Effects of Archery Hunter Numbers and Opening Dates on Elk Movement

Movement of Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) to private land in Colorado, USA, is problematic for population management because once on private land, elk are largely unavailable for harvest. We evaluated the relative effects of reducing hunter numbers and changes in opening dates of early-season hunting (archery) on elk movement to private land during a 4-year field experiment. Our study area was divided into north (NTA) and south (STA) treatment areas. Eighty adult female elk were captured and radiomarked during July 1996. From 1996 to 1999, we relocated radiomarked elk 2 times per week for a 2- to 3-month period surrounding archery season opening dates, and we classified each elk location as being on...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation, Journal Citation; Tags: Allen Press, Cervus elaphus nelsoni, Colorado, The Journal of Wildlife Management, archery, All tags... elk, hunter numbers, hunting, model averaging, model selection, movement, muzzleloading, Fewer tags