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Boulder County manages elk at Ron Stewart Preserve using limited hunting and other resource management tools.
On Monday, March 30, the Boulder County Commissioners approved a three-year extension of the Ron Stewart Preserve Elk & Vegetation Management Plan with the caveat that hunting will cease once herd objectives are met.
Ron Stewart Preserve at Rabbit Mountain will be closed Monday through Wednesday from Sept. 21 through Jan. 31 for elk management through limited hunting. The park is open Thursday through Sunday and on the following days:
Three hunters will be granted a one-week access permit to hunt on open space each week during the season. Hunters can take advantage of the closure to hunt on Ron Stewart Preserve at Rabbit Mountain on only the closed days, Monday through Wednesday. However, they may hunt the other areas (Indian Mountain and the Cushman Property) on any of the other days of their permit. All hunters will have passed a shooting proficiency test and attended an orientation. If all three hunters are successful early in the week, the park will be reopened the following day. Learn more about hunting on open space.
This hunting program is solely and specifically permitted as a resource management tool. There is no cost to the hunter beyond the existing Colorado Parks and Wildlife license system and Boulder County does not receive any additional revenue. Recreational hunting at Ron Stewart Preserve at Rabbit Mountain or any other open space property is strictly prohibited.
Ron Stewart Preserve at Rabbit Mountain was closed to the public Monday through Wednesday from Sept. 9 through Jan. 31 for elk management through limited hunting but remained open to the public during the weeks of Thanksgiving and Christmas, and on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. When management activities ceased early in the week, staff were able to open Ron Stewart Preserve early to the public on seven occasions.
Ron Stewart Preserve at Rabbit Mountain was closed to the public Monday through Wednesday from Sept. 17 through Jan. 31 for elk management through limited hunting.
One important feature of management is radiotracking. It is important to know where these animals are, when they are there (and when they are not there), and what kinds of moves they make, daily and seasonally. We work with Colorado Parks and Wildlife to capture, collar, and follow these animals across the landscape.
We like to have a representative segment with collars to describe the range and movements. They also help us find and count groups (collars are not usually alone). Our counts are important metrics to help us reach our management goals. As radiocollars run out of battery life, collars fail, or animals die, we need to trap each winter to keep that representative sample size collared. We begin shortly after the end of the last hunting season for the subunit area (centered around Rabbit Mountain) and try to trap until we have reached our number, or the safe trapping period for pregnant cow elk ends (usually around April 1). The radiocollars allow us to monitor movements and distribution throughout the year – and from year to year, as we proceed with the plan.
Data from the radiocollars shows our efforts are working. We are seeing fewer elk overall that spend less time on Rabbit Mountain and cause less damage to the natural resources, agricultural resources, and private landowners.
Elk are trapped in a large, walk-in cage. They are blindfolded and given oxygen while they are tagged.
Ron Stewart Preserve at Rabbit Mountain was closed to the public Monday through Wednesday from Sept. 11, 2017, through Jan. 29, 2018, for limited hunting. Only two hunters per week with access permits were allowed on the property during that time. Hunters were also permitted on Indian Mountain and the Cushman property, both of which are closed to the public.
Hunters first had to secure a GMU 20 tag for the Rabbit Mountain area (E-F-020-L3-R). All of those subunit tag holders were then offered an opportunity to opt into our access program. They then applied for a specific week in which to hunt through our website. All hunters who drew a 2017 Rabbit Mountain Access Permit were then also required to attend a shooting proficiency test and on-site orientation.
On Aug. 22, 2017, the Boulder County Commissioners approved the Ron Stewart Preserve at Rabbit Mountain Elk and Vegetation Management Plan. The plan outlines strategies to manage a sustainable elk population on Ron Stewart Preserve and surrounding areas through adaptive management. While the plan does allow limited, controlled hunting of the Rabbit Mountain elk herd as a management tool, it does NOT allow recreational hunting on this or any other open space properties.
The Rabbit Mountain elk population has grown from 25 to 350 in the last 10 years. The elk have learned to avoid hunters by not migrating. The herd stays on or around Ron Stewart Preserve at Rabbit Mountain year-round and raids neighboring agricultural fields at night, then returns to the safety of the preserve during the day.
The elk herd’s rapid expansion is causing extensive damage to the highly diverse native plants and wildlife habitat of Ron Stewart Preserve. According to the Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Rabbit Mountain is rated B1: Outstanding Biodiversity Significance, which means the plant and wildlife diversity is globally rare and irreplaceable. In addition, the elk have caused substantial damage to neighboring residential fences, landscaping, and agricultural crops.
After careful consideration of many options, and in consultation with Colorado Parks & Wildlife, Boulder County Parks & Open Space staff believes it is imperative to re-establish seasonal migration in this elk herd by allowing limited and controlled public hunting on Ron Stewart Preserve.
Goal:
Manage a sustainable elk population on Ron Stewart Preserve and surrounding areas through adaptive management.
Objectives:
Rabbit Mountain elk herd minimum counts and projected population growth.
Telemetry locations of four female elk from the spring of 2015 to the spring of 2016.
Staff presented results form the first two years of the plan and requested approval of recommendations for year three. The Board of County Commissioners approved the changes.
Staff presented results from the first year of implementation and proposed recommendation for minor changes to the plan. The Board of County Commissioners approved the changes.
Staff presented the plan to the Board of County Commissioners. The plan was approved.
Staff presented the plan and Memo to the Board of County Commissioners on June 20.
The Boulder County Commissioners gave approval to staff to move forward with limited elk hunting for this fall season. Staff was asked to return in mid-August with a final plan for approval.
Staff presented the plan to the Parks & Open Space Advisory Committee.
The committee voted 3-3 to recommend the plan to the Board of County Commissioners.
Staff presented the plan to the Parks & Open Space Advisory Committee on April 27.
The advisory committee requested more information and readdressed the issue on May 25.
Staff hosted an open house on April 6 and presented the draft plan.
Public comments received throughout the planning process have been consolidated into one document.
