The Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations & Rural Development and the Skeena Regional Cattlemen鈥檚 Association are seeking volunteers to help with an elk survey.

The survey will be conducted on agricultural lands in and around the Bulkley Valley and Francois Lake areas in mid-January 2018. It will provide updated information to decision makers around elk management in the Skeena Region.

Landowners and other volunteers will survey for elk on private land or along roads during a specific window of time on the day of the survey. The last survey counted elk between 7:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.

According to the ministry, spacing out properties and roads to be surveyed and using a specific window of time reduces the probability of double-counting groups of elk.

Prior to the survey, the participating private lands will be highlighted on a map, and any gaps in the study area will be flagged for road surveys by volunteers. According to the ministry, this will provide an even spread of survey effort over the area of interest.

The count will provide a rough distribution of elk in the winter as well as a minimum number of elk in the Bulkley Valley and Francois Lake areas. The number and location of elk observed by landowners and volunteers will be shared with survey organizers for analysis.

Landowners who are interested in participating will count the number of elk on their property during the designated time on the day of the survey. Landowners that are interested in volunteering can contact Linda Dykens at lindadykens@xplornet.com.

Additional volunteers will count elk from roads in areas where landowner participation is limited. Additional volunteers can contact Mark Wong at mark.m.wong@gov.bc.ca with their interest.

The exact date of the survey is yet to be determined.

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