That hunt is not history?

I thought the Gardiner late hunt was history.

Apparently not.

According to a recent story in the Chronicle, hunters from the Nez Perce Tribe killed about 25 elk near Gardiner this winter.

That’s far short of the number of elk harvested back in the day when more than 1,000 late season tags were issued to hunters. The Nez Perce, however, didn’t even have tags. They were in the area to hunt bison, and taking advantage of an old treaty, decided to harvest a few elk, too.

Local hunters and outfitters are understandably upset. After all, there hasn’t been a late hunt in years, and the number of elk tags issued for the regular hunting season has been steadily declining.

Hunting has even been cited as one of the reasons for the drop in the size of the Northern Yellowstone elk herd, which included nearly 20,000 animals in the mid-1990s and now numbers a little more than 5,000.

The dramatic decrease coincided with the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park in 1995, but hunting, drought and other predators --we’re always reminded -- also played a role in the decline.

It’s remarkable that the infamous Gardiner late hunt, which at one time featured a firing line on Deckard Flats, had a minimal effect on the herd until wolves entered the mix.

I remember being told all you needed to get your elk was a tag and pair of sneakers. So many elk were shot in such a short time there that hunters would race to tag the first one they could reach.

Hunting on Deckard Flats was closed years ago for obvious safety reasons, but the late hunt continued until shortly after the wolves arrived.

Now, it appears, only American Indians get a shot at late season elk in the Gardiner area.

Bill Hoppe, a local outfitter, told the Chronicle that allowing tribal hunters to kill elk outside the state’s regular hunting season is unfair to Montana hunters.

“They ought to buy tags just like everybody else has to buy tags,” he said.

But they don’t have to. Their ancestors signed a treaty with the government which apparently allows them to hunt elk in the area at their leisure. Of all the treaties American Indians signed to their detriment, this one treats them favorably, even if they had to wait until the 21st century to take advantage of it.

Parker Heinlein is at

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