Posted on 02/05/2009 8:08:39 AM PST by george76
Elk roaming throughout Rocky Mountain National Park are being taken down one-by-one as a federal program to reduce the size of the herd gets under way.
A group of six to 10 volunteers arrived Wednesday in the park, about 70 miles northwest of Denver, to thin the herd because overgrazing by elk has nearly wiped out aspens and willows, prime habitat for beavers and birds.
The National Park Service approved a 20-year plan in 2007 to reduce the elk herd. The number of elk killed each year will depend on the herd's size.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbs4denver.com ...
In winter there are herds of elk that come into the center of Estes Park. I remember seeing a herd of 20 or so elk standing on the lawn of the McDonalds there.
Elk leave deep foot prints in the greens.
Tough to put around a herd of 6 inch deep divots.
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