The Light in High Places by Joe Hutto

Author:Joe Hutto
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Published: 2014-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

Shoshone women preparing game. Copyright © Cathy Keene

Autumn in Wyoming is an exciting and active time, a time when everybody is eagerly up to something. Horse trailers are busy hauling things everywhere—moving cattle and horses, going hunting, returning from hunting, or carrying huge loads of hay or firewood. Everywhere you go, the question is not, “Are you going hunting?” but rather, “Have you gotten your elk yet?” Many people prefer elk meat to beef. Elk meat is lean and tender without the strong gamey flavor that people often find objectionable in deer. When butchered and completely deboned, a good bull can yield over two hundred pounds of the finest meat. Elk have always played a strong role in the economy of Wyoming—past and present—with many people depending on the rich source of dietary protein supplied by elk and other species of big game. Moose are highly prized as a food source, but hunting is strictly regulated and permits are hard to obtain. Elk are abundant—in some areas overabundant—and so for a small fee every Wyoming resident is eligible for a general elk permit. In addition, other special elk permits are issued on a lottery basis for areas where elk numbers need to be reduced. An adult elk can eat close to fifty pounds of vegetation in a day, and populations can irreparably devastate their range in no time if they surpass the carrying capacity of the habitat. Many Wyoming residents depend upon wild game all year, and out-of-state hunters and the outfitting business constitute a major source of revenue for the local economies. Here, hunting is not thought of as a sport but part of the livelihood and economy, and for many residents it is simply part of what you do to live, like cutting firewood. It seems that most everyone has a mandate to disappear into the high country for a few days in the fall and pack the family freezer for the year. Few employers would have the nerve to suggest that an employee’s disappearance in the fall was inconvenient or in any way inappropriate. In Wyoming, there shall be death, taxes, and elk hunting.

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