see that animals are losing interest in feed. Then we’ll cut off the program. And trying to reduce the number of animals we have wintering on the refuge is also a key objective for that," says Iverson.
January 28th has been average start date for supplemental feeding since 1995. More elk and bison are expected to move onto the refuge now that the program has begun.
