Apr. 6—A flick of an ear, the flash of a dark wet eye. A tawny hide, quivering with an impulse for movement. Researchers searched the dense underbrush for any sign of the newborn elk calf.

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation has evolved, the authors argued, “from public hunting advocates in Montana to nothing more than a land trust organization.” That opinion piece must have struck a ...

The landscape of northwestern Montana posed another challenge. In most of the state, biologists conduct annual aerial surveys to estimate elk populations, but the department halted these efforts ...