National Elk Refuge feed trucks rumble on

JACKSON — The daily morning feeding of 7,000 or so wapiti on the National Elk Refuge began for the winter on Wednesday, after animals started to get antsy as the grasses they graze on waned.

Biologists use a criteria of 300 pounds of grass and forbs per acre to determine when to begin the supplemental feeding season, a 109-year-old tradition on the federal refuge north of Jackson

“I was starting to see anecdotal signs that elk were starting to leave the refuge,” said biologist Eric Cole.

Elk were starting to move into the Twin Creek subdivision, he said. A large group was also spotted...