Here's my take...and I've hunted 202 quite a bit in the past. As the previous poster put up, in 2016 there were only 2 elk checked through the fish creek check station. A friend of mine that I grew up with in Missoula killed one of those 2 bulls. His family has hunted that country more than any family I know, for at least 50 years, probably longer than that. They own cabins in Fish Creek as well.
While I agree that wolves have had an impact on elk in that unit, the bigger impact started in the mid-1980's. There were a couple landowners, in the very limited winter range areas, that started complaining about elk in their hayfields, specifically in the Quartz Creek area. The MTFWP began issuing a metric chit-ton of cow permits there...then to ice the cake, they lengthened seasons starting rifle hunts in September and continuing through January. Another good friend of mine, that was the District Ranger for the FS in part of 202, told the FWP that those cow hunts in Quartz Creek were going to negatively impact the elk herds in the St. Patrick peaks/Fish Creek areas and likely areas perhaps as far West as Cedar Creek.
I attended multiple meetings were the FWP Biologist at that time, Bob Henderson, defended the high cow permit numbers by making claims that there were several hundred elk using those fields near Quartz Creek. I'll never forget when a guy in the audience told Bob he was full of crap on his numbers. Bob, being the know-it-all that he always was, asked how the guy knew how many elk used the area. The guy said, "Well, I live in the house that over-looks the fields. The most elk I've ever counted there was 173 elk at one time. You're issuing more tags than there are elk in the area". Dead silence....and no answer or justification for the high number of cow permits.
I watched as elk numbers started to plummet starting in the early 90's. I hunted the Great Burn area, specifically the West Fork of Fish Creek, Indian Creek, Surveyor Creek and had some incredible archery hunts in there. All through the 90's clear until now...its been on a steep decline. Unlike other areas, this unit is primarily public, and with the lack of landowner tolerance on the limited private, these elk have nowhere to go for refuge. They get pounded flat for at least 11 weeks, 6 weeks of archery, 5 weeks of general season. Throw in some predation by wolves, permit only and huge reductions in mountain lion harvest, and the 11 weeks of continuous pressure...well, it aint rocket science why the elk are essentially, if not functionally, extinct in there.
The last flight data that I saw, the FWP saw 9 elk...and the harvest data provided by the previous poster is spot on.
This is classic case of total and complete lack of science based Management by the MTFWP. I'm still trying to wrap my head around how, in the hell, when you find 9 elk on a flight, with a harvest of 2 elk, that there is any justification for 11 weeks of hunting allowed by every licensed elk hunter in the State of Montana? I've heard from friends that still live there, that the "justification" from the FWP, was, "Well with so few left, it wont matter if we kill a handful more"...Sound wildlife management there.
The first time I hunted Fish Creek, I'll never forget my friend, my friends Dad, and I packed in on horses and on opening morning bugled into a large drainage. It broke loose with at least a dozen bulls bugling and carrying on. My friend spread his Dad's ashes there last September, in that very spot...he bugled and heard exactly one bull respond. He told me, "Actually, I was surprised to hear one bugle"...
I worked with a guy that was the fleet Manager for the Ranger District I worked at...and he had a collection of bull elk from 202 he had killed from the 1960's-mid 80's that was very impressive. Mostly all mature 6 points with about 1/3 of them being 340+...
It really does make me sad to have to type this kind of report...it was such good elk country in the past. Honestly, I wouldn't waste my time hunting there...its perfect elk country that essentially has no elk.
