Future of Elk

The Future of Elk

What lies ahead for elk in the United States? In my opinion the future looks bleak, like a gray February afternoon. Why is this? There is one main reason – loss of prime elk habitat. Why are we losing elk habitat? The Population Reference Bureau explains it for us.

“A new publication from the Washington-based Population Reference Bureau examines the forces driving this population growth and reports that the United States is still growing because of net immigration and because Americans have more births than deaths each year.”

“The 2000 Census revealed that 33 million people were added to the U.S. population during the 1990s — 7 million more than had been estimated. Current trends suggest that the U.S. population may increase by more than 40 percent by 2050.”

How can we protect vital habitat and migration routes for elk? The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is our only hope. They fight for elk habitat across the United States and Canada. The RMEF is more important to us than ever before. Their efforts and fund raising allow them to purchase land and land easements to protect vital habitat for elk.

Make a financial contribution to the RMEF today by clicking here. The future of elk in your area depends on you. We need to step up because when the habitat is gone the elk go with it.

I found this big, older bull bedded on a steep, rocky slope after our 2^nd worse snowstorm in Colorado history. The deep snow seemed to flush out every elk and deer in the area to lower elevations where the snow wasn’t so deep. He traveled through miles of private property and ended up near a busy road. If you know how much elk dislike roads and traffic then you might understand how uncomfortable it was for this bull. Elk, like this one, are continually adapting to human pressure. They are evolving into smarter creatures. It will be harder for us to find bulls like this if we continue to take away their only source of life – quality habitat. This bull has a radio collar on him so the Colorado Department of Wildlife can better determine the travel patterns of elk in the area. I’m sure they understand what we already know. Elk country is getting smaller all the time. Half the reason elk are so interesting is the land they inhabit. Without the country elk lose their dignity and mystique. This elk was thin after a long winter of little to no quality food. The elk in the area have overpopulated. It was also a drought year so plant life was very pathetic and didn’t offer the nutrients this bull needed. If you look closely you’ll see his sixth point on his left side has broken off. His antlers are thick but the drought left a lot of bulls with brittle antlers that were underdeveloped. Let’s hope this bull makes it through the spring and finds good quality grasses somewhere.

If you can’t volunteer locally to help protect elk habitat then please give a donation to the RMEF. Make it an annual contribution. It goes a long way to protecting elk habitat. It’s worth every penny too. Think about how much enjoyment elk bring to your life when you are out in the woods and you hear that big bull bugling to his cows. How the sound shakes the trees and echoes off distant ridges. That’s the most beautiful sound in the outdoors.