Elk Herd Rebound In Colorado?

[SteveCNJ]

I'm considering a guided private property elk hunt in the Meeker area the first week of December. How bad was the winter kill off the winter of 2022/2023 and what is the current state of the health of the herd? Is it worth the trip? I'm on the east coast so I can't scout the area to figure this out. Thanks in advance.

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[fmyth]

The Bears Ears herd and White River herd suffered 30-40% mortality in the winter of 22/23 per the CPW. I'd recommend you contact the wildlife biologist for that area and ask about the current numbers. I doubt they have fully recovered.

After a harsh winter decimated elk herds in NW Colorado, there is now cautious optimism about their recovery

After hearing rumors of elk herds recovering from the devastating winter of 2022-23 in northwest Colorado, Denver7 learned more about that historic season and how the herds are faring now.

www.denver7.com

 

[Ab21721]

FWIW, my hunting partner and I spoke to a couple people out of the Meeker CPW office last fall and they told us the elk numbers were nearly back to the population objective. We had 4th season antlerless tags and that was the first time we had been back to the general area since the winter of 22/23. We got on a small herd of cows and bumped a nice bull not far from town on public.

 

[Mtnmilsurp]

They're plentiful, especially if you're talking about Buffalo Horn Ranch properties or along the Blanco River. They could be at 10% of their objective population and there would still be decent elk on those private ranches. This year most of the herd hung up in the high country until the end of December because there was almost no snow up to tree line but there were still elk right outside Meeker.

 

[wardl_3]

The private property owners/outfitters/guides could answer that best imo… and give you any other intel/planning ideas needed. If you have some in mind already i would check with them

 

[35WhelenAI]

Contact someone in the CPW. An individual can report on what they see, yet in the same unit one could say it's lousy with elk, the other could say it's barren of elk. Even with CPW data saying the herd numbers are getting close or at objectives, what you see on an individual hunt is going to be very different from what another sees on their hunt. You could be seeing all the elk or you could see nothing.