CPW News Release Reductions 5-10-23

[robby denning]

I read that too and wasn’t sure if it was a misprint. I just don’t see there being an ounce of truth in that statement but maybe something bizarre happened and since desperate deer are somewhat willing to winter in peoples yards etc they fared better?

Could also be mortality was high but with the CWD prevalence up there they were OK with herd reduction? Just throwing out random guesses, but nobody ever said “Man I hope these elk make it thru, of coarse the deer will be fine”.

Still scratching my head. If it’s accurate, all I can think is that if the deer were way below objective, they had more resources available. But I really don’t know either.

 

[CJohnson]

I’m not in NW Co, and I have zero reference for prior winters - but, I wonder how many elk die every year on their summer range due to drought and no one sees the corpses versus having them die on their winter range where they are more concentrated and visible to the public.

 

[Ucsdryder]

I’m not in NW Co, and I have zero reference for prior winters - but, I wonder how many elk die every year on their summer range due to drought and no one sees the corpses versus having them die on their winter range where they are more concentrated and visible to the public.

I’ve personally never seen a dead elk in the summer and I do a lot of hiking and scouting. I think elk are big and strong and move to a food source. In drought years I’ve seen them higher than normal or lower than normal (ranches).

That being said, I’m in Colorado, so maybe a more desert climate like Arizona or New Mexico might be different.