In Wyoming, the herd should be seen

By Carolyn Moreau, the Hartford Courant, 3/27/2002

		The West and Southwest  More favorite getaways

JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. - A human can't just walk up to a herd of 3,000 elk. The entire herd would be off across the wind-packed snow before the hapless sightseer got close enough to enjoy the living forest of antlers.

But animals can often do things that humans can't, and the only way to get close to the magnificent elk herds in winter at the National Elk Refuge is to ride in a sleigh pulled by a team of Belgian horses.

"They're used to us," said Trevor Beach, who drives the sleigh right up to where the animals are resting on this cold January morning.

There are 15 people seated in his sled as it squeaks and lurches toward the herd.

In an area where tourist activities are often pricey - it costs $59 a day to ski at a Jackson Hole resort, or $145 for dog sledding - the $12 sleigh ride around the elk refuge is a bargain. Granted, there is no gourmet lunch, and the trip is over in about an hour. But riding up to the herd, just a brown blur from the highway, is an experience that alters the psyche. Participants return in a different, more relaxed mood.

Like many accounts of the West, that of the National Elk Refuge's history is full of suffering and hardship.

Elk once roamed much of the country, from the Eastern states through the central and Western parts of America. But settlers slowly drove the herds into the West, and by the 20th century the elk had lost more than half of their original range.

Congress created the National Elk Refuge in 1912, recognizing that America's wild elk herds no longer had the territory they needed to survive. Today, the elk refuge just outside Jackson stands at 25,000 acres. The US Fish and Wildlife Service runs the refuge, and, with almost 8,000 elk in three herds, it boasts one of the largest winter concentrations of the animal.

But it still isn't enough land to support the elk, which start arriving from the high country in mid-October. The elk are fed alfalfa pellets every day during the coldest months, a kind of federal subsidy that ensures their survival.

"They wouldn't make it without it," said Beach, the driver.

By midmorning - about 10:30 - the elk have just finished eating. Most are resting and pay no more attention to the sleigh of visitors than to the white trumpeter swan that flies overhead. Some younger bull elk practice sparring, and the clash of horns sounds like wind chimes.

The bigger bulls don't need to practice. These are massive animals, the sires of the herd. Hold your arms up and out as wide as you can, and you'll get an idea of how far apart their antlers are.

But the bulls don't tend to live as long, Beach explained to the group. Hunters prefer the bulls because of the antlers, so every hunting season more bulls than cows are shot. The average life span for a bull in the refuge herd is 7 or 8 years, while cows average about 12 years.

The wind dies down as the group leaves the elk herd and heads back to the bus that will shuttle the visitors to the museum where their cars are parked. It's only 11:30 a.m. There's plenty of time to head to the slopes for a half-day of skiing.

T he National Elk Refuge is 2 miles north of Jackson on US Highway 89. Tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for children ages 6-12, and are purchased at the National Museum of Wildlife Art. Children 5 and younger are free. Tours run between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., seven days a week.