Some of the Players

Alex Irby is currently the Fish & Game Commissioner for the Clearwater region. "In the Clearwater the biggest issue is the declining elk herd. We seemed to have recaptured the steelhead runs for the time being at least... but the elk herd has steadily gone down. In 1996 we lost at least half our herd. And it's not rebuilding. Therein lies the problem... We've aggressively worked with our outfitters and hunters in reducing bear populations and cat populations... but intermingled with that is the lack of habitat, especially in the back country."

"We have not created any browse through burning for at least twenty years. We've stopped all logging. So unless we have a catastrophic fire somewhere, we just will not have that type of feed we need...We have a transitory range, and every few years, evergreens grow back and once that happens we lack that food for the animals."

"We've been working with the Forest Service lately in trying to re-establish that. They've been gridlocked so bad that nothing's moved ahead... I think if we put our heads together we can bring this population back."

"I guess the discouraging thing is that on the Clearwater we had the premier herd of the world, and to suddenly lose that, in less than a hundred years, it's got us all shook up... We've become very agressive with the Forest Service and our needs for that habitat. We can manage the critters and the fish, if they provide the habitat."

"I think the Forest Service wants to do it, but they've been gridlocked by various laws we have in the nation. I hope we can move ahead. The sportsmen of the United States and the world want that to happen. So I hope we can do that."