2021 Colorado Elk Herd Update on the Uncompahgre Plateau
As they do every winter, Colorado Parks and Wildlife biologists and District Wildlife Managers do monitoring flights in the winter to establish population estimates, sex ratios, age classes within the herd, calf survival and more. From here, they can then set quotas for the upcoming hunting season and adjust license allocation if and where necessary.
It's a complicated process and this year was even tougher due to low snow and COVID restrictions. The low snow may mean some animals stay up in the timber and get missed in the count. Additionally, the animals simply aren't as easy to spot from a plane when they're not in a snowy backdrop. The COVID restrictions limited the number of people allowed in the plane to help count animals...so this probably meant a few elk were missed.
Overall though, elk numbers are still at or perhaps slightly above objective in unit 61 and unit 62 (which comprise the Uncompahgre Plateau). In this year's flight data, a lot of young bulls were observed. Cow numbers were steady.
The most pressing concern biologists have is calf survivorship. In recent years, calf mortality has been going up and they're continuing a radio-collaring project to determine what the calves are succumbing to. Malnutrition and predation are both factors but in what capacity or what other factors may be contributing is information they're waiting to see in this long-term study. It should reveal some really interesting data and we'll keep tabs on this and share with you as more data is revealed.
At Dark Timber, 2020 proved to be our best year in terms of hunter opportunity and hunter harvest last year. We were into elk pretty much everywhere in our area consistently from archery season through the end of 3rd rifle season.
We had a mild winter, which is a double-edge sword. It is contributing to the current drought conditions. However, the mild weather also means less winter mortality. However, Colorado is now getting some cooler weather and significant rainfall both in the high country and lower valleys. Our fingers are crossed this is an indicator of a good monsoon season which we haven't had for years.
With the mid-summer rain we're receiving and solid elk numbers, the data indicates we'll be poised to have the makings of another fantastic fall up at Dark Timber Lodge. Thank you and we're counting the days until the bow hunts begin on September 2!
Contact Us with Questions
If you’d like to learn more about our guided elk hunts, you can find that information here. Otherwise, please feel free to contact us anytime with questions.