James Peek, the 2000 recipient of the Elk Foundation’s annual Olaus J. Murie Award

Much of what makes the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation successful at conserving wildlife habitat is an understanding of how that habitat works. Elk and other ungulates can be very social creatures or they can be solitary, depending on the time of year. Their populations fluctuate and their locations change based on climate patterns, geographic terrain and herd health. To protect all the places in which they live, be it on a small private ranch or in a multi-million acre national forest, we need some idea of how these different factors affect the animals and their homes.

Science, the method we use to understand elk and their ecosystems, is often unseen in the game of conservation once the money and the lawmakers roll in. But it is science that guides us in managing and protecting elk and their habitat. Ever since its inception in 1984, the Elk Foundation has supported science and scientists to help make the best conservation decisions possible. Accordingly, we have always looked for the top scientists doing the most relevant work.

During the past half century, a handful of scientists have raised the bar for how we understand elk and how we translate that understanding into effective conservation. The first and most notable was Olaus J. Murie (1889 –1963). A wildlife biologist by trade, Murie was also known for his cunning skills in bringing together wildlife managers, politicians and recreationists. He and his wife Margarite (Mardy) lived and studied in remote parts of Alaska, along northern Hudson Bay and on the National Elk Refuge in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where Olaus earned the nickname “father of modern elk management.” Murie was an intensely perceptive and diligent scientist who used his knowledge to dramatically improve the way we view elk management. It is for these reasons that last year the Elk Foundation conceived the Olaus J. Murie award to recognize and celebrate individuals who best exemplify the spirit of Murie in their scientific prowess, as well as in their commitment to preserving and protecting elk habitat.

With a robust and diverse list of accomplishments as a professor, scientist, writer and wildlife advocate, James M. Peek is just the sort of person the Elk Foundation had in mind when creating the award. His talents, not to mention his passion as a hunter, make Peek outstanding among his peers and colleagues and a natural choice as the recipient of the Elk Foundation’s Olaus J. Murie Award for 2000.

“Peek is most deserving of this award,” says Bruce Smith, wildlife biologist at the National Elk Refuge in Jackson Hole, the same refuge where, 50 years ago, Olaus J. Murie lived and studied, “because of the breadth of his experience, his ability to work effectively with such a variety of people and, maybe most importantly, because of the difference he has made to the conservation of elk on the ground.”

Indeed, for 40 years Peek has quietly gone about doing groundbreaking research on elk, moose and bighorn sheep and has labored in the trenches, leading countless graduate students on their thesis projects. As a teacher and researcher, Peek has directed his inquiries not only to students and colleagues, but also to wildlife managers and lawmakers.

Currently Peek is a professor emeritus at the University of Idaho, where he has taught for more than 25 years. Although recently retired, he continues to guide graduate students and remains active in conservation.

Peek started his career in wildlife management working for the Montana Fish and Game Department (now the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks) in 1958. By 1961, he had become a full-time game manager within that agency while working on his master’s degree at Montana State University. During those years, he focused on elk research in the Gallatin National Forest, just outside Yellowstone National Park. In 1971, Peek received his PhD., this time studying moose at the University of Minnesota, where he also began his teaching career.

Following a basic line of inquiry concerning the behavior of elk and other ungulate herds, Peek formed a foundation of research on which he continued to build. “He is a rare professional who has stayed focused his entire career,” said longtime friend and colleague Mike Scott. Peek challenged his students to do the same.

During his career, Peek persistently studied specific herds and habitats, like the Lochsa elk herd in Northern Idaho and the Gallatin elk herd in Montana’s Gallatin National Forest. His research has led to a richer understanding of population dynamics and how climate, vegetative cover and the presence of other species affect those populations. In 1976, Peek played a key role in an elk-logging-road symposium, which launched monumental research that has aided in reshaping logging practices in the Idaho panhandle and western Montana.

His work helped define concepts such as “elk vulnerability” and “habitat security,” spurring land management practices that conserve healthy elk habitat and protect and maintain ample hunting opportunities.

Peek’s research on various wildfires, including vegetation surveys made in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness before the fires struck last summer and after the Yellowstone fires of 1988, continues to result in a more complete understanding of the benefits fires provide for elk and other wildlife habitat.

Peek has written essays on hunting ethics for Bugle and Boone and Crockett’s Fair Chase magazines and penned the concluding chapter of Elk of North America, titled “The Future of Elk And Elk Hunting.” He has appeared before several Congressional subcommittees on wildlife management on public lands, fire management and wolf reintroduction. His accomplishments span disciplines, as well as decades, and his work as a scientist, teacher and advocate has made immeasurable advancements in the preservation of healthy elk habitat. Peek’s work has been key to making elk country a better place for elk and elk hunters.

Says Bruce Smith: “He’s just down to earth enough that he can work well with others—policy makers, landowners—and he has a special blend of attributes that makes him real effective as an advocate for wildlife. Like Olaus Murie, he can fight the good fight and still share a drink with adversaries afterwards.”