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October 28, 2003
Second-season elk harvest down, but outlook brighter
By Charlie Meyers, Denver Post Outdoor Editor
Colorado elk hunters fired their biggest salvo last week during the second segment of the regular rifle season. Trouble was, they didn't hit much of anything - or certainly not enough.
To be precise, the more telling problem for this largest hunter group of the year is that it didn't shoot often amid the same adverse weather conditions that plagued the hunt since its beginning three weekends ago.
As a result, Colorado Division of Wildlife biologists' hopes for a banner harvest required to shift the state's overpopulation of elk into better balance quickly faded into the cumulative sameness of each bluebird day.
With the hunt more than half gone, elk harvest may be running more than 20 percent below the record set in 2002, when hunters hauled approximately 62,000 animals from the forests. Because the nine-day period that ended Sunday is the longest of the four and attracts the most hunters, a lag in production bodes ill for overall results.
"If we fail to get the harvest in the second season, we'll never make that up," said Rick Kahn, state big-game supervisor.
Any prospects for a meaningful rebound hinge on a storm predicted for the region just before Saturday's start of the third session, a seven-day hunt running through Nov. 7. A fourth and final segment will be Nov. 8-12.
"If that really happens, it could help tremendously," state big-game manager John Ellenberger said of the notorious vagaries of mountain weather prognostication. Current forecasts call for rain and snow beginning late Thursday in northern Colorado, with a real possibility of significant moisture for this important weekend.
"We certainly have plenty of animals available. If we do get the right weather, we could make things up rather quickly," said Rob Firth, area manager for game-rich Middle Park, a broad area in the upper Colorado River drainage.
Firth estimates elk success in his district decreased by 20 to 30 percent during the first two periods.
Everyone blames mild, dry weather. The loudest explosions of the hunt seemed to come underfoot, like walking through a popcorn factory.
"You don't sneak up on anything. I'll tell you that," said Dan Prenzlow, who watches over the state's largest concentration of elk from an outpost in Meeker.
Prenzlow offered the lone snippet of encouragement in an otherwise bleak report.
"I'd say our harvest is about normal," Prenzlow said of a situation in which the sheer numbers of elk in this northwest quadrant of the White River Plateau perhaps ensure a higher level of success. This region traditionally produces about 30 percent of Colorado's elk harvest.
Elsewhere, game managers spun a sad story of lagging numbers and hunter disappointment.
"It's been a tough second season with a very sporadic harvest," said Scott Wait, biologist for DOW's Southwest Region.
"Things have been pretty slow," added Pat Tucker, who supervises an expansive area along the Eagle, Roaring Fork and Colorado rivers westward toward Grand Mesa.
In addition to troubles with stalking and tracking, Tucker quickly pinpointed the other major challenge facing hunters in much of the state.
"Animals are scattered in small bunches and most are hiding out in the deep, dark timber where they stay cool away and from hunter pressure," he said.
"This isn't the most attractive place for a hunter to be. It takes some dedication to go in these places, particularly with the realization that it takes real work to bring an animal out if you shoot it."
Those willing to do the labor have been getting elk, Tucker said. "Hunters have to realize they need to hunt different ways in different locations."
In Steamboat Springs, area manager Susan Werner watched an almost constant convoy of vehicles streaming out of camp Friday and Saturday, leaving the forest virtually deserted for the last two days of the hunt.
In a departure from recent years, wildlife officials added a second weekend to this segment, in large part to provide residents with greater flexibility. Whether locals took advantage remains to be seen, but the added opportunity didn't seem to boost the overall yield.
All this could change with a shift in the weather, an event that presumably will spur a movement of animals, particularly those still hanging out in the high country.
Even as elk prospects falter, deer hunters appear set for another strong season. Although the same pattern of warm weather delayed migration, DOW experts predict ample numbers of larger bucks will be available later in the season.
Second-season elk harvest down, but outlook brighter
By Charlie Meyers, Denver Post Outdoor Editor
Colorado elk hunters fired their biggest salvo last week during the second segment of the regular rifle season. Trouble was, they didn't hit much of anything - or certainly not enough.
To be precise, the more telling problem for this largest hunter group of the year is that it didn't shoot often amid the same adverse weather conditions that plagued the hunt since its beginning three weekends ago.
As a result, Colorado Division of Wildlife biologists' hopes for a banner harvest required to shift the state's overpopulation of elk into better balance quickly faded into the cumulative sameness of each bluebird day.
With the hunt more than half gone, elk harvest may be running more than 20 percent below the record set in 2002, when hunters hauled approximately 62,000 animals from the forests. Because the nine-day period that ended Sunday is the longest of the four and attracts the most hunters, a lag in production bodes ill for overall results.
"If we fail to get the harvest in the second season, we'll never make that up," said Rick Kahn, state big-game supervisor.
Any prospects for a meaningful rebound hinge on a storm predicted for the region just before Saturday's start of the third session, a seven-day hunt running through Nov. 7. A fourth and final segment will be Nov. 8-12.
"If that really happens, it could help tremendously," state big-game manager John Ellenberger said of the notorious vagaries of mountain weather prognostication. Current forecasts call for rain and snow beginning late Thursday in northern Colorado, with a real possibility of significant moisture for this important weekend.
"We certainly have plenty of animals available. If we do get the right weather, we could make things up rather quickly," said Rob Firth, area manager for game-rich Middle Park, a broad area in the upper Colorado River drainage.
Firth estimates elk success in his district decreased by 20 to 30 percent during the first two periods.
Everyone blames mild, dry weather. The loudest explosions of the hunt seemed to come underfoot, like walking through a popcorn factory.
"You don't sneak up on anything. I'll tell you that," said Dan Prenzlow, who watches over the state's largest concentration of elk from an outpost in Meeker.
Prenzlow offered the lone snippet of encouragement in an otherwise bleak report.
"I'd say our harvest is about normal," Prenzlow said of a situation in which the sheer numbers of elk in this northwest quadrant of the White River Plateau perhaps ensure a higher level of success. This region traditionally produces about 30 percent of Colorado's elk harvest.
Elsewhere, game managers spun a sad story of lagging numbers and hunter disappointment.
"It's been a tough second season with a very sporadic harvest," said Scott Wait, biologist for DOW's Southwest Region.
"Things have been pretty slow," added Pat Tucker, who supervises an expansive area along the Eagle, Roaring Fork and Colorado rivers westward toward Grand Mesa.
In addition to troubles with stalking and tracking, Tucker quickly pinpointed the other major challenge facing hunters in much of the state.
"Animals are scattered in small bunches and most are hiding out in the deep, dark timber where they stay cool away and from hunter pressure," he said.
"This isn't the most attractive place for a hunter to be. It takes some dedication to go in these places, particularly with the realization that it takes real work to bring an animal out if you shoot it."
Those willing to do the labor have been getting elk, Tucker said. "Hunters have to realize they need to hunt different ways in different locations."
In Steamboat Springs, area manager Susan Werner watched an almost constant convoy of vehicles streaming out of camp Friday and Saturday, leaving the forest virtually deserted for the last two days of the hunt.
In a departure from recent years, wildlife officials added a second weekend to this segment, in large part to provide residents with greater flexibility. Whether locals took advantage remains to be seen, but the added opportunity didn't seem to boost the overall yield.
All this could change with a shift in the weather, an event that presumably will spur a movement of animals, particularly those still hanging out in the high country.
Even as elk prospects falter, deer hunters appear set for another strong season. Although the same pattern of warm weather delayed migration, DOW experts predict ample numbers of larger bucks will be available later in the season.
