(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
This past winter has seen Mount St. Helens' highest recorded number of elk deaths in seven years, according to the latest from AP. An state management plan for elk has been slow to develop. Shown here are the remains of an elk, one of many undernourished over the winter. Winter elk deaths are routine and this past year's 63 deaths are considered within the typical range, according to state's regional wildlife manager Brian Calkins.

There has been more local concern for elk since this spring, when a local television news station broadcasted a privately filmed video showing dead and dying elk.

The 1980 eruption disrupted living conditions for elk in the river valley.

More information is available from the Department of Fish and Wildlife