Elk Populations down 50% in Aspen, Vail

[Jqualls]

Home Waters: Don’t be fooled about wolves

So, let’s just call a spade a spade, shall we? The proposal by quasi-environmentalist organizations like Rocky Mountain Wolf Action Fund to force Canadian gray wolves onto the Colorado landscape is…

www.reporterherald.com

Ran across an interesting article. I am honestly not well educated on the issue and don't know if this is good reporting or not but surprised to see it published.

 

[JBahr]

My brother has been a veterinarian in the Vail and Aspen valleys for the last three years and is involved in the CPW Study referenced in the article. Preliminary results are coming in and depredations by bears and lions are leading the results followed by vehicle impacts. Obviously, the study is ongoing so who knows what the final results will show.

It seems clear to me that the attack on predator hunting in Colorado is one of the main drivers to the decline. The elimination of the Spring Bear season was a mistake driven by hearts and minds on the front range. CPW acknowledges that not enough bears are killed annually, hence the reduction in pricing and the OTC w/Caps program allowing you to get a bear tag if you have a deer or elk tag that overlaps the season. I’m sure they would love the reinstatement of a Spring season, for the $$$$ and the help with ungulate populations, but we all know that will NEVER happen. People are too focused on their elk tag to target bears, and the people who do target them just don't make near enough impact.

Wolves will absolutely make the problem worse. I know credible people who have already seen wolves near Vail Pass and the northern Gore range. Just a matter of time before the study finds another elk, this time a tagged one, killed by wolves.

I absolutely agree that people hiking, riding, shed hunting, etc. contribute to the problem. I just don’t understand why people think this is the primary problem.

 

[spike camp]

I recall reading that more bears are killed now, then when spring Bear was still a season.

 

[JBahr]

I heard something similar on a podcast a few years back, but have not found anything to support it. Definitely interested in the data if it's out there, but it's hard for me to believe considering there are literally less hunting days to accomplish the same kill rate. Maybe opportunity has increased with population? I could see how numbers killed during the fall season in 2019 might match total numbers prior to the end of Spring bear, circa 1990's.

Management objectives should change as populations change though. The facts show a booming black bear population and a suffering elk population. Making it easier to get Fall bear tags will help, however; I don't think it will turn the tide on the issue.

 

[orionthehunter1]

More bears equals more getting killed. I'm sure we are killing more bears now then when we had a spring season. We have more then double the bears now then back then.