Roosevelt elk thrive in the dense rain forests of Washington and Oregon. The up-close style hunting is tailor-made for bowhunters. Photo by Ken Archer.

Every autumn, as the first snows blanket the high country, Pacific Northwest hunters begin to wonder:

What kind of elk season will we have this year?

Many factors bear on whether a hunter tags an elk -- calf survival in previous years, ratio of bulls to cows, accessibility and quality of habitat, type of weapon and the regulations under which a herd is managed.

But weather often has as much to do as anything else.

"It all depends on the kind of year we have," said Vic Coggins, an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife district biologist. "If we get storms, we have a high harvest. We need a good snow to get the elk down."

Pacific Northwest elk hunters can't do anything about the weather, but they can choose their species. When you purchase a tag, you have the option of hunting the Roosevelt elk of the coastal forests or the Rocky Mountain elk native to the dry sides of Cascades. Your decision will determine not just where you'll hunt, but also your odds of success.

It's harder to see -- let alone hunt -- elk in the rain forests than on the more open haunts east of the mountains. This fact is reflected in hunter-success rates, which are typically a few points lower for Roosevelt elk than for Rocky Mountain elk.

But the short sight lines of the coastal forests are a help to bowhunting. Many trophy archery Roosevelt elk have been taken in recent years.

In both Oregon and Washington, spike elk are legal targets in most modern firearms general-season hunts for Rocky Mountain elk. Adult bulls are available with only permits, while 3-point-or-better regulations are common in Roosevelt elk country.

As we do each year, Washington-Oregon Game & Fish has contacted biologists, game managers and outfitters to help you tag an elk in 2008.

ROOSEVELT ELK
Washington State
Evergreen State hunters who plan to target Roosevelt elk can improve their odds by heading to the southwest corner of the state.

In recent years, WDFW Region 5 -- which extends from the Columbia Gorge to Mount St. Helens and west to the eastern flanks of the Willapa Hills -- has produced more elk and higher hunter-success rates than any other area of the state.

During 2006, hunters killed more than 2,500 elk and enjoyed an overall success rate of 9 percent. By comparison, the Puget Sound area's Region 4, and the Olympic Peninsula and coastal units in Region 6, accounted for 91 and 797 elk, respectively and success rates of 8 percent.

The Mount St. Helens herd is now the state's largest and currently above its management objective of 10,000 elk. During recent seasons, Region 5 has actually turned out more elk than even the celebrated Yakima herd.

The reason for Region 5's good numbers is simple: An active timber harvest rotation creates openings, which produce the grasses and forbs elk consume, and mid- to older stands of trees that provide cover.

In Region 5, much of the low- to mid-elevation timberlands is owned by private timber companies, including Weyerhaeuser's massive St. Helens Tree Farm.

Game Management Units such as Lewis River, Siouxon, Winston, Coweeman, Ryderwood and Willapa Hills have recently been among the best elk units in the state. The two permit-only units around Mount St. Helens -- the Toutle and Margaret -- are legendary for their large bulls and extremely high success rates.