Many people think that fish and game field work slows down a great deal in the winter after the hunting seasons end. When I first started 32 years ago, that was somewhat accurate.

In those days, things slowed down in January and February.

That was the time when you went inside and finished reports, labeled and filed slides (who remembers slides now that everything is digital?), gave presentations, manned exhibits at sports shows and made work plans for the next field season.

It is not like that anymore. Thank heavens!

For example, fishing clinics were once all held in the summer.

We now also hold ice fishing events when conditions permit. Fish and wildlife data collection for the season setting processes is in full swing in the winter. In some cases, there is work that can be better accomplished with snow on the ground when wild animals are more visible during aerial population surveys. Winter has become as significant a field season as the summer field season.

This week, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and a private contractor have been in the field capturing and collaring elk.

Cow elk in the Cataldo area (both north and south of Interstate 90) and in the North Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River, are being fitted with radio collars to monitor their survival rates and movements.

The plan is to collar and follow 27 elk in the study so that we can better monitor habitat use, seasonal movements and survival rates.

In this study, cow elk are being captured with either nets or tranquilizer darts depending upon the terrain and density of the forest canopy.

Once the animal is restrained or under anesthesia the handler fits the animal with a GPS collar, collects blood and fecal samples for disease and pregnancy surveillance, estimates each animal's age and then releases the animal at the capture site.

The capture operation takes two to three days to mark 27 elk.

These GPS collars record the animal's location once per day and last several years. The location, time and other pertinent data are transmitted to a satellite, and eventually find their way as an email sent out to biologists weekly.

Prior to the development of GPS collars, we had to use an antenna in hand or on a plane to fix a location.

Most locations were usually midday, during nice (good flying) weather.

Now, locations are taken regardless of weather, giving us a much better picture of habitat needs.

The collar emits a unique signal if the collar is inactive for 6 hours, tipping us off to any mortality. In that event, the collar can be located as soon as possible and biologists can often (but not always) determine the cause of death.

New technology, such as the use of GPS collars, has changed wildlife management over time.

New equipment and techniques have enabled better data collection and a better understanding of what is actually happening outside in all kinds of weather in both daylight and dark...all year long.

In addition to the great data, it gets us away from the phones and reports for a while!

Phil Cooper is a wildlife conservation educator in Coeur d'Alene for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.