First of all,if you live in elk country,it's easy to see.I live on the edge of the Elk range and observe elk all year long.They primarily graze.If you hunt elk,it's easy to see.Have you ever hunted elk out west?You don't hunt them where they browse.You hunt them where they graze.Out west,you will find areas where they peel the bark off of the quaky aspens but that isn't done all year.It's done when the snow is deep and there's nothing else to eat.Furthermore,if you do the research,you'll find that elk are primarily grazers.Most of the year,they graze.When they create elk habitat,they make herbaceous openings because elk like to graze.They don't do browse cutting like they do for deer.Most of the species that elk do graze on are pioneer species which die out on their own once they get so big,like fire cherry.They also browse on striped maple and red maple,which competes directly with oak.Red maple isn't very browse resistant but striped maple is.Striped maple was once considered poor deer browse but they've recently found that in some areas,it's preferred.The problem with it is,it quickly grows out of the reach of deer.Once that happens,the elk can still reach it.

The facts are,deer and elk do not directly compete with each other.Their primary food sources are not the same and in fact Elk can help the deer in periods of deer snow because they have an easier time digging through the snow,leaving areas for the deer to feed.Talk to one of the elk biologists and see what they have to say.The head of the elk program lives just down theroad from me.If he's not busy,I'll see if he can give a more detailed explanation.