Estes Park’s abundant food and protection have helped keep elk in the valley, but development has squeezed their winter range and made migration harder, Colorado State University wildlife professor George Wittemyer told residents Oct. 8 at the Estes Valley Community Center.
Speaking to the Estes Valley Watershed Coalition as part of its educational series of talks, “EV Watershed Coalition presents…” Wittemyer said wildlife corridors are essential to sustaining animal populations as human development expands.
“When you remove migration, you either remove a population or you reduce it,” he said.
Estes Park is an unusual case, Wittemyer said. A mix of protection and easy access to food, including golf courses, landscaping and fruit trees, has encouraged elk to stay in the area rather than travel farther between seasonal ranges. Removing food sources, as ecologists have done with exclosures in Rocky Mountain National Park, has helped get some elk moving again, he said…