Elk win this season as hunting harvest numbers expected down

Elk win this season as hunting harvest numbers expected down

November 20, 2001

BY JIM THOMAS
Journal Sports Editor

Unseasonably warm and dry conditions continue to drag down harvest numbers. Hunters were counting on a turn in the weather to improve success rates during the fourth rifle season that ended Nov. 14. Elk and deer were scattered, and there was little or no snow to help track them. Because of this mild weather, 2001 could result in the lowest elk harvest in the past decade, say Colorado Division of Wildlife officials.

The DOW was hoping to thin some of its huge 500,000-plus elk herd, the largest in North America. Last year, cold weather and lots of snow created ideal hunting conditions, with a record 60,120 elk harvested in Colorado. After a record elk harvest last year, big game managers were hoping for an even better take this year. But according to indications, that is not going to happen.

The cold, snowy weather never arrived to the high country for this fall’s combined rifle big game hunts.

All four hunts, including the special elk-only hunt, had beautiful fall weather. That was good news as far as the hunters gaining access into the backcountry, but bad for pushing the elk down from the deep, dark woods in the high country and bad for tracking them in snow or making the woods quiet. The unseasonably warm, dry weather left hunters without filling their licenses.

Scott Wait, a wildlife biologist with the Durango DOW office, said Monday morning by phone that many hunters this year just didn’t have much luck.

"They just did not do well around here at all," he said. "Actually, the first season elk hunters did fairly well. But things went from not all that great to worse as we went from hunt to hunt. The fourth hunt was not good at all."

Wait indicated there were many factors contributing to the lack of success.

"The unusually warm weather was largely a factor. But we just didn’t get the large number of hunters to the area. We knew the increased in out-of-state license fees (from $250 to $450) was going to drop numbers by about 25 percent and we expected that. But then the world events (Sept. 11th terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.) contributed to that. I knew of several hunters who want turned in their licenses and wanted their money back. They just wanted to stay home. A couple others cited the slow down in the economy," he added.

What about deer hunting in the area?

"I don’t think the deer hunters did as poorly as the elk hunters in filling their licenses," Wait said. "It’s hard to say at this point at how well they did. But from field reports and in talking to others, I don’t feel they fared very well, either."

Wait reported that deer hunters had some success hunting on private property near irrigated fields.

But with hunting season a bust this year, big game hunting should be better next fall. With low harvest this year, there will be more animals next year, especially bucks and bulls, according to the DOW. Each year, the DOW evaluates the number of licenses issued bas on animal populations and long-term objectives. More licenses will likely be available for next season.