Wildlife Caught on Camera—Volume 18
Elk Hijinks on the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Ranch
In northwest Montana, the Club’s Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Ranch (TRMR) provides habitat for ungulates like mule deer, whitetails, moose, pronghorn, and the ever-endearing Rocky Mountain elk. And yes, the ranch is open to the public for hunting.
Enrolled in Montana’s Block Management program, the TRMR sits in hunting district 441. Over-the-counter elk tags can be used during archery season for bulls and cows. Rifle season requires a special permit. You do need permission to hunt the ranch prior to your hunt, and the details are available by clicking this link for BMA #77. Hunters typically harvest 8-12 elk from the ranch each year.
In the fall, the TRMR will typically hold around 300 elk, but the elk like it here year-round. They will branch off in June to drop their calves, then bunch up into herds of 30-100 in the summer months. They consistently move from mountain (sub-alpine) levels to prairie flatlands throughout warm/dry and cold/snowy weather cycles.
Alongside these elk herds, the TRMR hosts educational youth camps at the Rasmuson Wildlife Center throughout the summer. The ranch is the perfect base camp for Scout expeditions and hunter education classes. Scattered throughout the ranch are dozens of trail cameras set in key locations, which take thousands of shots every year. This is just a small sampling of what the elk are up to throughout the year.