North of the Border: Forecast 2008

North of the Border: Forecast 2008
How do things look North of the Border

By W.P. Williamson

I had been driving my Dakota 4×4 in the single tracks of the only other vehicle on the road trying to get into one of my favorite elk hunting haunts. The snow was unseasonably deep at this early stage of the season. It was still early October and the snow was already mid-winter deep. I was pushing snow with the front bumper of my truck as I traveled up and over the “Race Horse Pass” in the southern Rocky Mountains of Alberta that I call home. This road runs north to south and parallels the B.C./Alberta border. The truck tracks I had been following ended abruptly and I saw the vehicle parked on the side of the road at a wide spot. The other elk hunter had left his truck to buck the deep snow on foot, as he appeared to be tracking the small herd of elk that had very recently crossed the road. The herd’s tracks indicated that they had headed up the steep mountainside, heading west towards the border. Considering that I had no chains for my truck or even a snow shovel for that matter. I quickly down-shifted, floored the gas pedal and cranked the steering wheel, cracking a nut with all four tires digging, pouncing and then crow hopping in the deep trackless snow. I turned around not daring to let off the gas and once again steered the truck into the deep ruts in the fresh snow and headed back down the road, back over the pass and headed for the lower climes and lighter snowpack in the main valley.
I made it back down off the mountain and then headed south to another of my elk hunting spots right on the border of the two provinces. The snow was still deep, but not scary deep as it had been high up on the mountain pass. I was then hunting in the main valley. I parked my snow and ice-laden vehicle and began to glass one of the mountains that I generally find elk on but, alas, no elk could be seen this early morning. Suddenly, the first of four white tailed bucks appeared in the logged off clearcut. The bucks were meandering among two-meter tall, reforested jack pine trees. The biggest of the foursome was, without a doubt, the best mountain buck I had ever had a chance at and I hurried to gather my gear and rifle. I raced off up the steep mountainside in hot pursuit of the feeding bucks. As luck would have it, I made an undetected stalk and was soon within 100 meters of the feeding bucks; they remained totally unaware of my presence.

Well, I gave the biggest buck a warning shot (I just plain missed him!) and the startled buck sprinted uphill twenty meters and then luckily stopped to look back down upon my position. I hurried to jack in another round and buckled down to make a good shot and thereby redeem myself. The big buck dropped instantly and all but disappeared in the deep snow.

The early snows of October soon melted away and the North Country was soon bare again and would remain so well into December. The snows soon returned with a vengeance; however, and we would soon have what would prove to be the deepest snow pack in a decade. The snow fall was record-breaking across most of the north of the border lands
Once again, I have been on the phone talking to various game departments, outfitters and other hunters across the great white north and have found out that in spite of record snow falls, the game populations in all areas seem to be fairing rather well. The hunting season looks promising; here is my forecast for 2008.

Alaska
Well, the great state of Alaska has had a lot less snow than in normal years and definitely less snow than most other areas of the North Country. As for this last winter, it has been noted that the state has experienced mild to above-average temperatures for the most part in America’s last frontier. The Yukon/Alaska moose populations are increasing throughout the state and some limited cow moose hunting is in store for the resident hunters in some areas. The population has a bull to cow ratio that needs to be put in check and the moose range is getting close to the carrying capacity with the increased moose numbers. Both barren ground and mountain caribou seem to be stable but increasing in some areas too. Black tailed (Sitka) deer herds also show some gains and hunting has liberal bag limits with multiple tags available to the resident and non-resident hunters alike. Tags are available for this little sub-species of the mule deer in all their respective ranges. Dalls sheep numbers are also stable with great opportunities to take a nice full-curl ram in most of the state’s mountain ranges. Mountain goats are increasing in numbers for the most part; the chance to take a big billy are excellent. Brown, grizzly and black bears are all stable to increasing and spring and fall hunting for the three types of bruins in the state should be excellent as well. Predator numbers, including wolves, coyotes and foxes, are all increasing and should be hunted in conjunction with your other hunting trips to control their growing populations.

Alberta
As I mentioned earlier, we had record snowfall throughout the province this winter, but the snows came rather late and the game herds are looking generally good at this writing. My doom and gloom report from last year has not really come into play as expected. White tailed deer are doing very well with some huge bucks being taken. Record class mule deer are awaiting the lucky hard-hunting hunter. Mule deer populations are increasing in most areas. With that being said, mule deer in the prairie regions are really showing signs of gaining in numbers; however, the mountain mule deer populations are not fairing so well. Sadly, Alberta has had really aggressive total extermination hunts for both mule deer and white tail along the border country of Alberta and Saskatchewan in an attempt to control the CWD disease that has been found in the deer herds on the border country of both provinces. Elk numbers are on the increase and good hunting is my forecast for the wapiti. Bighorn sheep numbers are showing declining numbers of the full-curl rams. This year, just the same as last year, there is a lot of uncontrolled Métis hunting as well as some serious poaching problems in the southwest portion of the province. Big game officials are hunting hard for the culprits who have taken some half-dozen ram heads and left the meat behind in the Waterton Lakes region. Rocky Mountain goats are stable and seven tags are now issued for residents of the province by the limited draw system. Canada moose numbers are also down in the western Rocky Mountain herds due to a horrible tick infestation the last couple of years. However, moose numbers in the northern regions are definitely on the increase. Pronghorn antelope numbers are down slightly and, with the decline, fewer tags are being issued this season. Grizzly bear hunting remains closed throughout the province, but black bear numbers are stable to increasing. Predator numbers are going through the roof and the coyotes are beginning to pack up. During this last hunting season, I witnessed these packs taking a toll on the larger ungulates on more than one occasion.

British Columbia
Beautiful British Columbia ranks high as one of North America’s greatest hunting grounds. There is an incredible array of big game animals for the serious hunter to choose from. White tailed deer are increasing in population and range as the last decade of mild winters has allowed these deer to move ever farther north. The mule deer are also increasing in numbers and some huge mountain mule deer are being taken from every corner of the province. Rocky Mountain elk are also increasing both in population and range. They are also moving farther north with huntable numbers of elk right up to the Yukon border the last few years. Roosevelt elk on the west coast are being aggressively managed with limited hunting opportunities available. Canada moose are increasing as well. Mountain caribou are stable to slightly declining; however, great hunting can still be had in the northern areas of the province for these curious critters. Bighorn sheep are stable. Full-curl only hunts remain the norm for the lucky hunter. Stones sheep numbers are down also, but great hunting for these northern sheep can still be very good in most of their usual haunts. Rocky Mountain goat numbers are stable with limited hunting for resident and non-resident alike. Grizzly numbers continue to be stable or slightly declining, with fewer tags issued to both resident hunters and non-resident hunters alike. On the other hand, black bear numbers have been on the rise and big black bears are being taken consistently in all regions of the province. Cougar numbers seem to be increasing somewhat and hunting is rather liberal for these sneaky felines.

Manitoba
It was a mild winter in the southern portion of this western prairie province, but near record snow levels remain in the northern realms. Manitoba continues to rival Saskatchewan and Alberta for numbers, body size and trophy quality of whitetail bucks in the last few years. Moose populations are increasing as are the central barren ground herds of the north. The sub-species of Manitoban elk can be absolutely huge in both body size and ivory-tipped antlers and their numbers are also increasing. Big black bears are becoming the norm for hunters in this province too. This province continues to show great hunting opportunities although the variety of game is more limited compared to the western provinces.

Northwest Territories
This region of Canada provides hunting opportunities that can’t be found anywhere else in the north save for Alaska. The Yukon/Alaska moose numbers are stable and huge bulls are being taken in the west along the Yukon/N.W T. border. The province can boast of good mountain caribou hunting in the same regions as their moose and barren ground caribou herds. All herds are stable. Dalls sheep numbers are also stable with some rams coming from the border country that are easy rivals to the rams found in both Yukon and Alaska. Woodland buffalo are increasing in numbers as are the hunting opportunities for these huge, hairy beasts. Their cousin, the musk ox, also has improving numbers in the vast arctic they call home. This province is also home to some of the very best polar bear hunting in the entire north. Sadly, the great white bear’s numbers seem to be declining for the most part. Walrus numbers are up and hunting for these ivory-tusked behemoths is still readily available.

Saskatchewan
This province remains the undisputed capital of the Boone and Crockett buck world and consistently produces some of the biggest bucks on the planet. The northern deer herds seem to be in decline due to back-to-back winters with deep snow and brutally cold winters. These northern deer are hunted largely over bait in tree stands or ground blinds as the bush is incredibly dense and nearly impenetrable. Spot and stalk hunting is very difficult to say the least. The southern part of the province shows steady increases in deer numbers though. Huge mule deer are also becoming the norm and great bucks are taken year after year here as their numbers continue to increase in the central and southern portions of the province. The elk herd numbers are rising and some great bulls are being taken as of late. The moose populations are also increasing in numbers and spreading out their range as they continue to move further south into the agricultural land. Saskatchewan has seen an increase in black bear numbers and some huge barley-fed bruins have been taken in the last few years as well.

Yukon Territory
Well, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the Yukon is most dear to my heart. I have lived, worked, and hunted in this wild, wonderful wilderness. The hunting up north in this cousin to Alaska, the Yukon should prove to be great this season. Some areas that were hard hit last winter were blessed with a milder winter with a lot less snow depth across the north. This vast wilderness can boast two types of caribou – both mountain and barren ground; two types of bears – grizzlies and blacks (brown phase blacks are more common than black as a general rule) and two types of mountain sheep -the snow white Dalls and the dark-hued Stones. In addition, if you subscribe to the modern advanced sheep hunter ideals on this one, you can add a third sheep – the “Fannin” sheep, a cross between pure Dalls and pure Stones. The area I called home was ground zero for the infamous Fannin sheep and I took a couple of great rams of this variety. Mountain goats are here too and the eastern side of the territory is home to a good population of these shaggy cliff dwellers. As with Alaska, the Yukon boasts the slobbering bull that shares their names – the monstrous Yukon/Alaska moose. We have an incredible array of big game from which to choose and enough wilderness to scare off even the most ardent and experienced of hunters.

With that mind, I would remind anyone planning a hunt north of the border to prepare both physically and mentally, plan your trip well and, most of all, hunt safely.

Percy’s Picks for 2008

1) Brown Bear: Kodiak Island, Alaska, USA
2) Grizzly Bear: Bella Coola, British Columbia, Canada
3) Black Bears: Alaska Panhandle, Alaska, USA
4) Polar Bears: Copper Mine, Nunavut Territory, Canada
5) Mountain Goats: Juno, Alaska and the Panhandle, Alaska, USA
6) Dall’s Sheep: Coast Mountains, Yukon Territory, Canada
7) Stone’s Sheep: Toad River, Northern British Columbia, Canada
Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep: Spences Bridge, British Columbia, Canada
9) Rocky Mountain Elk: West Kootenays, British, Columbia, Canada
10) Roosevelt Elk: Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
11) Canada Moose: Fire Side, northern British Columbia, Canada
12) Yukon/Alaska Moose: Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
13) Barren Ground Caribou: Old Crow, Yukon Territory, Canada
14) Mountain Caribou: Lampman Lakes, Yukon Territory, Canada
15) Musk Ox: Victoria Island, Nunavut Territory, Canada
16) Wood Bison: Slave Lake, Northwest Territory, Canada
17) Sitka Black-Tailed Deer: Sitka, Alaska, USA
18) White Tailed Deer: Candle Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada
19) Mule Deer: Great Sand Hills, Saskatchewan, Canada
20) Cougar: West Kootenays, British Columbia, Canada
21) Pronghorn Antelope: Cereal, Alberta, Canada