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Another mild winter has produced good numbers of elk and improving numbers of deer, leading Colorado Division of Wildlife biologists to predict good big-game hunting for the first seasons of the new millennium.
According to John Ellenberger, Division of Wildlife senior big game biologist, 70 percent of the state’s data analysis units, a statistical profile of local elk herds, have elk populations above game managers’ objectives.
“We’ve got more animals than we want in quite a few areas,” he said.
Ellenberger pointed to the Bears Ears country in the Routt National Forest near Craig, the White River National Forest in the Meeker area as well as game management units 25 and 26 near Dotsero as good elk hunting locales. “Some of the Aspen country is looking pretty good, too," he added.
Southwestern Colorado also has “lots of elk,” Tony Gurzick, area wildlife manager in Durango said. Ditto for southeastern Colorado.
“Elk are in good shape everywhere,” Elkins said, whose area runs roughly from the San Luis Valley in the south central part of the state to the entire southeastern quarter of Colorado.
It’s the same situation in northeastern Colorado as well, even allowing for the current dry spell. “We had a mild winter, so the animals went into production time in really good shape,” according to Ft. Collins terrestrial biologist Gene Schoonveld. “The cows were available, so production should have been good. We can anticipate good populations, especially for elk.”
The northeast part of the state has less public land available to hunters and that will effect the season. “We have pretty good populations on private lands, and you have to have permission to hunt, so it’s a little harder,” Schoonveld said. Preparation is the key for hunters eyeing the northeast part of the state. “The best thing they can do is contact some of these landowners before the hunting season. Don’t wait until the last minute. Get to know them ahead of time.”
In short, if you haven’t done your homework you may want to look elsewhere for hunting opportunities this fall.
The consensus is that deer numbers are improving but not yet back to previous levels.
“Some units are showing pretty good recovery as far as population size goes,” Ellenberger said. He pointed to deer herds in the Middle Park, Craig and Meeker areas and on the Grand Mesa as examples of improved herds.
“Buck-doe ratios in almost every (game management) unit saw some level of increase as a result of limiting licenses last year,” Ellenberger said. “With improvement in buck-doe ratios, the people that do have licenses should have a good hunting season. There’s not going to be tons of trophy bucks out there, but the number of bucks should be up from the past year.”
“West of Interstate 25, deer numbers are looking better.” Elkins reported from southeastern Colorado. “They should be up a bit from a couple of years ago.
“Hunters still remain highly successful on the eastern plains drawing units; there’s a lot of quality animals out there.”
More bucks and better survival of fawns are producing the optimistic prediction, Elkins said.
Not all areas, however, have shown the same increase in mule-deer production. Ellenberger cautioned that deer populations on the Uncompaghre Plateau and in the Gunnison areas, for example, are not what biologists had hoped.
Gene Schoonveld was equally direct: “Don’t expect real good deer hunting anywhere in the northeast region.”
Last minute hot spots? As Ellenberger pointed out, these places don’t exist anymore. But, if his brother-in-law were to call and ask for a last-minute elk recommendation, Ellenberger mentioned game management units 42 and 521 on the Grand Mesa. “These are popular areas to hunt, so people are going to have some company. But there are some good animals there,” he said.
In northeastern Colorado, Schoonveld suggested unit 19, north of Rocky Mountain National Park, and units 7 and 8 in the north central part of the state near the Wyoming border. All offer over-the-counter licenses.
In his corner of the state, Elkins suggested the west side of the San Luis Valley, except game management unit 76, which is a totally limited game management unit. The area offers opportunities to see game and not a lot of other hunters. “There’s a lot of elk in there - lots of (National) Forest and good animals, ” he said.
The best advice for hunters is to get out of your truck, off the road and into the black timber.
Uploaded: 9/9/2000
Uploaded: 9/9/2000