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NW Colorado Deer Suffer

Rooster52

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Higher than normal deer mortality in NW Colorado this year. The snow depth and hard crust has made it diffacult for the deer and elk.Talked to the Gamewarden today and she said it is warming this week and that should help.
 
The damage is done in the NW. Winter kill will be significant in the Yampa River Valley. I would hedge on planning any major deer or pronghorn hunts to any units between 1 and 14 this year (on the map, not numerically).
 
Do they know what kind of mortality % we are looking at? It really sucks to hear this, the mule deer were just starting to come back last year.
 
I haven't heard any numbers yet, and they won't know for a while. It may warm up and help some survive, but deer will still be tipping over for another month. They had a couple of really hard months up there from what I have heard from CPW.

Side note: I heard at a meeting earlier this week that CDOT has picked up 1,400 dead deer on Hwy 13 in the last year. That doesn't include the ones that get off the road before they die. That's a fairly significant number.
 
I would think the elk have faired better,but have not heard much about them.
 
Higher than normal deer mortality in NW Colorado this year. The snow depth and hard crust has made it diffacult for the deer and elk.Talked to the Gamewarden today and she said it is warming this week and that should help.
Were you up near Walden?
I would think the elk have faired better,but have not heard much about them.



As far as the elk, talk to the farmers. They'll tell you where the elk have been hanging out.
 
The warden told me the severity is from Unit 1 thru to Unit 14 and south as far as Meker and up the White River .
I was planning a muzzleloader hunt near Rabbit Ears Pass but things don't look good for this next fall.
 
I would love to see CPW install several big game crossing structures across Hwy 13 similar to those that have recently been installed across Hwy 9 between Silverthorne and Kremmling as I've seen an immense amount of road-killed deer between Baggs and Craig in the few times I've driven that stretch of road and have heard from others that this is one of the worst areas in the state for such collissions.
 
Hate to hear this we just put in for our deer tags in this area a week ago.
 
It was and continues to be a brutal winter. The deer are fat but are down as low as they can get and getting hammered by trains and cars. Some fawns are getting skinny and will fail by spring. The snow depth combined with strength of the crust is going to make it a rare year indeed. Don't put undue stock in cpw reports they are always rosier than reality, even when they are not very rosy. (How else to justify the tag increases?). It will be interesting to watch the meltdown of #9 this spring and see how many the fence over/underpasses saved at a gazillion dollars a head. But never fear I predict increased "opportunity" this fall.
 
Thanks for the update. We should have 3 deer tags and 2 elk tags so this eases my mind some.
 
Anyone been through this area know how the deer and elk herds are doing? We'll be in units 5, 14 and 214 with elk and deer tags in September.
 
I was in 3/4 this past weekend and there are still a ton of deer and lope running around. Lot's of fawns too. I saw a few elk, but i was down in the low country. Most of the elk are up higher this time of year.
 
I was in 3/4 this past weekend and there are still a ton of deer and lope running around. Lot's of fawns too. I saw a few elk, but i was down in the low country. Most of the elk are up higher this time of year.

Thanks alot. That makes me feel so much better.
 
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